We are beyond thrilled to announce that The Beer Connoisseur, a nationally-distributed beer magazine, featured three KC Bier Co. biers on its list of the Top 100 Beers of 2018. The featured biers include Festbier at #10, with a “World Class” 96 rating; Helles Lager at #55, with an “Exceptional” 94 rating; and Hefeweizen at #88, with an “Exceptional” 93 rating. Follow the links below to read the reviews of each bier and the Q&A features with KC Bier Co. head brewer Karlton Graham.
Festbier also enjoyed a “Judge’s Second Opinion” review for landing in the #10 slot:
KC Bier Co. of Kansas City, Missouri has gone to exhausting efforts to bring us their quality Vienna-style Festbier. Vienna Lager was the original bottom-fermenting beer first introduced by Austrian Anton Dreher in 1840/1841 after a lengthy study tour of breweries throughout Germany and England.
Traditional German Pilsner and Vienna malts utilized here create a base that marries nicely with German noble hops and a special Bavarian monastic yeast strain that rounds out the flavor profile. The labor-intensive brewing technique of decoction mashing, which is seldom used in modern brewing, is not spared here and makes a strong presence via the complex and engaging malt character.
The final steps to brewing this beer include a six-week lagering period followed by a natural conditioning process that cuts down on the beer’s carbonic bite and smooths out the mouthfeel considerably.
It should also be noted that this beer adheres strictly to the Reinheitsgebot (The German beer purity law of 1516), which further maintains the style’s originality and KC Bier Co.’s credibility.
Considering the care and effort in creating this traditional example of the Vienna Lager style, it is of little wonder that the end result was a beer of high quality and one that would have made its creator Anton Dreher proud.
This is a beer style that has stood the trials of time for more than 178 years and credit should be given to the brewer in helping to preserve it and present it in its original form to the twenty-first century.
– James Link
We’re honored to be in such great company and are proud of the results that come from brewing with 100% imported German malt, hops and yeast, and using traditional and time-consuming production methods. Thanks to all of our fans and supporters, and here’s to 2019 — a great year for bier!
