Hoffmann Doppel Bock
Climax Brewing Company

Drain pourer, either something was off on the bottle or it's just a poorly made beer...

 

I had this on tap at Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg PA, served chilled in a tulip.

The color is deep bronze with light beige cream and ultra fine bead. The smell of toasted caramel and light yeast ester is dominant in the aroma with bready and toasted malt nose filling the aroma category. The mouthfeel is good with semi-full and sweet but not cloying quality with malt breadiness and semi-high carbonation w/ mild creamy feel into the finish.

The taste of this bock has the familiar caramel maltiness as hinted at in the nose with som sweet bready tinge that brings out a low raisin and malty sweet toffee flavor as it warms slightly with some yeast smoothness in the finish. Overall a very tasty beer, one of the best American made Dopplebocks I have had next to Samuel Adams a bit sweet, but that is apropos for the style.

a deep amber/almost brown, clean pour with a finger of tan head and nice lacing. smells of band aids, raw bacon, bready malt... not so sure i want to drink this after smelling it..

but, a fool i am, here we go..

god damnit, another infected batch of beer from climax. a sour, funky, pork-like flavor. just fuck it, what's the point of continuing this review.

medium body, tart.

that's it. i REFUSE to drink/buy any more climax. i don't care if they're one town away, this is bullshit. the last 4 6 packs, growlers, bombers i bought have all been infected. i've heard stories of dave, the brewer, releasing them purposely as a sour ale under a different name. honestly, i believe it. this is sad that the most local brewery to me could give a shit less about the quality of product they are serving the public. please clean your fucking equipment. shut down operations for a week if you have to, i know it sounds like it will lose income for a week - but would you rather lose income for a week, or a craft beer drinker's loyalty for a lifetime? you just lost mine, and honestly, i'm a very easy going person. the fact that you're well aware of your infected batches and could give a shit less, yeah that kills it for me. thanks for wasting my wife's money on a christmas present that is about to be poured down the drain.

 

this beer was a BIG letdown. Maybe I'm used to drinking good beer, but after I poured and smelled the beer (which both present good features) the taste was absolutely terrible. Even for a doppelbock beer, the aspects of Hoffmann aren't great. I don't typically drink doppelbock's, but the one's that I have had sure beat the hell out of this bottle. I know good german beers are typically acidic, but this just takes that standard to a whole new level. It taste like hops and lemon juice. If you're into that kind of thing, then go for it. For the style I guess it isn't terrible, sour and acidic is what you'll get. Typical for the genre, but not my style. The beer pours nicely and smells great, but the taste just isn't there. This will be my last beer from Hoffmann.

 

bomber bottle... been awhile since I sampled this, I seem to remember liking it... so here goes...

eyes...
on an easy like a sunday evening pour I am spying a full two fingers of cocoa foam, from the top the head looks like edward james olmos face, the lacing is sticky and viscous, even after a little time out in the corner the head is still holding strong at about 3/4 of one finger.. nice! Our hue here is a deep amber/ruby to brown with a nice clean uniform look.

nose...
Bready and dry malty, like snorting malted milk balls, some underlying alcohol bathes itself in fig like tones, pretty subdued. a nice nose.

taste etc...
kind of a chalky malt flavor, a little lighter in the body than I would suspect the style should be comfortable with, the carbonation is right and carries well, the depth of flavor here.. is well.. not too deep. the nose by far outstrips the complexity (or lack thereof). No dates are on the bottle so I can't tell when this was brewed (but my local store does a great job rotating stock).

Verdict?
man... this isn't one iota the beer I remember. Not terrible but there are so many german varieties easily available...why bother ?

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is clear copper in color and has a slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a two finger high beige head that slowly died down faded away and left rings of bubbles down the edges of the glass.
S: The smell is very malty
T: The initial taste has malty sweetness and notes of dark fruits; this is followed by hints of butter, nuts and roasted malts.
M: It feels medium- full-bodied, smooth and let a bit thin on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a bit of dryness in the finish.
O: The beer is a decent representation of the style and the alcohol is well masked from the taste. This beer is a good choice if you are looking for a doppelbock but don't want something very heavy or filling.

Growler. Pours reddish-brown with an off-white, quickly fading head. Aroma is of caramel malt, floral hops with hints of cherry. Full, smooth body. Taste is of rich, sweet, caramel malt, chocolate, some dough and herbal hops. Medium lasting, sweet finish becomes dry from alcohol. Good brew, but it lacks complexity and character of German examples of the style.

Poured a dark brown with minor head and lacing that contained a nice bready smell along w/ some caramel and toffee. Like the smell I found this to taste lighter than expected, certainly not a German, but I still found this beer real good. Medium bodied with a smooth flow that has lowkey sweetness from chocolate and caramel along with dryness balanced in which is derived from toffee along with a little tart fruit and hoppy bitterness. An enjoyable if simple dopple but I must say that I was shocked to see the high ABV b/c this beer is real easy to drink and a thirst quencher.

