Day 94 Drink: Samuel Adams Double Bock

Boston Beer Co. has a small brewing operation in the former Haffenreffer Brewery in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, but most of its beer is turned out at breweries it has acquired in Cincinnati (the former Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery) and outside of Allentown, Pa. (originally the F&M Schaefer Brewery). The legendary brewery got its start on Jim Koch's kitchen stove and now with all of the industry consolidation that has taken place, Boston Beer is now the largest American-owned brewer to actually have its own brewhouse.

Samuel Adams Double Bock has won the most Great American Beer Festival medals for the company of any of its brews. Part of the brewery’s Imperial Series, you can taste the half pound per bottle of Harrington Metcalfe and Caramel 60 malt that goes into the recipe. Double Bock is brewed using only first wort -- wort that has not been sparged in the lauter tun – delivering a very high gravity liquid. The beer is aged for more than four weeks which helps to intensify the flavors. The result is a classic German-style doppelbock.


Samuel Adams Double Bock pours a tarnished penny color with a relatively thin, but long-lasting tan head. There is an immediate sweet malty nose that lingers. You can certainly taste the alcohol, but the caramelized malt builds a silky mouth feel and long satisfying finish.