Doppelbock

I've seen bottles of Shiner's Commemorator floating around for what seems like an eternity, though it's probably only been a year. After the novelty of seeing a new beer on the shelves wore off I started to just tune this bottle out and I've overlooked it long enough. I've finally gotten around to the Commemorator and it's about time... Considering the popularity of Shiner Bock, I've got high hopes for this Doppelbock. You get the sense that this beer is a big deal for Shiner, as the name would indicate - it's commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Spoetzl Brewery. There was really no other style the Shiner folks could have put in this bottle, it had to be a Doppelbock.

The Primátor Double Bock is a big beer in a small bottle. This Doppelbock weighs in at ten and a half percent alcohol yet it doesn't smell like a strong beer. The taste doesn't really seem to be in line with the ABV either. In many ways, this beer just doesn't make any sense... it's definitely an odd beer. Getting back to the aroma, this beer doesn't smell like a Doppelbock at all. There isn't much for you to pick up when you smell this beer, the aroma is very subdued. I could pick up on a little caramel and coffee in this beer but mostly I was only able to smell the sweet malt, which wasn't all that strong either... This all seemed very uncharacteristic for such a dark beer.

Going into the Seeyoulator you should know that this isn't your grandfather's Doppelbock. The name, which ends in the traditional -ator suffix, indicates that Boulevard is making a departure from the established Doppelbock style. This beer isn't a complete 180 by any means, it's still a big dark beer with a strong malty flavor. The Seeyoulator is also clever because of the reference to the most stereotypical of German idioms, aufwiedersehen. Literally, aufwiedersehen means, "until we meet again" or simply "see you later." In a sense that's what this beer does, it goes AWOL from the Doppelbock base but ultimately returns. Seeyoulator's most noticeable difference from other Doppelbocks is its cedar aging. This adds an flavor to the beer that is similar to the oak flavor wines pick up when they are aged in oak barrels.