I am getting ready to brew the Kolsch 3 gallon BIAB recipe and the instructions indicate primary fermentation then cold secondary fermentation. It does not indicate a temp for the cold fermentation. Any help with the primary and secondary fermentation temperatures would be appreciated
You should ferment primary at about 58* (beer temp) then lager at 34* or so. The instructions typically say that kolsch can be made up around 65, but you will get a lot of pear from those yeasts up in that range.
Did a Kolsch recently and fermented around 55F, and like Pietro said, very little pear flavor. It came out super clean, with just enough flavor from the yeast to know it’s a Kolsch. Used WY2565 - I’ve heard but can’t say for certain that the White Labs strain likes warmer temperatures.
WLP029 is clean at any temperature. You can ferment anywhere from 60-70 F if you wish and get great results. The Wyeast 2565 is totally different, more fussy and finicky but has the superior flavor. For that one I would ferment cool around 58-60 F for 5 weeks, then rack, chill, and hit with gelatin to help the yeast come out, otherwise the yeast stays in solution for a very long time.
