Brooks Whittington
Released on June 20, 2014, Doppel Dinkel Bock is a collaboration between Bend, Ore.-based Deschutes Brewery and German brewer, Distelhäuser Brauerei. Coming in at 10.5 percent ABV, the weizenbock-style beer uses a traditional German ale yeast while incorporating chocolate wheat, carared malt and pilsner malts as well as bravo, US Tettnang and citra hops. In addition, it replaces the wheat malt that is traditionally used with a “generous” amount of dinkel— or spelt — malt.
The press release at the time had more information:
A connection between our two breweries was discovered over 10 years ago, so we decided it was high time we created a beer together to celebrate this beautiful relationship.
Our brewmasters decided on a Doppel Dinkel Bock or Imperial Spelt Beer. Spelt is an ancient species of wheat traditionally used to bake bread, but the malty, wheat and slightly spicy flavors of this ingredient combine with very fragrant notes (including bubblegum, clove, banana, and just a hint of citrus), to give this beer a ton of flavors and an outstanding aroma. Double down with this Doppel Dinkel Bock collaboration…its smooth, full bodied and drinkableness (is that a word?) will make the Bavarian in you, very proud!
The collaboration is the third release in the Conflux Series, which pairs Deschutes with other breweries so that they can transcend “corporate and geographic barriers to jointly explore uncharted beeratory (sic).”
All of the beers are brewed at the Deschutes Brewery. The three beers in the series so far are:
- Conflux #1: Collage (11.6 percent ABV) — Deschutes Brewery and Hair of The Dog Brewing Company — strong ale — May 15, 2012
- Conflux #2: White IPA (7.3 percent ABV) — Deschutes Brewery and Boulevard Brewing Company — IPA — 2013
- Conflux #3: Dopple Dinkel Bock (10.5 percent ABV) — Deschutes Brewery and Distelhäuser Brauerei — weizenbock — June 20, 2014
The Deschutes/Distelhäuser Brauerei Dopple Dinkel Bock pours a deep translucent amber color with a huge three finger head that is light tan in color, and retains its volume for quite a while, leaving a nice thick lacing when it finally dissipates. There is plenty of carbonation evident in the glass, and the aroma wafting from the beer is a myriad combination of strong malt, sweet bananas, grains and cherries with a bit of pepper thrown in.
Tasting the Dopple Dinkel Bock for the first time, I immediately can pick out flavors of bubblegum, bananas, cherries, figs, oak, cloves, caramel, bread and a slight floral sweetness. There is a bit of a bitterness on the finish that stays with me, but combined with the sweetness that is present in the profile, it tastes almost like a banana peel. I do get some pepper very now and again, but it is certainly not overwhelming at all, more of a once in a while thing. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, and there just not enough carbonation to balance it out. In fact, there is significantly less carbonation evident on the palate compared to what was visible when it was first poured into the glass.
