…specifically chill haze. Especially doppelbocks. Anyone ever notice this? Specifically drinking a 6 pack of Paulener Salvator this afternoon while cleaning house and every single one has opaque chill haze. And this has happened a few other times, and come to think of it most of them have been doppelbocks.
I’ve never really thought of them as clear beers. I’ve got two kegs of 100% munich Dopplebocks that are quite clear if you hold them right.
Probably a handling/shipping issue. IMO buying beer imported from Europe is a crapshoot.
Salvator is my favorite- much better than Optimator which is usually metallic tasting to me.
+1. It’s a crapshoot trying to get good (non-Belgian) imports. I love Salvator too, but Celebrator is my favorite - chewy, malty goodness.
Never can tell what conditions a beer endures in shipping. Having said that, I’ve never had a bad Celebrator or Weihenstephaner Korbinian. ;D
True. I feel like most Weihenstephaner makes the trip pretty well. It’s my favorite German brewery. I haven’t noticed the haze in the doppelbocks, but I don’t drink them too often, so that might be the reason I don’t notice…
Funny, cause you sound just like me until very recently. Bought a sixer of Salvator and a 4 pack of Celebrator recently and my crew and I all did side by side taste test. We all preferred the Salvator over the Celebrator. Salvator was cleaner, less roasty and more “bock-like” and far more drinkable. Could be a freshness issue. I’ll also go as far as to say I started to fall out of love with Celebrator a couple years back when every time I ordered one I picked out some flaws, which could have been due to the line or freshness or whatever. But I can’t say OI have had one I really enjoyed in a while.
And, guys, Doppelbocks should be fairly clear. Just sayin’. This sixer was completely cloudy when cold and cleared when reached closer to room temp. Obvious chill haze and not the first time with German imports. Tasted great, I drank 4 of them yesterday afternoon… 
I have a pic on my iPad but Satellite internet access at home is not so great for uploads. Will try to remember to post tomorrow.
Yeah, I definitely love them both. The last time I had Celebrator was at my favorite beer bar in town and they actually had it on tap. I think it might have been the single best keg of draft beer I ever drank from. It was pure perfection (and actually clear). But Salvator is amazing too. They’re definitely different takes on a dopplebock. Makes me wanna buy some Salvator - I haven’t had it in a while.
Try 'em side by side. I can actually drink a liter of salvator. Not of celebrator. Our local Oktoberfest does liters of Salvator. Great times. Wife drives.
Sounds like a plan. Gotta like letting the wife drive :) My wife and I take turns being the DD from time to time. I think she’s driving next !
I have a doppelbock on the docket in another week or two, so I may have to do a side-by-side. I tasted a bunch of doppelbocks over the course of a few days a couple of years back, and Celebrator was by far my favorite. The one doppel I wanted, but couldn’t get my hands on at that time, was Salvator. I’ll have to try to get my hands on one.
Celebrator has long been one of my all-time favorite beers, so even though it’s a bit roasty for the style, I think my palate is just calibrated towards that beer. It is full-bodied for a doppelbock, but if I’m drinking a doppel, then I’m not looking to put down several liters of it. Another great one, IMO, is Tröegs’ Troegenator.
And to the original post, I’ve never noticed a chill haze issue in German imports. I’ll have to keep my eye out for it.
That, would not work for me. I’m always DD. I only cut loose if we are staying put.
There’s a bar down the way that does 0,5L of Aventinus for 3,40€. I know it’s a Weizenbock, but whatever. It’s still awesome. I’ll have to pick up some Celebrator and Salvator for “research” and see if there’s a chill haze problem.
I had a Celebrator not so long ago at my local, and it was more roasty than I expected. The same pub has had Korbinian on tap before, and that is the second best Doppelbock in my taste memory. Number one by just a little is Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel.
Andechs Doppelbock is pretty tasty. I had that at the Kloster when I was in Bayern. Apparently, according to Ron Pattinson, the “wood barrels” they serve out of are fake there. Kinda weird, but the beer was still good though.
The wood barrels on the bar are for show in some places. If you never see them changed out, you know they are for show. The owner of Special told us the one on the bar was fake. At Schlenkerla you have to wait sometimes for them to change the keg, which can be fun to watch. At Zum Uerige they roll the kegs through the crowd to get to the bar - at least the first couple of times I was there.
I’ll keep an eye out on my next trip to Uerige. I’m pretty sure the barrels at Päffgen are real too. At the Ayinger Bräustüberl they have their standard lager from Holzfass, but only at 5pm every day.
Rathskeller?
Yeah, I believe they had it on tap once, and Shallo’s did for sure once as well. Really good on draft.