The recent wintery weather has sent me back to an old beer style, the Doppelbock. Doppelbocks are one of the stronger members of the Bock family of dark German beers. There are various stories of how the name Bock originated, but regardless of this the word “bock” can be translated as “billy goat”; consequently many bock labels prominently feature a goat as a bit of an open joke. This week’s beer, Celebrator, goes so far as to have a small plastic goat figurine hung around the neck.
Bocks as a style group are strong, rich malty lagers, which are typically served during special occasions. Doppelbocks are a Bavarian tradition stemming from the monks of St. Francis of Paula, who first brewed the style for consumption during their fast at Lent. The beer was originally even sweeter than modern versions, providing the sustenance the monks needed and earning the style the nickname “liquid bread.”
Celebrator is produced by Ayinger Brewery in Germany. Ayinger is a mid-sized brewery located in the town of Aying about fifteen miles outside of Munich, producing about three million gallons per year. Unfortunately for us, only about ten percent of that product is exported outside of Germany. The brewery has won numerous awards over the years, and this beer in particular was the highest rated Doppelbock at the 2007 World Beer Championships.
The proper glassware for this beer is a mug, although I used a tulip to concentrate the aroma a bit. I paired it with some Collier’s Welsh cheddar (very sharp), a pear and Metropolitan Bakery’s Country Miche. A miche is a form of French sourdough multigrain country bread, and this one had slightly charred character to the crust. The pear was, unsurprisingly, significantly sweeter than the beer, and the sharp cheddar provided a nice, salty counterpoint to the dark sweetness of the beer. Overall, all four elements worked quite well together. I’d also recommend some other strong cheeses like brie (or perhaps a goat cheese?) and a dark meat like a pot roast or turkey leg meat.
Celebrator poured black, although when held up to the light it was quite clear with deep red highlights. One finger of dark brown head formed, with an overall fine texture interspersed with some quite large bubbles. Head retention was quite poor, with the head virtually disappearing after two or three minutes, although a surprising amount of lacing was left. The scent was quite complex, having some dark, sweet notes like plum, however there was a surprising amount of chocolate and roasted character blended with some caramel.
The mouthfeel was initially quite thin, although this appears to be due to the surprisingly low carbonation as it leaves a very thick, viscous texture in the mouth. The taste is quite a different combination from any other type of beer I have encountered. The dominant taste in this style is a big malty sweetness; this is not soda, high fructose corn syrup sweet like most of us Americans are used to, but is quite sweet for a non-refined food. Layered on top of the sweetness was an interesting blend of chocolate and coffee, which changed to a toasty character during the aftertaste. The toasted taste is a bit unusual for this style, being more characteristic of a porter, but I found it to be an interesting highlight in this beer.
Overall, this was a pretty good beer, and is highly recommended by others as an example of the doppelbock. I don’t remember the toasty character from the previous times I’ve had it, so I may have received a bad bottle, but that was the only characteristic that I found out of place. If you are looking for something very different from what you are used to, I’d recommend giving this beer a shot.
Price: $3.99
Size: 330 mL
ABV: 6.7%
Appearance: 4/5
Aroma: 4/5
Flavor: 4/5
Mouthfeel: 4.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment