Nine Otway brewers created a local German-style beer last week just in time for the biggest beer festival of all – Oktoberfest.
The local craft-beer makers gathered at Otway Estate to brew the new “kellerbier”.
Kellerbier, literally “cellar beer”, ranks among the most popular German summer beer garden brews in Franconia, its region of origin in north-eastern Bavaria.
“We chose to make a traditional German-style kellerbier with an Australian twist,” said local brewer Luke Scott.
“We used Helga hops in our recipe which were developed in Australia from a German cultivar, and have been grown in Tasmania.”
Mr Scott said a craft brewery supplier donated malt for the project and passed on an original recipe from the Weyermann family in Germany.
“We feel pretty honoured to have been given a traditional recipe from such a well-respected family within the brewing industry.”
The kellerbier will be on tap at an Otway Oktoberfest, with a number of other craft beers and ciders from the Otways and surrounding regions.
Otway Oktoberfest will also offer a $500-plus prize pool for its home brewing competition.
