Hacker-Pschorr Kellerbier

Hacker-Pschorr Kellerbier is exactly that, a kellerbier from Munich, Germany’s Hacker-Pschorr Bräu. The 5.5% “cellar beer” comes in 500mL cans. It’s a slightly cloudy unfiltered lager with a nice golden hue and a modest layer of white suds.

H-P’s kellerbier has a grainy, malt-focused nose, with a dusting of yeasty aromatics. The flavour is semi-sweet and malt-forward, with nice bready notes. The finish has just a quaver of floral, noble hop bitterness.

My kellerbier frame of reference is pretty narrow, but I’ll say that I enjoyed H-P’s take on the style. I found it refreshing, pleasantly flavoured, and easy-drinking.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Go For Broke Kellerbier

Go For Broke Kellerbier is a 5.7% brew from Radical Road Brewing out of Toronto. The beer, a hazy, champagne-hued number, comes in 355mL cans and pours with a short-lived white head.

 

RR’s take on this old world German-style lager has a sweet, yeasty nose with banana aromatics. The flavour is quite full-bodied, with a sweet to bitter progression. There are yeast and banana notes up front and a toasty bitterness at the back end.

Kellerbier is not a style that I see everyday, and I haven’t been lucky enough to try for than a handful. Therefore, I don’t know how this brew stacks up compared to the world’s finest Kellerbiers. That said, I know that I really liked this one. It was rich and bursting with interesting flavours.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Momiji

Popped into the newly opened Godspeed Brewery in Toronto's east end with the Bitter Wife during a Saturday afternoon and grabbed myself a 13oz pour of their Momiji, an amber kellerbier containing 4.6% alcohol. My beer arrived under a fog of cream head. It was a fairly hazy walnut brew that packed a malty and metallic aroma with some bready notes. More pungent than I expected given its low percentage, Momiji was malt-focused initially, giving way to a crisp, bitter back. The flavour, bready at first, turned dry as I sipped. Throughout there were copper notes.

My first taste of Godspeed's brew, Momiji left me thirsty to try more. It is a pretty well-made beverage, with some nuance, in a session-friendly format.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

North Country Kellerbier

Yet another new light on the Ontario craft brewing horizon is Boshkung Brewing Co., an outfit operating out of Minden Hills. The first I heard of Boshkung was when I spotted a 473mL can of their North Country Kellerbier on the shelf at my favourite beer vendor. At 5%, this cellared ale meets the average in terms of strength. My beer poured a swampy orange-brown hue, with a modest cap of off-white head.

North Country had a grainy and slightly floral scent. I found it to be a malt focused ale, and one that closed out with a degree of caramel and bready elements.

According to my can of North Country, Boshkung is "a small batch Brewery focused on cottage living, local fare and great tasting beer"--sounds like a nice life if you can afford it. Their mellow kellerbier was definitely a laid back effort, though, and one I quite enjoyed. It was a tad too sweet and lacked the hops push I was pulling for, but it was a thoughtful little ale with a complex flavour: one I'll buy again.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Smithavens' Kellerbier

Smithavens Brewing Company, a new-to-me Ontario brewer, works its magic in Peterborough. I spotted a 500mL bottle of Smithavens' Kellerbier recently, and it took little convincing to give the bottle-conditioned, 5.2% alcohol lager a go.

Upon my initial pour, the pale golden lager had a look that wasn't exactly clear, but very close. By the time I reached the bottom of my bottle, this had converted into a cloudy dull gold, owing to the stirring up of yeast in the bottom of the bottle. It was amply carbonated and bore a sudsy white head. The Kellerbier had a very grainy scent, fresh and with a subtly bitter turn. The flavour kicked off with some sweet malt and grain elements, before shifting into a dry, bitter finish. According to the label, this lager contained a mere 20 IBUs, but I'd have pegged that number considerably higher, given Kellerbier's arid and hoppy finish.

This Peterbourian beer tastes like a sudsy treat from the Czech Republic or Germany, rather than one that hails from central Ontario. I found it to be nicely balanced and I was able to come up with very few negatives, making this beer a real winner. I'm now extremely curious to check out other offerings from Smithavens--a trip to Peterborough may even be in the offing.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Summer Storm Lager

From the windbag of names that is Uxbridge-Thornbury-Nobleton, Ontario comes Summer Storm Lager. This bottom-fermenting brew comes from the Barn Door Brewing Co. It's sold in 500mL bottles and contains just 4.8% alcohol. According to the label, this brew is lagered in the Kellerbier style.

I got it half right when I downed this beer. It wasn't summer, but there was a a rain storm going on (or at least it was raining a bit). It was a slightly hazy dull gold beer that poured with a decent topping of eggshell head. For a pale beer, this stuff had an assertively hoppy nose. It's still plenty grainy, but promised ample IBUs. The flavour had a nice balance between cereal and bitterness. There was a malt to hops progression with a fairly dry finish, with a pilsner-esque vibe.

In all, Summer Storm was a fine lager. There was a metallic note that I found was struck a bit too squarely, and there could have been a bit more booze, but this stuff amounted to a nice Ontario lager.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Creemore Springs-Kellerbier

The Creemore Springs Brewery of Creemore, Ontario makes a handsome, slightly cloudy sunburst orange brew known as Kellerbier.  Sold in 473mL cans and weighing in at 5% alcohol, the Kellerbier displays moderate carbonation and a generous cream head.

The Creemore Kellerbier was a tricky beer for me to review because it's not a style that I've got much familiarity with.  In fact, this is the only kellerbier I've ever tried.  This makes contextual rating a challenge.  According to the brief history lesson on the can, kellerbiers have a centuries old history in Germany.  They are unfiltered, resulting in cloudiness and are meant to be flavourful and refreshing.  These are the basic criteria that I'll use for my review.

The Kellerbier features a big hop aroma balanced against mellow caramel notes.  It's really a great smelling beer.  The flavour carries a lot of hop bitterness at the front end, giving way gradually to a zesty citrus aftertaste.

Based on the simple criteria of cloudiness, flavour and refreshment, the Creemore Kellerbier performs well.  It has a tangy, engaging flavour.  Though it isn't exactly what I would call refreshing, it is an interesting brew--one that leaves me eager to further explore the kellerbier category.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.