Phenolic flavors have various sources. Some are more likely culprits and some less likely. Hefeweizen yeast strains and many Belgians are POF+ meaning they are genetically predisposed to producing compounds that taste phenolic. Different conditions (pitch rate and fermented temp) may amplify or subdue the production of those compounds. So for the Hefeweizen, that is a likely explanation as the yeast strain is known to produce it.
For the Kolsch, I think most strains used for Kolsch are not POF+. I do think yeast that are exposed to extremes (ferm temp) “might” express phenolic compounds, but am super sure on that one.
Chloramine or chlorine in the brewing water can make a pretty medicinal / band-aid off flavor, but carbon filtering should address it. It is an easy diagnosis if someone indicates that they use city water but no treatments.
Lastly, a wild yeast infection can create phenolic off flavors.
Maybe do some reading on Kolsch and phenolic sand see if others report issues...?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk