Price
Meter
High!
When it comes to beer from Quebec, it’s a fact that Unibroue is the 800 pound gorilla on the scene. Still, there are others, and one of the more recent arrivals is Les Trois Mousquetaires from Brossard. The brewery opened in 2004 and seems to specialize in German styles, although not quite in the way you would expect them.
“Les Trois Mousquetaires”, of course, means The Three Musketeers, and the beers of this brewer only started showing up here in Georgia about a year or so ago, and then only sporadically. At least that I could find. The first that I purchased was Les Trois Mousquetaires Doppelbock, a German-style double bock obviously. I couldn’t resist such a treat from a French Canadian brewer, especially since the style is my favorite.
From the label:
This doppelbock, or “double bock”, is a dark extra full-bodied lager after the best Bavarian tradition. Such beer was created by monks for the tough fasting period of lent. They called it “liquid bread”. Look for flavor notes of chocolate, candied fruit, and roasted malt.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but those are not the classic notes that I expect in a traditional doppelbock. Doppelbocks, the best German ones mind you, should be decoction mashed, and that process brings out a slew of nutty, toasty, slightly molasses like flavors known as melanoidins. The use of Munich malt adds the same of course.
To be fair, Les Trois Mousquetaires Doppelbock isn’t a German doppelbock, and it has its idiosyncrasies from the style. It’s stronger than most of them at 9.5% alcohol by volume, and it is unfiltered, rare for a lager, though not unprecedented. I paid $12.99 for my bottle at Total Wine in 2013, and it’s a 2009 bottling. I broke it out as a treat on Father’s Day 2014, and it did not disappoint.
Les Trois Mousquetaires Doppelbock pours to a dark brownish color with a thick creamy head formation and a wonderfully luscious nose of brown sugar and raisins. Taking a sip, this one is much more of an abbey dubbel to me than a doppelbock, but both of those styles do share dark nutty maltiness. That is here, but more so luscious dark raisins and prunes, brown sugar, toasted nuts, and molasses. The beer is quite sweet especially on the finish. I think it is the sweetness and fruitiness that suggest the dubbel style, or perhaps the yeast in the bottle.
Amazing thing on this one is that its 5 years old but in the nose I get this wonderful fresh wort smell, it’s really like sniffing a brew in progress. I have never experienced anything like it. It’s like a husky, grainy barley smell, and that carries on a bit in the taste as well.
Delicious in its own right, Les Trois Mousquetaires Doppelbock did not really work as a doppel for me, but it was delicious all the same. I think I would give it 4.5 stars in its own right with another half star demerit for the high price. That amazing fresh maltiness after 5 years means I will buy it again for sure, perhaps a more recent edition if I find one.
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