A: Pouring from the growler-sized bottle makes it a little tougher than a standard 12 oz. or even a bomber in terms of getting a nice pour, but it still turns out alright. Quite red, offering a 'clarified rust' hue. Head is about a finger tall, bubbly with mediocre retention and a bit of patchy lacing left behind.

S: Aroma is a tad light for the style, I feel... some aromas of toffee and dark fruits, predominantly raisin and/or fig

T: Rather sweet and fruity... there is a bit of a caramel and toffee flavour, but also a twang of raisin-like flavour that comes with a little touch of tartness. Said tart flavours mellow out towards the finish, becoming more of a syrupy-sweet, yet still raisin-like aftertaste.

M + D: Mouthfeel is about medium, with an appropriate carbonation for the feel. A soft touch of warmth finishes it up. This is a pretty solid offering... perhaps not world-class, but it's quite good. I'd personally move a little more towards a little more of a 'smooth' caramel or toffee like flavour, but this works alright. I'd pick it up again in the future, and would certainly suggest checking it out.

Very nice. It's all about good water (which I know sounds weird, nj and all, but I checked in to it, and climax gets their water from a local lake/reservoir that has super-clean h2o) and good ingredients, which climax also knows all about. the owner is a former home-brew supply store owner. Dave Hoffmann has turned out the best doppel I've ever had. It's also hyper-fresh, and that's a plus.
Color is dark brown/borderline mahogany with a tanish head. Pretty much all beer looks good to me though, so let's get to the meat.
Nose to me is like standing next to a mountain of chocolate covered cherries in a coffee shop that only does really light roasts in the country in fall time on a wet, rainy morning while you sample quince and fig pastes. Taste is clean, roasty, chocolaty, dark fruity, dark fruit jammy, slightly burnt dark sugar, earth and an almost ryeish graininess. Super well balanced. Long, roasty finish with just a slight bit of iodiny brininess. Medium body that carries just enough carbonation to tickle the tounge and let you know it's real/alive. Sick. Very traditional. What doppel bock tastes like fresh and well made. Impressive. Easy to drink. I need moore!!

Presentation - Unfortunately had to pour into clear plastic cup

Appearance - Deep ruby colour with decent head and some lacing

Smell - Fruity and mellow

Taste - Fruity, mellow, and bready

Mouthfeel - A bit heavy-bodied, creamy finish

Drinkability - A meal in a glass

Overall - Maybe I'm a localvore, but beer always tastes better when fresh. That being said, I love this beer

64 oz growler from Buy Rite in South Plainfield, NJ.

A: Deep amber ruby, clear. Decent head, subtle lacing.

S: Sweet, fruity, mellow.

T: Mild, a bit sweet. Nice mellow finish. Not nearly as roasty as I would have expected for a Doppelbock. (my benchmark is a Celebrator)

M: A bit lighter than expected, a bit sticky.

D: Very good drinkabaility. Sweet, light body helps to mask the somewhat high alcohol (7-8%). Crisp.

Overall: Always nice to find a decent NJ brew. Perhaps not a traditional Doppelbock by Ayinger standards, but tasty and drinkable nonetheless. Enjoyed alongside some pork and pickled red cabbage, a nice companion. While I won't be screaming for another, I will definitely seek out some more Climax beers.

64 oz growler purchased from Buy Rite on Oak Tree in South Plainfield...
Pours a ruddy, medium-brown hue... Decent head with minor carbonation and lacing...
Smell: Rendolent of graham crackers, rich, roasted malts...
Taste: Loaded with malts, with a salty and sweet aftertaste... Caramel, brown sugars, cinnamon spice, with a bread and butter note as well...
Loose mouthfeel...
Easily drinkable...
Finished the whole growler in one setting...
First-ever beer from this NJ brewery...
Recommended...

64 oz. growler that you can buy at your local NJ beer store. This growler has a big plaid colored label that has a small picture of a wooden broom holder that contains a hop vine, 1 barley stock, a small gold shovel, and a stick that has a wooden cup on the end. Off to the right side of the label is where they keep the US Government warning and off to the left side is a description of the brewing process and the beer itself. Don't waste your time looking for any kind of date on the bottle because there isn't one anywhere.

Appearance: When I poured it into a Pilsner glass, this dark cranberry red colored doppelbock came pouring out of the bottle. When it settled, it had a 1 to 2 inch head of foam. I wish I could describe the color of the foam, but it was hard to put it into a color category. The best I can do is say that the head of foam was a mix between a cream color and a light beige color. Whatever the color was, this head of foam had nice retention that left behind a small mix colored film and streaks of lace around the glass. It had a very unique appearance. I doubt I'll ever see a dark cranberry red doppelbock with a mixed colored head of foam again.

