Les Trois Mousquetaires - Doppelbock

Like a lot of folks, we don’t tend to drink a lot of doppelbocks, or at least it’s not usually the answer to our what-do-I-feel-like-drinking-right-now conundrums. It’s not what we’d go for, most of the time. This version from Les Trois Mousquetaires, though, offers up a very fine-bubbled carbonation, silky texture, and deep, ripe fruitiness that got our attention. It tastes, if one could readily imagine it, a bit like if the profile of a doppelbock got matched with that of port, that caramel core aligned with rich fruits, and it’s an entirely endearing combination.

We could definitely sip this by the fire. We could definitely sip this most places. This pours a deep, generally clear, golden-brown color, like tea mixed with honey. There’s a light gold rim around the edge, the lightest sections. Cola and caramel lead the way in the nose, attended by deep red fruitiness—cranberries, cherries, strawberries—and no immediate shows of alcohol that we noticed. The alcohol, particularly for the numerical heft of this beer, is generally well hidden throughout. It’s smooth, fruit-forward, and rich overall, from first glance to finish.

While maintaining the appropriate depth, this seems a lot lighter on the tongue than most of the doppelbocks we’ve had over the years, with a generally lean profile overall and that finely integrated carbonation. As noted: smooth. There’s an impact of bright red fruits first, then a deeper combination of plums, raisins, caramel, and dates. At the edges, we occasionally even found (or thought we found) faint notes of bitter roast and a whiff of smoke. This is rich, an amalgam of red fruitiness and caramelized, tempered sweetness, combining into a real treat.

Les Trois Mousquetaires’ doppelbock is one of our favorite ones—but even more so when it has a small amount of age behind it. There’s a lot of bright fruit at the front and mid-palate, cherries and raisins and the like, and letting those open up with just a bit more dried caramel in between makes this profile even better, we think. (Your palate may advise you otherwise.)