Aventinus Doppelbock and Eisbock

Last week I reviewed Ayinger’s Celebrator, a doppelbock which fits the wintry weather quite nicely. This week I decided to step it up a notch, and go with an eisenbock. To get a good comparison between the two styles, I picked up both the Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock and the Aventinus Eisenbock from Schneider Weisse brewery.

Bocks as a family of beers are typically dark and malty, with very little in the way of hop bitterness or aroma. The doppelbock is the highest original gravity member of this family, but the eisenbock throws a curveball into the mix; it utilizes freeze distilling. This process is actually more common than might be expected, as it is used to concentrate Bud Ice and Natural Ice. For all it dubious current usage, however, the eisenbock style can provide an even richer, maltier beer, so it’s worth trying.

Schneider Weisse is currently the operator of the oldest wheat beer brewery in Bavaria. The company was founded in 1872 when Georg I. Schneider received the rights to wheat beer production from King Ludwig II. The company rapidly expanded, reviving the dying wheat beer tradition in Germany and purchasing several more wheat beer breweries in Munich, Straubing and Kelheim. The brewery was destroyed during the second world war, but the company rebuilt and continues to be a family business to this day, operated by Georg VI Schneider. It is worth noting that most doppelbocks and eisenbocks are lagers, while both Aventinus beers are ales due to the largely wheat base used.

The Weizen Doppelbock poured a deep, hazy golden copper color. The head was off-white and a quite massive. The texture of the head was quite fine, and also had fairly good lacing. The aroma was quite strong, and lasted for a lot longer than on many other beer styles. The main aroma was of a dark wheat maltiness, but was mixed with some bitter, tart and tangy aromas as well as a slight yeastiness. The taste was a giant, slightly toasted maltiness, which actually reminded me of fresh pumpernickel bread. There was, however, an unexpected tartness to the beer, like a granny smith apple; this wasn’t overly strong, but was definitely there and a bit unexpected. The mouthfeel was quite creamy, assisted by the moderately low carbonation, and the body was moderately heavy, lingering for a bit after each swallow.

The Eisenbock actually had some distinctly different notes from the doppelbock. The color was still the same hazy gold, although much darker than the doppelbock. The head was much darker, smaller and courser than the doppelbock’s, and dissipated quickly with only small amounts of lacing. This head behavior isn’t particularly surprising, given the high alcohol content of the beer. The aroma had some elements of plum, which is to style but was missing from the doppelbock, but also had more spiciness and some roasted notes which quicly dissipated to reveal a hint of chocolate. The carbonation was higher in the eisenbock, but the body was thicker too which led to an almost cloying mouthfeel. The beginning of the taste was surprisingly spicy, which was assisted by some hot, fusel alcohols, which is not unexpected in this style. After the spicy hit, the taste consists of a big, surprisingly dry and complex maltiness; the biggest difference I noticed in the taste was the lack of any of the green apple tartness that I noticed in the doppelbock.

The Aventinus Eisenbock proved to be exactly as expected; a stronger, more concentrated version of the Weizen Doppelbock. I tried paring both beers with toasted miche and cheddar cheese, which worked quite well as the toasted bread complemented the malt while the sharp cheese provided a nice contrast. I also tried a granny smith apple with these, but that did not work very well; it just served to highlight the green apple character I picked up in the doppelbock. Both of these beers were quite good, and I’d recommend trying them if you don’t like bitter beers, or if you really like good bread.

Doppelbock / Eisenbock

Price: $5.99 / %7.99

Size:500mL / 330 mL

ABV: 8.2% / 12%

Appearance: 4.5/4 /5

Aroma: 4/4/5

Flavor: 3.5/4/5

Mouthfeel: 4/4/5

Ayinger Brewery Celebrator

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