Mahr's Brau Kellerbier

Last year was the first time I unknowingly had a Kellerbier. Part of the problem is not a lot of breweries make one. Sierra Nevada has come the closest to mainstream kellers with their Kellerweis, but unfortunately it’s not a kellerbier, it’s a hoppy hefeweizen.

So the first Kellerbier I got to try? Sam Adams Alpine Spring, which is already on the shelves again this year, was unknowing to me, a Keller. I honestly had no idea what the hell a kellerbier was.

So, what is a Kellerbier? It translates literally to "cellar beer," and it’s most likely been brewed since the Middle Ages. It’s an unfiltered lager, usually brewed with more aromatic hops than the typical German lager and can be all over the map when it comes to alcohol, but they’re often brewed to an Okoberfestbier strength of about 5 to 5.5% alcohol by volume. So there, that’s a Kellerbier. But Sam Adams wasn’t gonna do it for me, I wanted something from beautiful Germany itself, so here’s my quick review of Mahr’s Brau Kellerbier.

Mahr's Kellerbier, eloquently named Ungespundet-hefetrüb, pours a beautiful cloudy amber with an excellent head that holds for only a few seconds. The hops have a sweet floral smell that have an apricot quality to them. The taste on the tongue is a lightly toasted malt with low carbonation making it so easy to drink, almost a little creamy with just a hint of bitterness from the hops, just an unbelievably delicious beer.