Franconian Beer Message Board

Batch-Batch Variation, Kellerbier in a Bag, Barry!

Posted by Nick B. on 2010-09-20 02:17:27

I've noticed more this year at my regular Kellerbier haunts: Roppelt (Stiebarlimbach), Griess (Geisfeld), and Witzgall (Schlammersdorf). At Griess, perhaps less so than at the other two, I guess. Hop / malt balance has been fairly constant, though there've been a couple of times when the beer at the Keller (bayerischer Anstich) just wasn't as lively as normal. At Witzgall, the season started off with the beer being somewhat husky or grainy, but then most of the summer it was its excellent, hoppy, delicious self. Then last week, it seemed not as hoppy as usual, but bitter as usual. Yesterday though, it was back to its normal self again. And next Sunday will be the last day of the year at the Keller, regardless of whether the weather in October nice is or not. Roppelt's beer started the season off being quite husky, as if something with sparging/lautering went suboptimal. Also not as hoppy as usual. Then a loooong stretch of excellent, malty, hoppy, clean Kellerbier the way we expect it to be. And then in the last month, it's varied between excellent and husky/not hoppy again, with the latter being evident the last two weekends. Just some musings. Big news for me though: I had always assumed that Roppelt was poured from the big tank under the Kellerhaus with forced CO2. I always thought Franz was a genius for getting the CO2 pressure just so right, since the beer doesn't taste or feel as if it were under CO2. But then another regular told me it was air-driven, which I found impossible to believe. Franz showed me that his 1000L tank is in the cooler behind the tap counter (hate to call it the "bar"), and is indeed driven by air pressure. But not the way I'd imagined, rather, there's a 1000L plastic bag inside the tank, and a compressor drives pumps air into the tank, which compresses the bag and forces the beer out through the line to the tap. I failed to ask about how he conditions the beer before filling the bag, or the logistics of getting it in and out of the tank. And I've forgotten what he said this method of dispense is called. Questions for tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow. Barry, if you're reading this, I plan to lunch at Roppelt noonish - oneish, and then either stay there a while or head to Griess. If anyone here is in touch with Barry, please let him know for me. I sent him my sms number as requested by email, but never heard back from him: 0171 386 7248

Roppelt's giant "key keg" by Uncle Jimbo on 2010-09-20 10:15:02

Roppelt's giant key keg by Robbie Pickering on 2010-09-26 14:44:48