Seeyoulator...Right Now!

Finally, after all of the drama of when it will exactly happen, Boulevard Brewing's Seeyoulator Doppelbock has finally hit the shelves in Kansas City. For some reason, only known to the distributors, it has been on the shelves in Saint Louis for about a week now. I swung by Gomer's Midtown and there was one bottle in the cooler. I asked if there was any more, and they said there was some in the back. Exactly how much, I'm not sure. I grabbed one more bottle for good measure. Two bottles isn't greedy, is it?

Someone at Boulevard has a cheeky sense of humor, which I totally appreciate. Seeyoulator follows the custom of naming a doppelbock something that ends in "-ator." This goes back to around 1700 when the monks of Saint Francis of Paula. The monks named their full-bodied beer Salvator, since it was a primary source of nutrition during times of fasting. It's like liquid bread.

750 ml corked and caged bottle, batch number 1-2009, bottled 7/10. This is very fresh. Poured into a tall Hobgoblin tumbler, there is a huge billowing light tan head. It acts like the foam from ice cream when you make a root beer float. Very slow to settle, it leaves even rings on the glass with each sip. Color is a ruddy caramel, and has very active carbonation. Very impressive presentation.

Smell has a thick bready malt aroma with hints of wood and spice in the background. The label points out a "banana estery aroma," but I'm not catching that so much. There is a very mild phenolic whiff. I wonder if a little aging might adjust that.

I don't think I've ever had a beer aged on cedar, and a doppelbock seems to be the perfect beer to do that. They typically have a darker and bolder malt character that would be attuned to an aromatic wood. The taste is much spicier and the cedar aging really comes through. Surprisingly, the cedar is not overpowering like oak aged beers can be. It just lingers in the finish to add an extra level of spice. Subtle move. Still very malty with a hint of cloves and mint.

Mouthfeel is a little thin for a doppelbock. Some more traditional versions really are like liquid bread, thick and chewy. This has a more of a medium body. Not bad, plus the carbonation increases the spice texture. Very nice addition to the Smokestack Series.

While I don't think I'll be able to age this very long, I'm up for giving it a shot.