The Michigan Tri-Cities have some killer breweries in Midland, Bay City and Saginaw. Today, we’ll look at one of the oldest and most established in the area, Tri City Brewing Company, and one of its flagship brews, the Ruckinator Doppelbock. The beer won Gold at the World Expo of Beer in 2022 in the Strong European Style category, so let’s take a look at what makes it special.  

What’s in a Name?

The Doppelbock naming tradition goes back almost 400 years to Paulaner monastery in Munich and its “Salvator” brew. It’s said monks brewed this liquid bread of a beer style to help them get through their Lenten fasting, though there is some debate about whether the story is actually true. Some even go so far as to call the whole story “nonsense,” as Mark Dredge writes in his book and on his blog. Still, ever since the brewery took steps to copyright the name “Salvator,” the naming convention has been to add the suffix “-ator” to the names of Doppelbock beers. 

If tradition accounts for half Ruckinator’s name, what about the other half? I spoke with Kevin Peil, one of Tri City Brewing’s owners and the man who gave the beer its name. It turns out, the “ruck” part of the name comes from Peil’s hobby of rucking—hiking with a weighted backpack or rucksack. 

“We still have a rucking group that works out at the brewery every Thursday night,” Peil says. “When we first made this beer, we did so in honor of the rucking group and came up with the ‘Ruckinator’ name where we combined rucking with the ‘-ator’ suffix.”

Ruckinator Doppelbock: a Michigander’s Liquid Bread

There are two typical variants of the Doppelbock style, dark and light. Ruckinator is definitely on the darker side. Its deep ruby colors are almost like the facets of a rare gem. You could spend a long time staring into its depths if you weren’t already there to—you know—drink it! The head on the pour we sampled wasn’t large (probably due to the pour itself), but it was creamy and persistent. 

Sniffs revealed a sweet malt, almost grape-like, with hints of a darker plum. On tasting, the Ruckinator hits you with a low but briefly aggressive carbonation. It has a medium to medium-heavy body, but it’s oh-so-smooth. Compared to traditional and famous dark Doppelbock, this is lighter overall but still meaty enough to sustain you after a good workout (or fasting, if that’s your jam).

Ruckinator’s flavors largely match its aroma. Deep grape, plum and sweet malt are prominent. On the back end, a very low bitterness is accompanied by a light toast and some chocolate. Interestingly enough, a subtle caramel steps into the fray as the beer warms up. All in all, while this is a simple and delicious beer, it has enough complexity to make drinking it a joy. (Though at 7.5% ABV, you may not want too many of them!)

If you want to drink Ruckinator with food, the easy answer is to go with a bold chocolate dessert, especially one with some rich fruit such as a cherry. A dark chocolate and raspberry cheesecake would also make a great pairing—and then promptly make you want to take a nap. For dinner, hearty roasted proteins, such as duck or roast beef, and crusty, toasted bread would make anyone’s tongue sing.

Take A Beer-Cation 

If you’re ever up in Mid-Michigan visiting the abundant lakes, acres of forests and beautiful landscapes, make it a beer-cation! Stop in at Tri City Brewing in Bay City and have one of their flights. You won’t regret it!

Featured image contributed by the author. 

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