Kellerbier 2026

Today I'm brewing my Kellerbier recipe. The 2021 BJCP Guidelines describe this style as follows:

An unfiltered, unpasteurized, fully-attenuated German lager traditionally served from lagering vessels. May be a little richer, more robust, and rustic than the base styles. A fresh beer without fermentation defects associated with young, green (unfinished) beer.

Since the BJCP Guidelines require the base style be declared, I'd describe this one as a German Pils Kellerbier. I originally started brewing this beer because I enjoyed Granary Kellerbier from TF Brewing so much. Granary Kellerbier has won a ton of medals over the years and I usually order at least one every time I go to TF (admittedly this is less often since moving to Florida). This version has a few changes compared to previous batches. First, I'm trying out LalBrew NovaLager™ for this round. Lallemand describe Nova Lager as follows:

LalBrew NovaLager™ is a true bottom-fermenting Saccharomyces pastorianus hybrid from the novel Group III lineage that has been selected to produce clean lager beers with distinct flavor characteristics and superior fermentation performance. LalBrew NovaLager™ is a robust lager strain with ideal characteristics for lager beer production including fast fermentations and high attenuation. The distinct flavor profile is very clean, slight esters over a wide temperature range. LalBrew NovaLager™ was selected using classical and non-GMO breeding methods to obtain a novel Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces eubayanus hybrid strain that defines a novel Group III lager lineage that is distinct from any other traditional Saccharomyces pastorianus strains. This strain is a low VDK/diacetyl producer and utilizes patented technology from the University of California Davis (USA) that inhibits the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) off-flavors, therefore reducing the maturation time associated with lager beer production.

• Attenuation: 78-84%
• Fermentation Temp Range: 10 - 20°C (50 - 68°F)

I think this will be a great style to try out this yeast and it'll be interesting to see how different the results are compared to some of the other yeast I've used like Imperial L17 Harvest and Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager. I'm targeting 50F for my fermentation temp, but it is getting warmer here in Florida and I may have a hard time holding 50F...time will tell. I should be able to get wort temps to the low 50s relatively easily. I usually let trub settle for at least 15 minutes after shutting off my whirlpool. I may need to skip that to prevent the wort from warming back up.  

Another change, I don't have Root Shoot malt on hand any longer, so I'll be using Rahr North Star Pils for this batch. I've used this malt before and have had great results, so I'm not too concerned. 

Lastly, I'm also going to skip doing a decoction mash and instead try a step mash with a little bit of Melanoidin malt. Previously I've employed a single decoction mash, but with my 220v RIMS system I'm able to increase temps rather quickly and I wasn't positive that I was picking up a ton of complexity employing a single decoction anyway. This will make for a much less complex brew day.

Target OG: 1.051
Target FG: 1.010
IBU: 30
ABV: 5.1%

8.00# Rahr North Star Pils
0.25# Weyermann Munich I
0.25# Weyermann Melanoidin malt
20g Hallertauer Mittelfruh 3.2%AA (FWH)
14g Aramis 7.4%AA (60 min)
24g Aramis 7.4%AA (0 min)

1g BrewTan B (Mash)
Whirlfloc (Flameout)
Wyeast Nutrient (10 min)
4.66g BCAA (10 min)
Zinc Buddy
LalBrew NovaLager™

Step Mash
Mash in at 145°F and hold for 30 minutes.
Increase Mash temp to 159°F, hold for 20 minutes.
Mashout at 168F.
90 minute boil, ferment at 50°F

Water Profile

Target Water Profile
Ca	Mg	Na	SO4	Cl	HCO3
22	8	0	31	39	0

To 11 gallons of RO/Distilled water, add:

• 3.3g Epsom Salts
• 3.3g Calcium Chloride

Session Readings
Equipment used	10 gal MT
Strike water volume	4.25 gal
Strike water temp	156.4 °F
Mash thickness	2 qt/lbs
Beginning mash pH	5.27
Ending mash pH	4.98
1st running gravity	13.9 (1.055)
Volume into BK	7 gal
Pre-Boil gravity	9.4 (1.036)
Pre-Boil pH	5.34
Post-Boil gravity	13.3 (1.052)
Post-Boil pH	5.39
Aeration	0.5 l/min for 2 min
Post ferm gravity	TBD (1.0)
Post ferm pH	TBD (1.0)

Brewing Notes

Initial mash pH measured 5.59. I added 2ml of phosphoric acid, waited about 5 min, then re-measured and the pH had settled at 5.27. I programmed a new "German Step" profile into my BCS-460 and it worked awesome. I didn't set a stopwatch, but rise time was pretty short; I've said it before and I'll say it again, brewing on a 240v RIMS is pretty awesome. 

No major issues with this batch. I was able to chill down to about 52.5F, so hopefully my ferm fridge will be able to take it down to 50F. If not, I'll start fermentation at 52F. Even though this yeast is supposed to produce low diacetyl, I still plan to bump up the temps a bit when gravity is around 1.018 as measured on the Tilt. That's my standard approach for lagers and I believe it helps ensure any fermentation byproducts get cleaned up.