Beer of the Week: DoubleDeft Secret

From the Beer Writer: Hops are glorious, drinkable beers divine, but malty beers fueled to high-alcohol glory care of energetic yeast strains with character are things of beauty, too. Unfortunately, they are harder to come by in San Diego County. Part of it’s the weather. When the sun’s out, not only are guns and buns out. So, too, are the dry IPAs our region is known for as well as the crisp, clean lagers that have become just as relevant in our summer-365 environs. They are better suited for most drinking occasions in San Diego, but when I have time to sit back at home and really contemplate and get cozy with a beer, I’m looking for something with the depth afforded by specialty malts and expressive yeast. Enter DoubleDeft Secret from Bay Park’s Deft Brewing. The aroma alone is worthy of several minutes of one’s time. Dates, caramel, nutmeg, banana, pear and even a hint of almond butter are all there. It takes several swirls and sniffs to pick it all up, but it’s a delightful process. And on the palate, there’s more banana from the yeast plus a raisin-studded, brown-yeast soda bread character from the grains and strains fortifying this lovely, higher-alcohol, regional version of an amber-hued German ale. Take this semi-wintry time of year to discover this beer and understand that there is more to life than admittedly delicious IPAs and lagers. Then take that revelation and run with it, remembering that there’s a whole spectrum of beer out there just waiting to be found at our county’s 150-plus craft breweries.

From the Brewer: “Altbier, which translates to ‘old beer’ in German, is an old top-fermented style of beer historically brewed in the area around the city of Düsseldorf, Germany, that nicely balances hop and malt flavors and can even express some fruity esters. Sticke altbier is a special form of an altbier, with exaggerated character and much higher ABV (alcohol-by-volume) than the traditional version. As the story goes, under strict regulation and taxation that limited the ABV of their beers, some clever—some might even call them ‘deft’—brewers in this region would slyly produce an amped-up version of their altbier in the brewery and stash away that secret brew—sticke means ‘secret’ or ‘stash’ in the local dialect—to share with their friends, family and at special occasions. A few breweries in Germany still brew this rare style seasonally and for festivals, but we’ve decided to provide a sticke altbier to our guests pretty much year-around at our tasting room. We are particularly proud of this brew, as it is such a nice example of our overall point of view as a brewery—unique, fun, flavorful and very drinkable beers that are inspired by the traditional styles of the Old World. DoubleDeft Secret sports a doppel sticke ABV of 8.7%, 43 IBU (international bittering units) and a complex malty and somewhat fruity, raisin-like character that is remarkably drinkable for a bigger beer with so much going on. We hope that beer lovers around San Diego finally discover this secret and come visit our centrally located brewery, tasting room, patio and hop garden in Bay Park to experience this one-of-a-kind brew.“—Mo Nuspl, Owner & Brewmaster, Deft Brewing