Hofbrau Winter Spezial / Delicator

That too
But mostly that the last review was mine on 12/20/19

 

If I remember last year correctly, I only found the WS at one location -- fairly out of the way for me. By the time I got back to that store it was gone.

Hope to get one more sixer this year.

 

No Optimator this year either but I am sure drinking the heck out of the Einbecker Winter-Bock. It's so good!

 

That one ought to be available year-round.

 

When I was in college in the mid to late 90s, we used to go to a bar called Bacchus that I’m sure @cavedave used to go to and they would have (I’m almost positive) $3 pints of draft Optimator. Safe to say I blacked out most of those nights.

 

Maybe my memory is as unclear as the Spezial, but I recall the Columbus Hofbrauhaus version being dark, but not a Doppelbock. I swear it was in the 6-6.5 abv range. However, I have never come across the bottled version yet.

 

$3 pints of Optimator for happy hour I should add (too late to edit my post).

 

Cool memories, you def. bring some to me.

When I met my second ex wife she was a part time bartender at Bacchus. I always joked with Jason and Mike, when they were the brewers for Bacchus, I didn't hold it against them. We were lucky in our homebrew club to meet Jason and Mike when they first started brewing at Bacchus, since our club was affiliated with Pantano's Hombrew and Wine Supplies, and he set them up with their first commercial supplies (and of course talked them up big) since they're so near to each other. Was fun tasting their beer along the way to now that they're killing it at Hudson Valley.

If you were a customer early 80's, my ex may have served you, and I may have sat next to you.

 

Just grabbed a sixer. There are a few Doppelbocks I like better, but this is more than solid. And at $8.49 for the 6 pack, it's a steal

 

April is the new winter. Which has actually been accurate a couple of recent years.

 

Nah, i was in there, mostly, from like ‘97 to ‘01. That’s a great story though.

 

I grabbed 2 6's, but it sold out here in less than 2 weeks

 

Does Port City distribute in your area? If so keep an eye out for their Doppelbock. Just released as part of their lager series and its fantastic.

 

I know we’re mostly discussing bocks but I’d like to add Deschutes Jubleale to the conversation. One of the best winter warmers on the market.

Unfortunately I have yet to see it here in NJ; pretty sure they skipped over us

 

Last Saturday I took a ride over to total wine in Springfield and picked up a 4 pack haven’t tried it yet. I wish I could have found Tmave pivo.

 

That sucks. Probably wasn't sent. It was in MN at the very beginning of November, might have even been the end of October.

 

Many years back I used to hang out at one of Chicago's little German bars in the old Irving Park neighborhood. They always had Optimator on tap, but this was at a time when ABV wasn't regularly posted, and I believe they advertised it as a "Double Dark." Not that many outside beer enthusiasts would know about Doppelbock.

Many evenings I'd watch some character sitting at the bar downing Optimator all night, unknowingly... and then watch them attempt to step off the stool to leave or use the washroom -- you can guess the scenes that played out.

 

That makes me wonder if the sales reps were presenting it that way. Back around 2000 I shopped at a store that sold Spaten "Light" and "Dark" according to their signs. But the Dark was actually Optimator. Same price as the Light, so you wouldn't see me complaining.

 

I remember some of that too, never understood it -- but maybe they just thought they couldn't get the concept of Doppelbock through to regular beer drinkers?

"We'll go with the old Beck's/Heineken/Lowenbrau playbook."

FWIW -- my previous story is from the mid-90s, so the misinformation has been around.

 

The 'original' Double Dark?



@jesskidden discussed this beer in a 2013 thread:

"Prior (both a light and dark) began as Czech recipes brewed in the US for the beer importer, Atlantis Imports, by Adam Scheidt Brewing Co., Norristown, PA during WWII (when European beer exports weren't possible). Philadelphia's C. Schmidt's & Sons bought Scheidt in the 1950's and continued to brew the super-premium Prior beers into the 1970's. Around 1980, they re-introduced Prior Double Dark in a new package (and higher price)."

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/memories-of-double-dark-prior.81333/

On a related note I frequently travel down Markley Street through Norristown and a storage business is now operating in a building that was the Adam Scheidt Bottling House: