Missing Elf Double Bock
Review Date 2/11/2010
Try?
Re-buy?
Just before Christmas, I walked into my local Sherlock's package store in search of a few last holiday brews to cap off the Christmas beer buying season. Immediately, I noticed a new one: Missing Elf Double Bock from Lithuania's Rinkuskiai brewery. Now, I have relatives in Lithuania (wave if you're reading this, Daiva!), so I wasn't passing up on this one, no way, no how. After all, I had to help Santa find his missing elf.
The bottle was in the style of the Ridgeway brewery's series of Christmas beers, Bad Elf, Very Bad Elf, Seriously Bad Elf, and Criminally Bad Elf. And, in fact, at first glance I thought this was another beer in that serious, until I saw on the reverse label where it was brewed. The label also proclaimed the beer to be a "Double Bock" of a hefty 9.5% alcohol by volume, and said it was "European Beer". So I bought a few, if for nothing else to help Santa find his missing Elf.
The brewery's website proclaims that their beers are pure and do not contain adjuncts:
Rinkuškiai beer is natural. Only pure high quality water, original yeast, hops and traditional light malt is used for production. For some brands caramel malt is used. No pees, rice and other non-malt products are used for Rinkuškiai beer production. All Rinkuskiai beer brands produced individual way, using natural fermentation process, after fermentation no additional water.
And boy, was I ever relieved to find that there is no pees in their beer. At any rate, no mention was made as to whether poor old Santa had found his missing elf.
Missing Elf Double Bock pours to an intriguing caramel color with a very light and short lived head formation and a slightly sweetish malt nose. The palate is deceptively light here, especially for a beer of this strength, and it's nothing at all like your typical German double bock. Instead, it's more akin to an over-clocked Maibock, aka hellerbock. There is a touch of caramel flavor and not much else. The finish is slightly harsh and it's here that the alcohol finally kicks in, and how. Pervasive sweetness. Candied fruit.
The more I drank of it the more I found it to be an acceptable and pleasant brew (though don't get yourself worked up, this is by no means an exceptional one). But it's a fine novelty, and cheap at $1.89 a half liter bottle.
This is the best beer I've had from this brewery, and it's still only a 3 star effort. Despite the cute label and low price, this one is worth trying once for the novelty, though I doubt I would buy it again. It would make a great gag gift for the beer lover on your shopping list.
Oh, and just where was that missing elf after all? Take a peek at Santa's, umm, derriere on the label and you'll see.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
