Which hop should I use on a kolsch?

Northern Brewer General
1

I have mt hood, tettnang, or saaz.

I’m leaning towards tettnang. Thoughts?

2

I have always been fond of Tettnanger. I’d use it or Mt Hood.

3

Thank you. I think I will take your advice.

4

I haven’t brewed a kolsch yet, but when I do my recipe calls for saaz.
Some years ago I read about a brewery that brews pilsner and kolsch with the only difference in the recipes being the yeast.

5

[quote=“Rookie L A”]I haven’t brewed a kolsch yet, but when I do my recipe calls for saaz.
Some years ago I read about a brewery that brews pilsner and kolsch with the only difference in the recipes being the yeast.[/quote]

There is a significant difference in hopping rate between a pils and a Kolsch. Saaz would be OK but to me the German varieties just seem better. :cheers:

6

I used spalt on my Kolsch and turned out fantastic!

7

My wife is from Koln, so I have a kolsch on tap year round. Kolschbier really is all about the yeast.
Go with tett or mt hood. Saaz may add too much character for this beer IMO.

8

That was my first thought too, the hop wouldn’t matter because its only at a very low level. But I looked at the BJCP guidelines and the IBUs are supposed to be 20-30, that surprised me since the only ones I’ve ever had were not bitter nor did they have much hop flavor/aroma.

9

I think Spalt is THE hop to use in a Kolsch. That said, I had a bunch of Mt. Hood and made mine with them and it came out very nice. Mt. Hood is one of my favorite American hops and it’s refined, clean character works nicely in a range of beers. If I had Tettnanger, Saaz or Mt. Hood, I’d go with the Mt. Hood.