We’re excited to announce the full list of bier to be featured at our upcoming 5th Anniversary Bier Festival, which is set for Saturday, Feb. 16, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in our brewery and bottling hall. (FAQs and other event details can be found here.)
Featured biers include unique styles brewed by each KC Bier Co. brewer of his/her choosing, in addition to high-alcohol and barrel-aged varieties, vertical tastings of Winterbock and a few other special varieties and seasonal biers we’ve been reserving just for the occasion.
This your opportunity to taste samples of our traditional German-style bier as well as our non-Reinheitsgebot-compliant bier. So, without further ado, here’s the list:
KC Bier Co. Brewer Series
Träger: Baltic Porter (Brewed by Chad Crawford)
Our version of a Baltic Porter. This is a dark lager bier with a surprisingly smooth malty character to go along with a slight roasty chocolate background. (5.90% ABV / 30 IBU)
Lolli Lager: American-Style Pale Lager (Brewed by Chris Blevins)
An easy-drinking pale lager modeled after Chris’ wife’s favorite beer: Coors Light. (4.25% ABV / 15 IBU)
Hasselhoff: German-Style New England IPA (Brewed by Elizabeth Belden)
The world’s first German-style version of the über popular New England/Hazy/Juicy IPA that has gained widespread notoriety in the craft beer world. (6.0% ABV / 30 IBU)
Märzen Rauchbier: Smoked Amber Lager (Brewed by Cody Wente)
Brewed with a portion of smoked malt to impart a slight smoky flavor, this bier is more balanced and drinkable than the intense versions served in Germany. (5.80% ABV / 35 IBU)
Altbier: Düsseldorf-Style Ale (Brewed by Chris “Hambone” Hamm)
The traditional bier that has been brewed in the city of Düsseldorf for centuries. “Alt” in German translates to “old.” While it’s an older style, this bier is fresh. It’s a drier ale that pairs esters from an ale yeast strain with a noble hop bitterness. (4.70% / 55 IBU)
Farmbock: Doppelbock-Style Farmhouse Ale (Brewed by Karlton Graham)
A high-octane version of our popular summer seasonal, Der Bauer. It’s the same recipe, brewed to a much higher gravity and dry hopped even more aggressively. (12.0% ABV / 42 IBU)
Schwarzbier: Black Lager (Brewed by Cody Wente)
Germany’s darkest bier (schwarz means black in German). It’s drier and more bitter when compared to Dunkel, with malt flavors of coffee and chocolate. Often referred to as the “German stout.” (5.20% ABV / 26 IBU)
Laurel Rose: Brandy Barrel-Aged Apple Cider (Brewed by Karlton Graham)
Our traditional Apfel Cider (Apple Cider), aged for four months in a freshly dumped brandy barrel, which adds notes of booze and oak to the dry apple flavors. (6.75% ABV / 0 IBU)
Barrel-Aged Bier
Bourbon Barrel Dunkelbock: Dark Doppelbock Lager Aged in Bourbon Barrels
A double-strength version of Dunkel, our most popular year-round bier. Rich malt flavors of chocolate and coffee with notes of anise and raisin, with boozy character from aging in bourbon barrels. (10% ABV / 25 IBU)
Bourbon Barrel Über-Fest: Amber Doppelbock Lager Aged in Bourbon Barrels
A higher ABV variation on our Festbier recipe, but it’s not a barrel-aged Vienna-Style lager. The higher starting gravity of this bier is what classifies it as a doppelbock. It’s more full-bodied and maltier than Festbier, smooth and clean with rich biscuit malt flavors and boozy sweetness. (10% ABV / 25 IBU)
Oak-Aged Winterbock: Dark Doppelbock Lager Aged on Oak Staves
Imagine the rich malt flavors of chocolate, coffee and caramel of our traditional Winterbock seasonal, with a noticeable vanilla-like boost of flavor from aging on oak staves. (8.25% ABV / 24 IBU)
Whiskey Barrel-Aged Doppelbock: Amber Doppelbock Lager Aged in Whiskey Barrels
Our traditional doppelbock aged in whiskey barrels, which adds notes of booze, oak and vanilla to the malt flavors of caramel, molasses and toasted bread. (7.0% ABV / 24 IBU)
Winterbock Vertical
2016 Winterbock: Dark Doppelbock Lager
Dark, full-bodied lager with rich malt flavors of chocolate, coffee and a hint of caramel, with low bitterness and a smooth finish. Aged two years!
2017 Winterbock: Dark Doppelbock Lager
Dark, full-bodied lager with rich malt flavors of chocolate, coffee and a hint of caramel, with low bitterness and a smooth finish. Aged one year!
2018 Winterbock: Dark Doppelbock Lager
Dark, full-bodied lager with rich malt flavors of chocolate, coffee and a hint of caramel, with low bitterness and a smooth finish. Fresh!
Seasonal / Spezial
Festbier: Vienna-Style Lager (fall seasonal)
Crisp and clean with biscuit, caramel and honey malt flavors. The official bier of our KC Oktoberfest — save the date for Oct. 4-5, 2019! (5.50% ABV / 25 IBU)
Der Bauer: Dry-Hopped Farmhouse Ale (summer seasonal)
German-style interpretation of a traditional Belgian or French saison. Dry, crisp and effervescent with fruity esters, rustic yeast notes and citrus hop aromas. (7.75% ABV / 37 IBU)
Mai-O-Maibock: Amber Doppelbock Lager
The same recipe as our traditional Maibock, but in the doppelbock classification per German standards due to higher gravity. A portion of the wort is concentrated to create a much higher alcohol content — yet it retains the same drinkable balance as the base bier. Look for this in bottles in the Bierhalle in March! (10% ABV / 25 IBU)
Blessed Doppelbock: Amber Doppelbock Lager
Rich, smooth and full-bodied with malt flavors of caramel, molasses and toasted bread. Known in Germany as “liquid bread.” Why is it called “Blessed?” Click here to read more about this unique German tradition. (7.0% ABV / 24 IBU
Kingdom Lager: Red Lager
A crisp, clean, malty red lager modeled after the Rot Bier (Red Bier) of Nuremburg, Germany. (5.0% ABV / 23 IBU)
Hop Schlagen: Dry-Hopped Lager
An amber-colored, high ABV bier heavily dry-hopped with Mosaic, our favorite non-German hop variety. (10.0% ABV / 25 IBU)
Sauer-Weisse: Berliner-Style Sour Wheat Ale
The traditional sour wheat ale of Berlin. Napoleon’s forces named this pale, dry and especially tart style of bier the “Champagne of the North” because its effervescent character was like the sparkling wine of their homeland. (4.80% ABV / 9 IBU)
Rot Rauch Roggen: Smoked Rye Lager
A red lager with balance of malty sweetness, spicy rye malt flavor and a touch of smoked aroma and flavor from smoked malt. (6.75% ABV / 26 IBU)
Weizenbock: Pale Doppelbock Wheat Ale
Pale and hazy doppelbock-style version of our traditional Hefeweizen with soft, bready malt character and complex aromas of banana, clove and vanilla. A silver medal winner in the German Wheat category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. (7.25% ABV / 18 IBU)
