Do you see lagers on cask?

I love Kellerbier but it is not the easiest style to find even in Germany especially if you are outside of Franconia. Here in America it is super rare but every now and again someone makes a point to import a Kellerbier and serve it cask style.

 

NERAX has had some UK lagers on cask in the past.

 

As a few people have mentioned, they're fairly common in parts of Europe. I usually have a few pints of gravity cask lager a week, there are several bars in town that serve from one of these casks once or twice a week.

 

Where did you buy that?

 

Not in NJ, unfortunately. I got it over the border in NY- a place called Cable Beverages, and they also stock the Schlenkerla ones from time to time.

 

Everytime I go visit the inlaws in Hamburg,NY my German father inlaw and I get that same Veldensteiner zwick'l minnie keg at Consumer's in Orchard Park.Just got one last month while up there,a very good smooth mellow beer.

 

Up in this area, not uncommon to see beer from Jacks Abby on cask (particularly Smoke & Dagger)...I think the chances are pretty slim generally because you tend to need a local/regional brewer who has pretty good demand/reputation and produces lagers in the US to find them around I'd suspect. And there just aren't tons of those around IMO.

 

I've seen some Aecht Schlenkerla wooden casks- Lenten Bier and Helles (I think)- show up on occasion. The regular Aecht would be a fun cask!

 

Heineken is the same thing right?

 

One of the main reasons I went to that last NERAX event was the fact that they had Mahr's Ungespundet on cask. I think it was the only beer there with a special tap time during the middle of the evening and it kicked in minutes...so fast I never got any. That says something...

 

I went to the edition held at Novare Res in Portland. (4th time.) They had over 25 kegs, but heard some Euro ones from Shelton Bros. got confiscated by Liquor Control so never got put up - noticed the hole in the menu under "European." Got this second-hand, so who knows - ongoing Shelton Shenanigans in ME wouldn't surprise me.

 

For one thing, Mahr's Ungespundet is the beer in the picture I posted above. It's generally considered to be one of -- if not the -- best Franconian Kellerbiers out there. Also many people believe that Kellerbier, with its low carbonation, high(ish) hopping, and rustic yeastiness, particularly benefits from being served on cask.

 

Small, intimate, multiple pouring stations spread out that you can open a tab at one, and anything you order from any of them is put on it - super well-run. Plus the staff is just awesome. And you can either buy, or rent a glass for the evening, as well as come & go as you please. A lot of good local casks, including some one-offs from Allagash.

 

Jesse,

You might be interested in reading the below post I made in a past thread on the topic of Cask Lagers.

Finding Kellerbiers in the US can be challenging.

A brewpub in the Philly area (with three locations) makes an excellent Kellerbier they call Aldstadt Lager. It is not a regular offering but they make it several times a year. This beer is an homage by one of their brewers to the beer he drank at Wagner Brau in Franconia. Since this is a brewpub offering this would be difficult for you to get.

Southampton makes a summer seasonal that they call Keller Pils. When they started making this beer (3 years ago?) the idea was they would change up the Noble hop that they use in making this beer. They have also changed up the malt bill as well. Below is something I wrote up in a beermail:

“I found the 2010 Southampton Keller Pils to be more similar to a Pilsner: golden in color and with a noticeable hop presence. The 2011 Southampton Keller Pils was more like a Franconian Kellerbier; amber in color with more bready/malty taste to it. I am a big fan of hoppy Pilsners so I enjoyed the 2010 version a bit more but I did appreciate the ‘balance’ that the 2011 version had. I look forward to trying the 2012 version to see what that tastes like.”

So, I had my first 2102 Southampton Keller Pils last night. It is very golden in color like a Pilsner (similar to the 2010 version). It has a subtle but noticeable hop aroma along with a grainy/bready aroma. The taste is grainy/bready with some hop flavor as well. This year’s version is the ‘best’ Keller Pils from a balance and integration of malts and hops. From my perspective this could very well be the ‘poster child’ for what a Keller Pils should be."

I have been able to find Mahr’s beers on cask in the past. They would serve this via gravity from firkins. The Mahr’s Ungespundet-hefetrüb is very tasty on cask.

I recently bought a bottle of Furst Wallerstein Zwickel at a Total Wine & More store. Below is something I wrote in a past thread:

So, I popped open my bottle of Furst Wallerstein Zwickel. It is a large bottle (500 ml) so I had to get my biggest beer glass for this. It poured a nice tawny color and it had the unmistakable smell of a Franconian Kellerbier; a very pleasant combination of bready malt, subtle hops and some ‘yeasty’ smell. I haven’t even taken a sip and I thought to myself: this is going to be very good. My first sip realized my expectation; this beer is very, very good. I could describe the taste/flavors in my own words but your words fit the bill appropriately:

“The aroma is both lightly bread-malty & lightly hoppy, so they were right on the aroma hops, probably Tettnanger, Hersbrücker or another noble hop. The taste is both malty and lightly noble-hoppy, nothing terribly wowing, but really, really easy to drink. There's no one flavor that overpowers, and they blend together very well! Also the mouthfeel is neither too thick or too thin, maybe exactly in the Goldilocks zone needed to make a very süffige (pleasant to drink, drinkable), creamy beer. Damn, I'm usually not a Pils fan, but this is maltier than a Pils and less hoppy than, too. But then again, the warmer it gets, the bitterer the aftertaste. I can really dig this beer.”

And I agree with others: The Brooklyn Gold Standard Export Kellerbier is indeed a very good beer. I was lucky to find it on draft at the end of the summer of 2012; I suspect it was one of the last kegs available.

Cheers!