Great Buys III

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

This week, while at the corporate bottle store, I gambled and lost. I decided to go with a Chilean Syrah produced by a prominent wine-making family that will remain anonymous. The wine was familiar; I lustfully polished off the 2003 vintage in a tidy Days Inn suite during a poster tour weekend layover in St. Augustine, Florida. Although I admit that my wine palate was in its infancy, if not still wallowing in an under educated wine womb, I fondly remembering enjoying the bottle. To the very last purple drop in fact.

Unfortunately, the second time around I was left utterly disappointed and beside myself for selecting a wine catered toward the American market. As per the short tasting notes given by Wine Spectator lying below on the price tag, I should have known better. A rational response would have been to swivel on my right heel and walk away, but I couldn't resist. I needed to revisit the wine that once soothed my oral fixation in a lonely, sterile hotel room amidst a surfer's paradise.

Wine Spectator touted the wine as "richly layered...backed by a lush beam of boysenberry fruit...toasty finish." As an enthusiastic consumer why should I dismiss or doubt the praises of one of the country's most respected wine magazines?

Sitting down to pair the wine with a freshly pan-seared rib eye I was soon dismayed by my purchase. My hard earned money spent on a wine bastardized by the lure of new french oak. I wasn't tasting the wine, I was tasting the artificial flavoring. A more accurate description might state "Explosions of overripe fruit...intense black spice and vanilla...a stave walloping finish..." While the Syrah certainly boasted intense flavors, it was by no means balanced or attempting to adhere to a particular style. Could a discerning drinker discern the grape variety and country of origin? I highly doubt it; the oak masking any clues of the wine's identity, terrior and appellation. And food friendly? Forget about it. To what dish do you pair with a spiced fruit bomb?

As a result, this week I am slinking back to my humble past as a novice beer geek and homebrewer. Disheartened by my poor wine selection on Friday I reverted back to the world of zymurgy, where even after a long hiatus, I still feel comfortable and confident. Without hesitation I selected a few bottles I consider to be world class, available widely across our fine flag waving country and all modestly priced. Ayinger's Celebrator Doppelbock easily makes the list. At $2.99 a bottle, a price you might commonly pay for a formula rice wine at your local watering hole, this gem makes for a cheap date.

Originally brewed in a monastery in Northern Italy, doppelbock gained popularity in Germany after it was introduced to compete with the common, less alcoholic Bock. Doppelbock, like many high alcohol trappist ales was used throughout lent by fasting monks. Traditionally, doppelbock is a robust, dark lager praised for its fruity nose and dark chocolaty notes. In many circles Celebrator (doppelbock names end with -ator ie. Paulaner Salvator) has been hailed as the mother of all double bocks. Clocking in at 6.7 % abv, Celebrator gives a slight hiss when opened and immediately fills the air with a scent of roasted almonds. The beer pours dark rubby-brown and when filled in the proper glassware, ie. a tulip, will froth a thick, creamy beige head. The nose is filled with fruity berry esters as well as figs, plums, caramel and chocolate notes. A rich, thick mouthfeel continues to expouse the doppelbocks self-righteousness with creamy toffee and chocolate and a complimentary balance between malty sugar and a slight warming alcohol.

Now I know you might ask 'How can this rando celebrate the rich flavors of one alcoholic beverage and not another?' To answer honestly, Doppelbocks have a long history and are an established, balanced style of beer; a style that at one time was produced for religous purposes. Manipulated wines, such as the Chilean Syrah however, share a brief history of pleasing contemporary new world critics and flooding the American market raised on fast food and cloyingly sweet soda pops.

The Celebrator is even gaining new popularity with younger drinkers in Germany. It could just be the higher alcohol, but maybe they're on to something. Affordable and world class. Now those are two words I rarely hear at the same time in the wine world. Sometimes I need to be reminded of why it feels so great to love beer.