Slow Spiral Into Winter: Gyrator Doppel by New Glarus Brewing

Back in the early autumn, New Glarus released Gyrator Doppel, a doppelbock. "That darn seasonal creep," I said to no one in particular. "Lent it ain't," began my jeremiad to the Brewers Association which somehow never got sent. Truth be known, I enjoy doppelbocks outside of Lententide but generally reserve them for the chill of winter. It was still quite a bit too warm for drinking beers of this style, to my taste, in late September. Now that it's December and Jack Frost is nipping, I am taking the plunge.

The beer's label is interesting and may be the brewery's first to have an ichthyological theme as I can recall no Walleye Weiss nor a Small Mouth Sour. ("That's good bass!" - Dan Carey) Let's look at the description and start with this bit: "Dan’s re-discovery of whole cone Diamant hops grown at his urging in Hallertau, Germany". Wait, wait, wait. Dan Carey, co-owner/brewmaster/whatever of New Glarus Brewing Company can get a foreign hop grower some 4,200 miles away to do his bidding?! Does Dan have some compromising photographs?

It vood be a real shame if diese Fotos ended up on der Internet…

When Carey isn't "urging" German hop growers, he can be found Googling long lost grains. To wit: "Over ten years of his personal heritage barley research…"

The blurb on the label then goes on to note that the brew was double decocted, lagered for 10 weeks, and then took some R&R in the bottle for another 6 months. This is not just some brief diversion from brewing endless gallons of Spotted Cow.

If all of this time and effort wasn't enough, Gyrator was released in 6-packs for the same price as Cow. I don't mean to knock Spotted Cow here (I like it much more now that the corn has been removed), but rather to express astonishment that what could have been a fairly expensive limited edition release available only at the brewery instead sits on store shelves next to and at the same price as New Glarus' more workaday beers that weren't made with obscure heritage grains and bespoke hops. I think my sixer cost $7.49. Craft beers are luxury items, to be sure, but this is like getting an Aston Martin for the price of a Lexus.

As with most beers, the doppelbock has its own lore. In short, the story is that the monks of the Paulaner monastery in Munich (or its environs) developed the rich, malty sweet style in the 17^th century to provide their daily bread in liquid form during Lententide. As with countless other tales about the origins of beer styles, this one too appears to be blatantly untrue. It seems that the doppelbock was initially brewed for a feast and eventually became a regular part of the monks' diet year-round instead of being reserved for a mere 40-day stretch of cenobitic austerity. Still, it's an engaging bit of legerdemain that is sure to be repeated by beer-loving doofuses like me for some time to come.

My pour produced a big, loose, tan head that went away quickly and noisily. It looked like I had just poured myself a Coke with bubbles carelessly exploding as I tried to get a decent photograph amid the din. Gyrator is a lovely deep chestnut and clear too. I saw a smattering of bubbles inside. It smelled sweet, as I expected, with aromas of caramel, raisin, plum, and milk chocolate dancing around in my nose.

Those scents made their way to my tongue with raisin and milk chocolate being most prominent. Caramel brought up the rear along with a smidgeon of roasted grain. Fizziness was middle of the road but enough to keep the sweetness from becoming cloying and give the beer a mild astringency. The sweetness faded on the finish leaving a little lingering raisin/caramel and allowing a hint of bread to come through. Then a herbal-floral hoppiness kicked in and added a firm dryness which makes you forget that you just drank about half of your recommended daily dose of carbohydrates in one sip.

I was surprised to discover that Gyrator wasn't as sweet as I had expected it to be. Sure, it was full of rich malt goodness and was chock full of sweet flavors but the sweetness itself was moderated perfectly. And that toasty bread flavor at the end (a result of decoction, surely) was a treat. In addition, I really liked how the hops came in and made for a dry finish which pleasingly contrasted with all of the grainy flavors.

I am not well-drunk when it comes to doppelbocks. My brain's entry for them is "Something-ator. Oh, it's a big, malty sweet doppelbock!" But I think I am going to have to revise it to include language about Gyrator being the Platonic ideal of the style.

Just food pairing: With such a great beer, be sure to pair it with something a cut above your typical junk food. Since I like to drink doppelbocks in cold weather, I suggest something warm with my favorite being SuperPretzel Soft Pretzel Bites filled with Pepper Jack cheese.