dokkaebier

Hadn't heard of them. Looks like they started right before the pandemic. Hope they can survive. Very interesting beers, using Korean spices, fruits, and plants. Plus Korean food. The name is interesting too:

The name Dokkaebier comes from the Korean dokkaebi — a sort of sprightly ghost or goblin-like spirit in Korean mythology that likes to play with humans.

"[A dokkaebi] always has a positive energy and it's fun," Lee says. "It hides in objects in the daytime; it comes out at night and it likes to drink, eat and hang out with people."

https://www.sfgate.com/beer/article/New-Korean-style-brewery-Dokkaebier-Youngwon-Lee-15036129.php

 

@unlikelyspiderperson guess I should have chimed in here vs. the other forum. There’s such an embarrassment of riches out here. I hope once all this COVID stuff passes I’m able to check them out in person

 

I only know them through a post some Koreatown-adjacent Instagram page posted about it after being sent some beers by them, I guess.

I'm intrigued by a beer with sichuan peppercorns. I haven't seen a beer with it that much and I think the last time I had one was from Monkish during the No IPA days.

 

Goblin imagery? Stone lawsuit on the way...

 

An ad for them just popped up on my Facebook page. Their artwork (the dokkae) looks similar to that of The Booth so I also suspect they might be related, but I was not able to find out for sure.

I just checked their website. They offer shipping to CA for ~$20 or FREE local delivery (with $40 purchase) to most of the inner Bay Area. It’s at https://www.enjoydkb.com

 

Thanks. Makes sense that they are related. I thought Eureka was an odd place for a Korean brewery. SF makes more sense. Hopefully they can find a new permanent location.

I just bit the bullet and placed an order for their cardamom peppercorn milk stout, peach pomegranate IPA, and bamboo pilsner as well as a couple tekus which were awesome looking and only $9 each. Interesting looking beers + free delivery + 10% off first order coupon with registration = too good to pass up.

 

I had their pomegranate IPA the other day and poured it down the drain. Didn’t even taste like beer.

 

Got my order yesterday -- impressed with the delivery service. They texted me the time (1 hour window) the day before and it arrived in the exact window. The beer was in a double bag, with the tekus on top carefully wrapped up.

I was a bit worried about the IPA after reading the previous posts but I actually thought it was very well done. Nothing artificial or syrupy, it had a hint of fresh peach and pomegranate which I thought complemented the hops.

The stout was very good too. Relatively light at 5.2% but excellent use of cardamom and green peppercorns. Full flavored without anything being overpowering.

Haven't tried the Bamboo Pilsner yet but looking forward to it. Both the fruit IPA and spiced stout from this Korean-inspired brewery were very well balanced, the non-standard adjuncts and level of precision reminds me of Hitachino and other Japanese breweries. I'll definitely be ordering more from Dokkaebier.

 

I got their variety pack and most were canned 2-6 months ago. Difficulties of contract brewing aside, they really need to work on getting fresher beer to their customers.

Taste is all subjective but let's just say I drain poured the first three cans.

 

Oof!

 

They are really good. Very balanced, clean flavors, using adjuncts without it feeling messy or gimmicky. I don't like fruited IPAs nor mostly care for the styles they like to brew, but they do them very well. They are approachable, well made beers.

I imagine they are very freshness-sensitive.

 

Dokkaebier will no longer offer local delivery (they briefly charged $5 and then got rid of it altogether) although they are offering free shipping on full cases, mix and match ok. (The website says until 3/31 but their social media says "until further notice.")

My last delivery order consisted of their Kimchi Sour, DIPA, and the peppercorn-cardamom stout again.

The name Kimchi Sour was a little misleading -- perhaps inspired by Kimchi but it tasted nothing like it. The subtitle is "with Gochugaru and Ginger." Gochugaru is the Korean peppers and it tasted nothing like these. The ginger was there though, and the lactobacillus was very there. Probably a decent enough ginger sour, points for trying to be interesting, but I wanted more actual resemblance to kimchi.

The DIPA was very good, crisp and clean tasting. Uses Huell Melon hops, I don't see these often but they're underrated.

The Peppercorn-Cardamom Stout was excellent as before.