Beer Advent Calendar - December 6th
I opened today’s advent door and was giddy with excitement. I love a good eisbock or doppelbock. It's time to see if this beer can reach full awesomeness and match my excitement.
Kartäuser Doppelbock Dunkel
You can probably tell I'm a fan of bock style beers, and doppelbocks are known to pack an extra punch. I couldn’t wait to sample today’s present. Amusingly, the beer poured a nice color nearly identical to the can. It built a nice head that stayed around for a short while, leaving behind a moderate carbonation.
The flavors show up in full, glorious bock fashion. Rich, sweet, biscuit, caramel malts accompanied by dark chocolate tannins. Subtle hints of maple syrup, molasses, or clove can be detected. The 7.5% alcohol by volume (which I’m guessing will be highest in the series) provides a warming effect to the flavor profile.
Tame, earthy hops round out the malts with body on the finish; a finish that lingers and is a perfect balance of sweet and mild bitterness. The changing flavors while the beer hangs on your palate is like the long finish of a red wine.
This one hit all the right notes for me and takes top honors in the series so far.
Memmingen, Germany
The Memminger Brauerei obtained its current identity in 1998, but has a history filled with ups and downs, mergers and splits. Currently one of the 100 largest breweries in Germany, it all started when three local brewers merged in 1911. This happened when 21 breweries and 35 taverns existed in Memmingen; this new merger, known as Bürgerliches Brauhaus, became the local superpower.
In the almost 90 years between 1911 and 1998, the company would take over and merge with several other breweries. Two world wars were difficult on sales and production, then the deaths of a couple prominent company leaders caused significant struggles over the years.
In 1997, conflicting opinions and a falling out between owners caused a widely publicized feud. The re-branding in 1998 was part of the repair process and Memminger Brauerei returned to success. From 2008 to 2010 they submitted many of their brews to one of the world’s most strict beer critics. In those three years they received 24 gold medals, regaining the status of being one of Gemany’s most awarded breweries.
Memmingen marktplatz at Rathaus (town hall)
Beer photographs by me. Pictures of Germany sources: 1 - 2 - 3
Love the historical backstory of these smaller breweries. Once again, I've never seen this Kartäuser in the stores, so I doubt I'll get a chance to try it, but it certainly looks good.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to enjoy any of these again either, save maybe one. I looked at a local store with a large selection of imports and recognized just one brewer from this series.
This one would be worth a repeat, but at least I got to enjoy it once. What is it they say? "Tis better to have loved and lost..."
It's amazing how many good beers there are out there I will never try. My window of beer that I will buy and drink is what...100 different brews? It'd be rare that I'd go outside that and try something completely random, so the advent calendar, if nothing else, gives you something you will never drink again.