Comments on: Itsok Kolsch

By: Peter Ives

Peter Ives — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:32:33 +0000

I’m set to brew the Joy’s Itsok Kolsch tomorrow evening, and was pondering the Saaz hop question that Jason asked. Both the Perle and Saaz are listed as boiling hops and the Tettnanger as flavor — so my heightened interpretive skills tell me Papazian should have said to add the Saaz with the Perle. I’ll give it a shot and let you know.
By the way why ‘Itsok’? I was in Manchester, UK a few weeks ago and had a Kolsch on tap that also had some other name like ‘Itsok’ (or maybe it was something else, the bartender said it was the specific brewer — but it looked like he was making it up).

By: Jason Brown

Jason Brown — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:43:49 +0000

Thanks for the help!

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:01:46 +0000

The first time I made it, I re-read the recipe a dozen times before I was satisfied that I wasn’t crazy and it was just missing the Saaz step! I’ve always added the Saaz with the Tetnanger and been happy with the results. It comes out a bit malty but well balanced, not hoppy in the finish. Maybe one day I’ll add the Saaz with the Perle, but then again, why mess with success? The Itsok Kolsch brewed with the Saaz added at 30min. is a serious crowd-pleaser.

Happy brewing!

By: Jason Brown

Jason Brown — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:49:34 +0000

I am about to brew this one for the first time, but int he third edition copy of the “bible”, the brewing directions do not mention when to add the Saaz hops. It says to start with the Perle and the malt, then jumps to adding the Tetnanger in the last 30 min. of the boil. Do the Saaz and the Perle and the Saaz go in from the start?
Any help or advice you might be able to offer would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason M. Brown Sr.