Down the hatch: Boulevard’s Seeyoulator Doppelbock

The newest release for Boulevard Brewery’s Smokestack Series hits store shelves this week. I snagged a bottle of Seeyoulator Doppelbock at the Berbiglia Wine & Spirits on 75th Street (it arrived Monday) and uncorked it last night with a few friends.

The higher alcohol content and price tag on the Smokestack Series beers make you want to share them with someone as you might a bottle of wine. A bock is a German lager, which is usually fairly strong. Bock translates to “goat” in English; doppelbocks, or “double goats,” first brewed more than three centuries ago by Bavarian monks, are said to have twice the kick.  

By the numbers

8.5 percent alcohol
25.4 ounces in the bottle (equivalent to 750 ml — the standard size for wine bottles)
$9.15 with tax

In the glass

The label description suggested a “heady, estery banana,” but the aroma

was mild with hints of banana when first poured. The “medium amber” color was there; the

lager is even slightly opaque — you can barely see your fingers through

the sides.

As my friend Charlie noted, the beer had excellent head retention — something that’s not always true of beers with a high alcohol content. The head was thick and foamy for well over a minute, and that was in belled glasses that had been hanging out in the wine bar too long.