Les Trois Mousquetaires - Kellerbier

It says something when a brewery consistently impresses you with their hefty offerings, only to then turn around and offer up a world-class rendition of a kellerbier. This is one of those styles that we could imagine drinking endlessly. It’s also particularly hard to brew well. Here, you see the key pieces in perfect formation: a zesty and spicy noble hop character, a dry and toasty Pilsner malt core, and the smooth texture and soft doughiness of the lingering yeast.

A careful early pour yields a bright and clear golden color; significant white foam fills up the glass, leaving scattered lacing behind as it descends. The hop character is, again, of the noble sort, giving a light spiciness, suggesting Saaz. The cereal-like note of Pilsner malt proceeds in along with that heady doughiness of suspended yeast. Overall it’s bright, crisp, and engaging.

This tastes like a world-class German lager, and one ultimately somewhere between the spicy bitterness of a Pilsner and the round, careful maltiness of a helles. The presence of the yeast is sort of the conjoining point here. There’s that juicy herbaceous bitterness, coming through without a doubt, but it’s tempered by the toasty Pilsner malt and the doughy and almond-like notes from the yeast. There’s very little fruitiness present, and this seems to have been given a generous amount of time to lager. This is just a pleasure to drink: soft-edged and smooth.

Unlike some of the other beers here, the Les Trois Mousquetaires Kellerbier is best enjoyed immediately. The retained yeast will give this a bit of resilience in the bottle, but we wouldn’t advise pushing it beyond a cellared year. We expect this should pair especially well with fruit-forward desserts like blueberry cobbler or a stone-fruit pie. You can also try it alongside light and similarly subtle cheeses, such as fresh mozzarella or something soft like a Brillat-Savarin.