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Taste Notes

There’s some dispute over whether Kellerbier is an actual style of beer or a production/serving method. Strictly speaking, Kellerbiers are cold-fermented (in cellars), bottom-fermenting beers that are generally served young and unfiltered. Many are also served with low levels of residual CO2, having been matured in vented casks that retain very little carbonation in the beer. For our purposes, though, you can refer to the “Amber Kellerbier” descriptions in the 2015 BJCP guidelines for a sense of the target flavor profile. It’s essentially an amber lager that differs from Oktoberfest in the relative intensity of its hops character across all fronts—bittering, flavor, and aroma. It is also unique in that a touch of acetaldehyde and other “green” beer flavors are not necessarily considered a fault. A strict reading of the guidelines also suggests that the beer should have moderate carbonation, but we’re going to deviate from that (in the interest of historic authenticity, and, I think, enjoyability). If you plan to enter this beer in competition, you’ll want to carbonate to a full 2.5 volumes, at least for the bottles to be entered!

Notes

https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-kellerbier/ There’s a trick to this style in that you want a rich, obvious malt-forward character and a nice amber color—but you don’t want any caramel or roasty flavors. Dialing in the grist is essential (though it should be noted that this whole recipe/process is a bit challenging—there won’t be any “easy” parts of this journey!). In order to get a nice, bready, non-caramel malt character, I use Vienna and Pilsner as a base, in a 2:1 ratio. Any more than that, and the beer may come across as being too apparently sweet, even though it will still ferment out fully. But to deepen the color (without adding roast) and the flavor (without adding caramel) I add trace amounts of Carafa II and Melanoidin Malt—3 ounces (85 g) of each. That should get you to a starting gravity of about 1.050. You also need to get aggressive with your hops, at least compared to other European lagers. The goal is about 35 IBUs, along with medium-high levels of hops flavor and aroma. To get there, I use a 1:1 blend of Hallertau (4.5% AA) and Northern Brewer (8% AA), 3 ounces (85 g) total, with 1 oz (28 g) at 60 minutes, 1 oz (28 g) at 30 minutes, and 1 oz (28 g) at 10 minutes. I’ve found that the combination of German noble hops results in a healthy dose of floral hops flavor while the Northern Brewer adds a wild, dry-bark note. In amber beers, it imparts an autumnal character that is hard to beat! For yeast, you have a few options. Those who are expecting my old standby Wyeast 1007 German Ale are going to be disappointed; it’s a great yeast, but for this beer I like a true lager strain to avoid the impression of sweetness that esters can impart, so it’s Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager. If you’re going to go ale yeast, though, this is one time when I recommend the cleanest one you can find: White Labs WLP001 California Ale yeast—it’s an acceptable alternative, though I still think the lager yeast is the way to go.