I probably shouldn’t have picked up this bottle of Uerige Doppelsticke a couple of weeks ago. My hands were already full of some tasty brews when I spied that unique bottle out the corner of my eye.
Like Homer Simpson spying a poofy dog or something shiny, I couldn’t help myself. I mean, seriously, look at that bottle. It’s cool.
Luckily for me, this Altbier (brewed for the U.S. market) is more than just contained in a slick looking piece of glass — the murky liquid inside turned out to be a late evening treat for my wife and I. Its deep malty character and dark fruits were just what we both were in the mood for.
Appearance
Doppelsticke pours a copperish brown in color with a light tan head that faded fairly quickly to a few small, random islands of foam.
Aroma
Sweet, toasted malts mingles wonderfully with dark fruits (raisin, fig) while an herbal component arrives late. I’m not sure if it’s from the hops, but the herbal character is quite nice. The 8.5% ABV leaves a lasting tingle on the nose.
Taste
Wow. This is an over-the-top brew with an excellent roasted malt base. The dark fruits combine with the sweet malts perfectly as the beer moves along to a subtle hop bitterness on the finish that balances out the initial sweetness well. The beer is smooth on the palate with a decent bit of heat from the higher alcohol content. I don’t recall (and don’t have anything in my notes) whether the herbal notes in the aroma made an appearance in the taste, but there was a bit of a yeastiness to the beer that was a nice addition.
Overall
I’m pretty sure that both of our glasses were drained of this beer rather quickly. Not that we swilled it down, but it certainly didn’t last as long as we both would have liked. The dark fruits, malt and hop components come together in a smooth and tasty package.
Oh yeah, the bottle is kind of cool, as well.
Rating: 4/5
