brew dog blog

Magical things happen in Chico, California –  It’s been proven, and many beer devotees make the pilgrimage every year to witness in person the massive amounts of alchemy which take place on the sacred grounds at Sierra Nevada’s brewery.  Though I haven’t ventured on the road west yet to sup of the wares in the temple itself, I do pursue their beers whenever I can.  A party for t-bone’s birthday led us to Pacific Standard, a bar I’ve been meaning to get to, and I’m glad I had the chance to hang out for a few rounds. More about that later, perhaps, but now back to the revelation at hand.

Double DeBockEl is one of the many “specialty” Sierra Nevada beers which I’ve had the good luck to try in the past couple months.  Besides obsessing about the quality of their beers, I’ve been trying to get deeper into German Lagers, so a Dopplebock from Chico seemed like a very safe bet.  I had no idea what to expect when I ordered a pint, but was immediately surprised by the light almost amber color of the ber.  I had known beers of the style to be a bit darker, but there was definitely a depth of color that kept the beer very attractive.

Overall the beer poured a lot like most Sierra Nevada Ales, and the awesome hop nose told me right away that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary Doppelbock.  I had no idea at the time of drinking it that this was a 9%+ ABV beer, as it was so amazingly crisp and drinkable.  The classic Sierra Nevada west coast hop nose gave way to a full, rich, malty range of flavors in the first sip.  I kept drinking and thinking about this beer, which upon closer inspection started malty and fruity but ended bitter and crisp, a perfect hybrid of a dark, rich Doppelbock and a crisp Sierra Nevada ale.  Man, I hope this gets bottled because I want a ton of them to have around!   Another incredible vision conjured by the mystics in Chico — what will they think of next?