Robin Shepard
It’s the season when the German Oktoberfest style of beer is at the height of its popularity. What a great time to spotlight the influence of Bavarian brewing locally with a look at the Grumpy Troll’s version of kellerbier.
What is it? Keller Brau from the Grumpy Troll Brewpub and Pizzeria in Mount Horeb.
Style: A kellerbier is an unfiltered cellar beer historically served right out of the cask in which it was fermented. Kellerbiers can be found across a range of styles, but most commonly among lagers like pilsners and märzens. Because they are unfiltered, they are unpasteurized, and can appear slightly hazy or cloudy.
The Grumpy Troll’s take on the kellerbier starts with a light golden lager that falls somewhere between a helles and a German pilsner. Helles is a German word associated with beers that are light or pale golden. Helles is also a lager style on its own and those low in strength are sometimes referred to as the session beer of Bavaria. Like the pilsner, the helles is clean and well-balanced and often emphasizes noble hops with earthy, herbal and spicy qualities. The helles and German pilsner will commonly range in strength from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
Background: Grumpy Troll brewmaster Mark Knoebl has German heritage, and he was inspired to make a light golden lager as a kellerbier when traveling to see family members. “Kellerbiers are not very available around here, and I wanted to introduce it to folks,” he says. Knoebl’s Keller Brau is a fall seasonal at the Grumpy Troll that he’s made for about five years. It’s currently midway through its annual tapping.
This is a showcase for Knoebl’s choice of hops. He makes it with Spalt hops (also called Spalter), which come from a region near Nuremberg. They are found in classic styles like the Kölsch, alt and bock beers. Spalt hops lend herbal spiciness to the beer’s aroma and flavor. This beer also features Barke malt from Germany; Knoebl says it accentuates the smooth, bready nature of the malt and helps him achieve a more authentic German profile to this beer. Barke malt was first imported a few years ago by the Samuel Adams brewery, and Knoebl was only the second brewery to begin using it in the U.S.
Keller Brau finishes at 5.5 percent ABV with an estimated 32 IBUs (International Bitterness Unites). It sells for $4.50/pint, $13/growler (refill).
Tasting notes:
Aroma: A light floral, herbal, spicy hint of the Spalt hops.
Appearance: Yellow golden color with light haziness. A thin or modest off-white bubbly head.
Texture: Light- to medium-bodied with a bubbly mouthfeel throughout, before a subtle dryness in the finish.
Taste: A hint of malt graininess and light fruity yeastiness in the beginning. However, it’s the Spalt hops that shine, with their spicy, crisp earthy bitterness.
Finish/Aftertaste: The ending is clean with a hint of spicy pepper dryness from the hops.
Glassware: The Grumpy Troll serves Keller Brau in a standard bar pint. I much prefer a tall heavy-footed pilsner glass with an inward taper near the lip to focus the noble hop aroma and show off the beer’s color. The Willi Becher will do much the same.
Pairs well with: The Friday fish from the pub’s menu. It’s a lightly flavored beer that goes especially well with lightly breaded pan-fried walleye or traditional fish and chips.
The Verdict: Unfiltered cellar beers have a distinctive freshness from initial aroma to aftertaste/finish. In lighter golden lagers like this one, there’s little room for stale imperfection or an imbalance of hoppy bitterness. The Spalt hops lend a spiciness that rises above a hint of yeasty-fruitiness of the cellar conditioning, making this a memorable beer. There’s also touch of black pepper spiciness, which adds to its subtle dry finish. I just got back from a trip to Austria and Germany for Oktoberfest, and while there, I made a point to try as many kellerbiers as I could. Knoebl’s Keller Brau ranks right up there with the best.
