Doppelbocks are big, strong, hearty lagers and we’re delighted to have an excuse to make one for the first time. It’s also a pleasure to work with Phil once more, who was integral to the first ever Project Barista in a former role, now back under his own Anonymous guise. Between us we selected a coffee for this beer that would stand up to it. Mirror it. A perfect match of profile that keeps each side of coffee vs beer one-upping the other as you drink it, with the real winners being us! To do this we used a blended espresso with exquisite plum, raisin and dark chocolate notes, the signature coffee at Anonymous. Part of the joy of Doppelbocks is their reassuring sweetness, but with relatively high alcohol it’s important that they don’t become cloying. Coffee plays into our hands here, with its inherent bitterness bringing balance. Caffè Lungo has spent a long time conditioning cold, so we followed that theme by spinning the coffee at just 1°C. Working this way gives us a very accurate idea of how the coffee will present after packaging, which is not always the easiest to judge. This beer is full bodied, packed with plenty of rich dark fruit notes and is remarkably drinkable. Meanwhile the clean, direct espresso hit means it truly is one for the coffee lovers.