1. FTEC 422 Lab Report#1
Kolsch
Will Pelland
Brewing Parameters
MASH
Mash in Time 3:09 Mash Start Time 3:10
Strike WaterTemp 71C Mash Temp 66C
Mash pH 5.69 GristWeight 8.82kg
Salts added,Mash/HLT 5.52g/12.88g CaCl2 Iodine Test Achievedat25 min
LAUTER
Lauter Start 4:02 Lauter End 4:45
Sparge Temp 78C Sparge Volume 35.05L
First/Last RunningpH 5.5/5.7 Kettle pH 5.6
BOIL
Boil Start 4:47 Boil End 5:47
Kettle Full Gravity 10.2 Plato End Boil Gravity 10.6
End Boil pH 5.63 Hop 1 Addition 4:47
Hop 2 Addition 5:32 Hop 3 Addition 5:42
KNOCKOUT
Whirlpool Start/End 5:47/5:57 Knockout Start 5:57
Knockout Temp 16C Original Gravity 10.5
FINAL SPECS
ABV:5.5% |Final Gravity:1.628P | pH: 4.26 |Color:7.2 SRM |VDK:229.24 ppb|IBU’s:17.9
Calculations
SRM
𝑴𝑪𝑼 =
( 𝟏𝟓. 𝟗𝟖𝒍𝒃𝒔 ∗ 𝟐. 𝟎𝟑°𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅)+ ( 𝟏. 𝟗𝒍𝒃𝒔 ∗ 𝟏𝟎°𝑳)+ (𝟏. 𝟓𝟔𝟓∗ 𝟐. 𝟑𝟗°𝑳)
𝟏𝟑𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒔
= 𝟒. 𝟐𝟒
𝑺𝑹𝑴 = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟗𝟐𝟐∗ ( 𝟒. 𝟐𝟒.𝟔𝟖𝟓𝟗) = 𝟒. 𝟎𝟏 𝑺𝑹𝑴

2. Water
Calciumat a level of17.3ppm in Fort Collinswater already. Needtoincrease by 82.67 ppm to achieve
100ppm.
𝟏𝟏𝟎. 𝟗𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍
𝟒𝟎𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍(𝑪𝒂 𝟐+)
∗ 𝟖𝟐. 𝟔𝟕𝒑𝒑𝒎 = 𝟐𝟐𝟗. 𝟐𝟎𝒎𝒈/𝑳 ∗ 𝟖𝟎𝑳 = 𝟏𝟖. 𝟑𝟑𝟔𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔
18.4 grams of CaCl2 was added to 80 Liters of water to achieve 100ppm Ca. Calcium
Chloride was added to enhance the sweetness of the Kolsch. The calcium ions also regulate mash
pH by reducing the buffering capacity of the carbonate salts present in the brewing liquor. The
malt selection consisted of 82% (7.25kg) brewers malt, 10% (.86kg) Munich 10, and 8% (.71kg)
white wheat malt. The mash regimen was standard, the recipe called for a 60 minute mash rest.
These malts are all highly modified and lead to a highly fermentable wort and a relatively dry
finished product. However, the malts used also contribute little acidity to the mash, which was
hypothesized to lead to a high mash pH. High mash pH’s can lead to extraction of tannins and
beta glucans as well as a loss in extract efficiency due to less active enzymes. The small amount
of acidity from the malt coupled with the soft water with only 100ppm of calcium ions led to a
high mash pH of 5.69.
The brew day was standard, Instead of going over everything we did, the things we did
incorrectly or things that stood out are as follows. The first thing that stood out was our mash pH.
Our mash pH was 5.69 due to low EBC malts and soft water. To best remedy this without
affecting the flavor of the product would be to add lactic acid to get it in the 5.4-5.5 range. More
calcium salts could also be added to drop the residual alkalinity, but it would likely be so much
that it would affect the final flavor of the beer. We did an iodine test 25 minutes into the mash
which signified that saccharification had sufficiently run its course. We ended mash 10 minutes

3. early and began to lauter/sparge. Sparge was supposed to end at 35 liters, but we ended up over
sparging close to 13 liters. This can lead to extraction of tannins as well as a loss in efficiency. A
hydrometer reading of our original gravity came out to 10.6 Plato. Surprisingly, a back
calculated original gravity from the Anton Parr analysis gave us an OG of 11.98. This was even a
little higher than our target, over sparging and a high mash pH should have led to a lower
efficiency. The fact that an almost spot on BCOG was achieved despite over sparging is likely
attributed to an underestimation of extract potential of the malt or brewhouse efficiency (the
malt analyses were missing coarse ground as is). The hydrometer reading was likely off due to a
small amount of rinse water in the graduated cylinder.
Visual analysis of the final product was a golden straw colored beer with a medium haze
that is not characteristic for a kolsch. The haze was comprised of chunks of yeast. The head was
white foam and retention was medium strong, likely due to the wheat malt in the beer. The
aroma of the beer gave a trans-2-noneol, oxidized cardboard smell, grassy, hay like hop aroma
(could be from improper storage of hops) as well as isoamyl acetate, a small amount of diacetyl,
and DMS. The taste of the kolsch was fairly dry, but a small amount of sweetness remained.
There was an astringent bitter aftertaste that was unpleasant. The mouthfeel gave a medium
body, with again a drying astringency.
Concluding sensory we can infer how certain things in the brew process effected the final
taste of the beer. The yeast chunks were due to an uptake while racking, this can be prevented
using fining and or filtering methods. While a small amount of isoamyl acetate is acceptable in
this style, cardboard, diacetyl and DMS are not. The cardboard smell likely came from oxygen
pickup during racking, or the yeast didn’t use up all of the oxygen after knockout. High VDK’s
are evident and are a result of yeast inactivity during the end of fermentation. This may be from

4. cold crashing too early, or non-vital yeast. DMS could have been caused by an extended
knockout period from whirlpool until the wort was chilled. A non-vigorous boil could have also
played a part in this, considering the light malt varieties have high levels of s-methyl methionine
(DMS precursor). The thing that stood out the most was the astringent bitterness. This was likely
due to the high mash pH and the oversparging extracting tannins from the mash. To remedy this,
next time lactic acid needs to be added to the strike/sparge water to drop the pH and better
combat the residual alkalinity in the water without adding more salts.