Hofbrau Winter Spezial / Delicator

BTW -- if you note, that Glunz Delicator page only lists kegs for the "Delicator." IIRC, Glunz doesn't update their available beers often. I'll have to check around and see if it's on tap anywhere.

 

I just want to add the Sam Smiths is really good this year never had the porter and it's awesome will have to look for the Dilicator

 

Keep in mind that it will say Winter Spezial on the front label, Delicator is only mentioned on the back.

And the red label stands out among the other HB labels.

 

Based on listings at that other rating site, The one that @nuplastikk linked to is a version that is no longer produced (production of that one ended in 2015 per that other site)--and that one was a 7.5% pale doppelbock.

It's interesting that they decided to change the style of the Winter Spezial and then just add 'Delicator' on the back of the label.

 

And as a bonus for this time of year those little white plastic goats make for a nice Christmas tree ornament!

Cheers!

 

I am not really trying to dissuade you here since I too am not a fan of old German beer at my local beer retailers (of which there is a lot) but it has been my consistent experience that the Doppelbock beer style holds up very well with age in the bottle and sometimes it even improves. Last winter I bought a six-pack of Troegenator and a couple of weeks ago I drank the last bottle and that beer was the tastiest of the six-pack; for my palate this beer improved with cellaring. Maybe Korbinian will still be quite tasty with age?

Cheers!

 

If Jack, of all people, says an older import is worth a shot, it’s worth a shot!

 

The beauty of this beer is that it's a seasonal and therefore fresh. As doppelbocks go it's quite well made and delicious, but also isn't really a standout imo. That doesn't mean that I won't buy some when I see it, though.

 

Yeah, that's where it gets muddy too. If you look at the BA listing for Winter Spezial you'll see I added it -- and reviewed it, back when it was pale (was good too). The BA notes mention the change. But that pale version never had Delicator anywhere on the label.

 

I will give a plug for Augustiner Maximator. Delicious.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/820/2864/

 

LOL!

I should emphasize that I have no personal experience with Korbinian but the Troegenator (which had a freshest by 061720 date) I had recently was very tasty for my palate.

Well, you never know for sure until you try? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers!

 

Just be careful to look for the "T" in the date code. My local distributor likes to pass off last year's old stock of seasonal HB beers.

 

And the other plus is that it is reasonably priced. My local Wegmans is selling it for less than 10 bucks a six-pack.

Cheers!

 

Good point and I don't have an issue buying one with a 2020 date on it. Something bottled in mid-2019 is probably where I draw the line at this point as far as what I'm willing to roll the dice on.

 

FWIW -- I've got a bottle left from last year -- may have to crack it tomorrow or Friday to see how it's held up.

 

Winter Spezial was one of the favorites, and I could get it remarkably easy in DC. I'm afraid I probably can't find it out in Middle Tennessee though...

 

Also adding to the muddy mystery -- many of the HB America bierhalls brew the Delicator on premise, though I'm not sure how they interpret the recipe from location to location.

 

Allow me to further muddy:
Winter Spezial wasn't a doppelbock at all, it was what I'd call a festbier (pale, and the same ABV as HB's Oktoberfest). They then decided to change the style to doppelbock and then add the Delicator name to the back label.

My understanding is this in regards to the US market:
1) They previously made a pale doppelbock they called Delicator that was 7.5%;
2) They previously made what I'll call a (winter) festbier-style of beer called Winter Spezial, that was pale and ~6.3%;
3) They changed the style of the Winter Spezial to dark doppelbock with 8.4% abv and added 'Delicator' to the back of the label.
-I've read that the pale, lower strength version of 'Delicator' is still made for the EU market, but can't confirm.

 

When I tried HB Winter Spezial last year I was under the impression that Winter Spezial was a name that HB applied to a special winter beer that wasn't tied to a particular style.

Not sure what year this image is from, but that's not a dark beer. There are reviews on this site that refer to the beer as being yellow in color



This is the beer I had last year

 

Jump in! The murk is fine!

This is the beer I purchased and added to BA in 2012 -- in fact, I think I originally added it as a Festbier or Maibock -- it always struck me funny that they'd release a similar beer to their usual Festbier so close in time, but it was good.

Do you have any sources for this info? Because Delicator really sounds like the typical homage to Salvator -- and they're almost always dark Doppels. Almost.

As previously mentioned.

More mud: I think the ABV has fluctuated too -- I think it was 8.5 for a while.
From my 2016 review: The bottle also reports 8.5 ABV...

I'd really like to dig up more info on this beer -- as I mentioned some posts back, the beer isn't listed on the German HB site anywhere, yet it is on the HB America site (note no deep dive into the beer's info).

I'll have to dig into some old books to see if I can find any info -- beer rating sites just don't seem terribly accurate with history and research.