#dopplebock

Put it in your GOB?

Decoction mashing is a technique often employed in Czech and German breweries. While mashing their grains, brewers draw off a portion of the hot wort and boil it in a separate chamber. Boiling breaks down the grains in the mash further and caramelized some of the sugar. When it is added back to the main wort, the beer takes on some color and flavor but it’s subtle. Decoction is what gives a Czech pilsner it’s darker gold color and adds depth to the malt flavor despite using only the lightest of malts.

What’s this? A Wildstar Grumpel! And not just any Grumpel; it’s Hobbson Dopplebock! 

Bock, Doppelbock, and Weizen

First up, a few doppelbocks from Oregon breweries. 

Heater Allen’s Mediator is a straight interpretation of the German originals. It’s strong, dark, and malty. It has a nutty, toasted flavor. But it quickly goes from fresh pecan to burnt walnut, without enough sweetness to blunt the astringent finish. 

Gigantic, on the other hand, went for something a little more experimental. Kiss the Goat is a “black doppelbock,” it’s darker and more sweeter. It has the classic flavors of stout porter -- roasted grain, milk chocolate, pralines -- but the finish is ultra clean. Even at eight percent, a half liter goes down smooth.

Then we got into the weizenbocks, stronger versions of classic Bavarian hefeweizen. 

Weihenstephaner makes a weizenbock called Vitus, a strong, fruity wheat beer. The nose has a tablespoon of clove and a pinch of nutmeg and coriander. It’s spicey, but on the tongue a fruity flavor blooms. Bananas for sure. The body is bigger, oilier than a normal weizen and the bready malts are more cakelike. 

Aventinus is Schneider’s answer, a wheat doppelbock. It’s darker in color and flavor. The flavor is toastier with more pronounced banana flavor and a caramel sauce drizzle. There’s licorice spice note that reminds me of flat Dr. Pepper. Aventinus tastes like banana bread, or a slightly burnt banana cream pie. 

Bock and Barley 

The world classics are classic for a reason. Celebrator is one of the original dopplebocks. It’s dark and malty in a way that’s hard to describe. The usual descriptors are failing me. It’s not exactly chocolaty. It doesn’t taste like brown sugar or molasses. It’s not sweet enough. Is it bread? No. Is it a cookie? Not quite. Celebrator is only six and a half percent alcohol, so it’s not quite rich and boozy. It’s malty in the best way possible. 

Malt gets short shrift these days, especially here in the States. Any beer nerd can name a dozen hop varieties off the top of their head, but who can name a single species of barley? How was the grain malted? The only thing anyone notes is how dark the malt is, how well it turns to sugar, and then we move on to what you can add to it. 

This was all brought to my attention by Jeff at Beervana. He cites an article in Wired about breeding a better barley. The focus seems to be on converting starch to sugar, consistently, efficiently, and cheaply. But as Jeff pointed out, no one mentions flavor. 

In Europe, particularly among the traditional brewers, inefficient barleys are still prized specifically for their flavor. Maris Otter is an English variety that was nearly lost to the last better barley revolution. But small brewers kept it alive because they prefered the flavor. If you’ve ever enjoyed an English bitter, you’ve tasted Maris Otter. 

652  Grain Suave des Brasseurs Cueilleurs. 

Une dopplebock française sympathique, maltée et caramélisée.