Everyone knows Samuel Adams Boston Lager. You’ve seen the commercials with Jim Koch examining the hops he puts in the beer. You’ve heard the slogan and indeed, Boston Lager is a world class brew. Thanks to Koch’s success, even places with otherwise pathetic beer selections usually have Sam Adams available, so those of us who love flavorful beer always have something to fall back on when we’re at a restaurant with no IPAs or Belgian pale ales.
But one Sam Adams brew unheard of in Alabama under the tyranny of the old 6% ABV limit is Double Bock. Thankfully, now you can find it in dozens of retailers in the Birmingham area. The technical style name for this beer is “doppelbock,” as it originated in Germany, a country famous for producing the finest lagers in the world. A bock is a malty brown lager of average strength, so not surprisingly a double bock is a higher-alcohol version (albeit not actually twice as strong).
Double Bock pours up a beautiful ruby brown. The first sip delivers a sweet rush of malty caramel with essentially no hop presence, a trademark of the style. On the finish you’ll catch a little heat from the robust 9.5% alcohol content, but nothing harsh. It’s thick, rich, and a bit of a dessert beer. If you haven’t quite jumped on board the hops train, this beer’s for you. Nearly all the flavor comes from grain; this style deserves credit as one of the inspirations for beer’s “liquid bread” nickname.
A properly-brewed doppelbock requires a monster of a brewing technique called a triple decoction mash — a long and labor-intensive process that very few beers undergo. Many craft beers are brewed using a one hour mash held at a single temperature. A triple decoction mash takes about three hours during which the beer is held at three different temperatures, with a portion of the grain being boiled to raise the temperature at three points during the process. Nothing creates as intense of a malty profile as a triple decoction.
My purpose in mentioning the brewing technique is to give you a sense of where this beer comes from. It is a regal brew with some unique complexities derived from the decoction mash, and appreciating the complexity requires slow sipping. With beer the most important aspect in the flavor is the brewer’s skill in combining the right ingredients and applying the right processes to achieve his desired result. The arduous and complicated brewing technique required to create Double Bock is a good illustration of this fact.
As usual, this one goes well with food (or it can be a dessert unto itself). Try pairing Double Bock with a roasted pork loin or chocolate cheesecake.
Hopped Up is a weekly brew review by Danner Kline, founder of Free the Hops and co-organizer of the annual Magic City Brewfest. Send your feedback to danner@freethehops.org
But one Sam Adams brew unheard of in Alabama under the tyranny of the old 6% ABV limit is Double Bock. Thankfully, now you can find it in dozens of retailers in the Birmingham area. The technical style name for this beer is “doppelbock,” as it originated in Germany, a country famous for producing the finest lagers in the world. A bock is a malty brown lager of average strength, so not surprisingly a double bock is a higher-alcohol version (albeit not actually twice as strong).
Double Bock pours up a beautiful ruby brown. The first sip delivers a sweet rush of malty caramel with essentially no hop presence, a trademark of the style. On the finish you’ll catch a little heat from the robust 9.5% alcohol content, but nothing harsh. It’s thick, rich, and a bit of a dessert beer. If you haven’t quite jumped on board the hops train, this beer’s for you. Nearly all the flavor comes from grain; this style deserves credit as one of the inspirations for beer’s “liquid bread” nickname.
A properly-brewed doppelbock requires a monster of a brewing technique called a triple decoction mash — a long and labor-intensive process that very few beers undergo. Many craft beers are brewed using a one hour mash held at a single temperature. A triple decoction mash takes about three hours during which the beer is held at three different temperatures, with a portion of the grain being boiled to raise the temperature at three points during the process. Nothing creates as intense of a malty profile as a triple decoction.My purpose in mentioning the brewing technique is to give you a sense of where this beer comes from. It is a regal brew with some unique complexities derived from the decoction mash, and appreciating the complexity requires slow sipping. With beer the most important aspect in the flavor is the brewer’s skill in combining the right ingredients and applying the right processes to achieve his desired result. The arduous and complicated brewing technique required to create Double Bock is a good illustration of this fact.
As usual, this one goes well with food (or it can be a dessert unto itself). Try pairing Double Bock with a roasted pork loin or chocolate cheesecake.
Hopped Up is a weekly brew review by Danner Kline, founder of Free the Hops and co-organizer of the annual Magic City Brewfest. Send your feedback to danner@freethehops.org
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