Smell: The first whiff that I took of this beer, the aroma was almost candy like filled with nothing but fruit rollups. After the beer really warmed up, the doppelbock aroma emerged. Then the aroma was filled with dark roasted malts, dark fruits, sweet caramel, and a pinch of roasted hops at the end. Whenever I swirled the beer around, I got another aroma to this beer. When I did that, the doppelbock aroma left and in came this aroma of sugar coated dark fruits. I guess that marked the return of the fruit rollups. The down to earth doppelbock that was in the middle of the aroma would have been fine, but those fruit rollups had to come in and mess everything up.

Taste: As it turns out, this doppelbock was far too mild with sweet dark fruits, a small touch of dark roasted malts, more sweet dark fruits, and then this dark fruity doppelbock ended with a mild hop punch of citrus hops. The taste was far too sweet and clearly not filled with enough good doppelbock characteristics, like dark chocolate, roasted malts, and caramel. I don't know where they were in the taste, but this doppelbock desperately needed them.

Mouthfeel: Too light! Far too light for a doppelbock. Maybe Climax did this so that one person can drink an entire growler of this beer. It's either one 64 oz. growler or nothing at all. There was the lightness and the short lived non-doppelbock aftertaste of sweet dark fruits and bitter citrus hops that made the mouthfeel below average.

Drinkability: It's hard for me to think back on the fact that I drank the entire growler of this doppelbock. It's a good thing it was a light beer or I would have been very sick. One growler was good enough for me because that's a lot of beer to drink and it wasn't all that good. If you're looking for a light doppelbock and lots of it, than look no farther than Hoffmann Doppel Bock.

Appearance: Pours a hazy brown body with a very thin white head.

Smell: Light aroma of toasted malts with a hint of nuts. Lighter still in the nose is the pinch of herbaceous hops.

Taste: Mild toasted maltiness (like Munich-lite) with a moderate amount of sweetness. Ever-present nuttiness. Very faint sliver of hop flavor on the otherwise sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Seems a bit light all around for a doppelbock, though I still found it to be fairly tasty and enjoyable.

Pours brown with a thick head that descends to a lasting patch.

The smell is of caramel-candy sweetness with a touch of light fruits.

The taste is of sweet caramel-candy and dough with underlying earthy fruitiness. Not very complex, but nice. It finishes with a dry tame sweetness.

It has a smooth medium body. Perhaps a bit too light in body for style, but any thinness to it shows no traces of wateriness and the texture is very nice. The alcohol is well-hidden, making this tasty treat easy to drink. This is a very good choice for a more "sessionable'" example of the style.

On draft at Barcade. Dark amber or chestnut in color with a big toasted malt aroma. Toasted malts up front in the flavor as well with hints of biscuit, oranges and just a little bit of hops. Malt comes back again in the finish. Very easy drinking at 8.0% ABV. One of my favorite American versions of the style.

Dark orange to light brown body, depending on how direct your light is. Topped by a few fingers of oatmeal colored froth.

Lot of bakery in the nose - biscuits and cookies and bread, with a few bits of light fruits added to the loaves.

Sweet caramel start, then some chocolate notes, though its actually much less sweet than I expected. Could be deeper, darker. Roasty, toasty notes in the middle. A solid snap of earthy noble hops balance things off for a clean finish. No sense of alcohol.

Mouthfeel is light for a dobblebock, slides by too easy. Which makes drinkability too easy.

Overall, kind of tasty, not bad, but lacking the depth that I expect from a dopplebock, and a Climax beer.

My first sample of the climax/hoffman brews....

A: Pours a medium brown with a decent head with slight lacing. What can i say it just looks delicious.
S: Great sweet malt smell with caramel, hints of flora aroma, roasted malts, brown sugar, slight alcohol, and breadiness.
T,M,D: Sweet roasted malts, slight alcohol, tiny bubbles, creamy, with slight breadiness, tiniest hints of bitterness, so smooth and drinkable for a beer if about 9 percent. Drank the whole growler over the course of a few hours. Great job.

Half-gallon growler picked up from Buy-rite (Oak Tree Rd., NJ) with a nice checked pattern on the front with the writing, "Hoffmann Lager" at the top. The word "Doppelbock" was written below the main design in bold characters.

This beer poured a translucent brown-burgundy color in my chalice with a moderately sized head that dissipated quickly but left some nice lacing behind. Aromas of burnt wood, roasted sugar, sweet malt, and caramel, and hard candy were apparent; very subtle, but enticing because of how well these aromas came together. The taste is delightful with a lovely blend of various malts, each adding a different texture and taste. The sweetness continues to evolve in the sip with subtle 'punches' of varying flavors. The finish is soft and mildly sweet; begging you to take another long sip. My tongue felt coated and juicy with each sip. I think this beer has an ABV level at the lower end of the range for this style. A wonderful beer that was easy to sip and enjoy. What struck me most about this beer was that it tasted as if it had been prepared with delicate care and great attention to detail. That growler didn't last long between the two of us!