Pale lager
Kolsch
A Cologne speciality and a genuine hybrid: warm-fermented with an ale yeast, then lagered cold until the fruit recedes and it drinks like a delicate pils with a soft, wine-like edge.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.044 - 1.050
1.044 - 1.050
Final gravity
1.007 - 1.011
1.007 - 1.011
Bitterness
18 IBU - 30 IBU
18 IBU - 30 IBU
Colour
3.5 SRM - 5 SRM
3.5 SRM - 5 SRM
Alcohol
4.4% - 5.2%
4.4% - 5.2%
Colour also 7-10 EBC
What goes wrong
Fermenting it too warm and skipping the cold conditioning. Without weeks near freezing the yeast fruit stays, and it reads as a bland golden ale.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
The rest of the pale lager family
American Light Lager
2.8-4.2% · 8-12 IBU
1BAmerican Lager
4.2-5.3% · 8-18 IBU
1CCream Ale
4.2-5.6% · 8-20 IBU
2AInternational Pale Lager
4.6-6% · 18-25 IBU
3ACzech Pale Lager
3-4.1% · 20-35 IBU
3BCzech Premium Pale Lager
4.2-5.8% · 30-45 IBU
4AMunich Helles
4.7-5.4% · 16-22 IBU
4BFestbier
5.8-6.3% · 18-25 IBU
5AGerman Leichtbier
2.4-3.6% · 15-28 IBU
5CGerman Helles Exportbier
4.8-6% · 20-30 IBU
5DGerman Pils
4.4-5.2% · 22-40 IBU
Plan a batch to these numbers.