Kottbusser is a German beer style that was outlawed in 1877 due to the German Beer Purification Law, which restricted beer ingredients to just barley, hops, water and (once discovered) yeast. The golden-hued ale uses wheat, oats and barley for the grist, a dose of noble hops to add floral notes and honey and molasses for more fermentable sugars and a hint of subtle complexity. Unlike more well-known styles of German wheat beers, like hefeweizen, kottbusser is fermented with a clean ale yeast, leaving little to not yeast character in the finished beer.
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse of Loveland, Colorado shared the recipe for their kottbusser ale, Snowdrop. Snowdrop earned a bronze medal in the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. To learn more about kottbusser and to get some tips on brewing the style from Grimm Brothers, check out 6 Tips on Brewing Kottbusser from Grimm Brothers Brewhouse
Kottbusser is a German beer style that was outlawed in 1877 due to the German Beer Purification Law, which restricted beer ingredients to just barley, hops, water and (once discovered) yeast. The golden-hued ale uses wheat, oats and barley for the grist, a dose of noble hops to add floral notes and honey and molasses for more fermentable sugars and a hint of subtle complexity. Unlike more well-known styles of German wheat beers, like hefeweizen, kottbusser is fermented with a clean ale yeast, leaving little to not yeast character in the finished beer.
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse of Loveland, Colorado shared the recipe for their kottbusser ale, Snowdrop. Snowdrop earned a bronze medal in the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. To learn more about kottbusser and to get some tips on brewing the style from Grimm Brothers, check out 6 Tips on Brewing Kottbusser from Grimm Brothers Brewhouse
Ingredients:
- 6.0 lbs (2.7 kg) Pilsen malt
- 3.0 lbs (1.4 kg) Wheat malt
- 0.7 lbs (0.3 kg) Flaked Oats
- 0.04 lbs (18 g) Molasses
- 0.08 lbs (36 g) Honey
- 0.05 oz (1.4 g) Hallertau hops (FWH)
- 0.25 oz (7 g) Magnum hops (75 minutes)
- 0.25 oz (7 g) Hallertau hops (30 minutes)
- 0.5 oz (14 g) Hallertau hops (0 minutes)
- 1 oz (28 g) Saaz hops (0 minutes)
- White Labs German Ale/Kolsch Yeast (WLP029)
Specifications:
Yield: 5 gallons (18.9 L)
ABV: ~7%
Boil Time: 90 minutes
Directions:
To brew this Kottbusser, mash grains at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Sparge at 168°F (76°C). Conduct a 90 minute boil. Ferment at 63°F (17°C).
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