Colorado Kitchen Brew

Kellerbier, which translates Cellar Beer, is a style that doesn't get a lot of press. It's is an unfiltered lager that is served young rather than after a long maturation period. Fermentation can be as short as one month from brew day to glass, and the beer is often not lagered. None of the breweries near me brew one, and commercial examples are hard to come by. So why not brew your own? Another style that I haven't seen locally is Franconian Rotbier, or Red Beer. So why not brew one of those as well?  Since it's Summer, and knowing that my Immersion Pro unfortunately can't get cold enough to lager this time of year anyway, I've decided to combine the two styles into one.  The resulting beer is probably closest to what would be considered an Amber Kellerbier. However, it should have a mild sweetness that a "stylistically correct" Kellerbier wouldn't traditionally have. Thankfully, I have no intention of entering a competition with this, so I won...

Thanks to a gift from my wife, I'm finally able to lager beer.  Not being able to lager has meant that the closest I've ever gotten to making one has been to use the Anchor Steam yeast to make pseudo-lagers. With my new toy, that has finally changed. I brewed this beer back in January, figuring that would be the perfect time to make a Maibock for Spring. After primary fermentation, I'll be giving my beer 7 weeks for the lager yeast to do its thing. I'm very excited to see how this turns out. The five gallon brew is below. Grains: 6.5lbs Weyermann Pilsner 3.5lbs Briess Pilsen 2.5lbs Weyermann Light Munich Hops:  0.5oz Magnum (14.7% a.a.): 60 min 1oz Hallertauer (4.4% a.a.): 30 min Total Boil Time: 120 min Yeast: White Labs WLP833 - German Bock Lager 64oz Starter Hochkurz Double Decoction Mash Schedule: Maltose Rest: 144F for 30 min Decoction 1:      Heat 12 cups of thick mash to 162F and hold for 15 min      Heat Decoction to boiling and ...