So the sign on the side of Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas read “Double Bock Beer is here.”
My first thought Wednesday was, “This looks like my beer for The Session.” No, it didn’t read “doppelbock” but Samuel Adams calls its excellent doppelbock-style beer Double Bock. So perhaps the Germans figured that was a term Americans would better understand.
What a dunce. They meant a strong beer in the manner of a bock, in this case a helles bock (akin to what many know as a Maibock). As you can see, golden (lighter than appears here), strong at 8% abv, but not at all like the doppelbock “invented” by the monks of St. Francis of Paula in Munich. Not a beer you’d call [fill in the blank]-ator.
A good beer, rich and full of flavor, bright and fresh, showing no wear and tear after its journey from Germany.
I’m not sure how to characterize Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas. On the one hand, it is located only a short walk from Las Vegas Boulevard and across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel — a perfect fit for adult fantasyland. If you’ve already been in the pseudo-Irish pub in New York New York or had your picture taken next to the replica Eiffel Tower up the street then you might shrug at this faithful reproduction of the original Hofbräuhaus München.
However, it is operated by the same owners (and I don’t know what that means its relationship is to InBev, which brews Hofbräuhaus beers) as the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. It’s not as big, but the large single-room restaurant with wooden tables and benches has an inviting beer hall feel. The food is excellent and the beers come from Germany.
(This makes it different than the Hofbräuhaus in Newport, Ky., which brews its own beer.)
We went primarily because he plan to visit the original Hofbräuhaus in Munich in the fall. And it was a heck of a lot more enjoyable than the last “brewery” we visited in 2007. More about all that next week.
The Session: Brewvana hosts this 11th edition of The Session, a monthly gathering of bloggers to write on a single topic. Head that way to read about actual doppelbocks.