Spaten Optimator
Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

 

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown, almost black color. Thin and quickly dissolving dark tan head.
Smell: Sweet, bready, brown sugar, roasted nuts.
Taste: Dark bread, nutty, brown sugar, hint of raisin and a hint of dark chocolate. Nice balance between sweetness and bitterness. Fairly long aftertaste reminiscent of coffee.
Feel: Medium to full bodied, well carbonated, no alcohol warmth, satisfying.
Overall: Delicious. What a doppelbock should be.

12oz bottle, best by 11-2023

On the pour just under 2 fingers of light tan head formed on top of a very dark, reddish brown, that is quite clear. The head doesn't have the best retention, but it tries to stick to the glass.

Aroma is dominated by a sweet and fruity molasses Aroma. There is a slight bitterness, but all the malt has melded into this sweet molasses.

The flavor is a whole lot less of that sharp molasses, and brings some mellow, but still quite sweet, roast malt, as well as the crisp German lager thing I still can't quite put my finger on, which is nice. There is a definite, but not pronounced hop bitterness.

The feel is very full, but not in an overwhelming way, again due to that unexplainable by me, German lager crispness, that lends extra drinkablity to this beer. It is still quite an armchair sipper.

Overall this is a solid doppelbock, but unfortunately I enjoy it a bit more straight out of the bottle, since the aroma is a bit offputting to me.

Pours into my Guinness glass dark but clear, black with very dark amber hints. 1 cm head that dissipates quickly.

Smells sweet and malty. Smells more like Coca-cola than like beer.

Tastes ok, toasty and roasty and malty. The alcohol is noticeable (7.6%). Tastes like cola as the beer warms up. Kinda acid-caramelly notes.

Feels crisp, light but carbonated well. Feels like a Coca-cola too. Maybe I poured the wrong thing?


…nope. Definitely not coca-cola. Unless New New Coke has a lot of alcohol in it.

Overall: OK. I’d had it before and remembered it more fondly than I’m liking it now. Maybe context matters? I’d had it at a German restaurant with German food and German people. Now in my house by myself and by itself? Not what I was hoping for.

I’ll get it again if I’m at that restaurant.

Update: after I gave my review, I read some others. Syrupy is a good word for this beer I found in another review. As much in feel as in taste. A little raisiny.

Funny that others find the alcohol not overly noticeable. I’m not having that experience. But perhaps my tolerance is just waning as my hair is graying.

This lager boasts an extremely dark brown color and an off-white head. The nose projects sweet, nutty, and roasty notes; it projects richness. This is a complex and appealing aroma.

This beer is medium-bodied. It's easier to drink than I expect a beer of this (7.6% ABV) strength.

There's a lot going on in the flavor department. There are toasty and roasty flavors -- along with notes of brown sugar and molasses.

Has this beer been changed in recent years? I don't remember liking earlier samples so much.

 

Malty. Not too sweet. Some dark fruity mapley toasty-roasted notes. Not hot at all for 7.6%. Not a top-tier beer for me, but this is wonderful and I'll definitely be revisiting it.

 

 

 

 

A real contender for high-quality doppelbock at a reasonable price point.

The color is a dark brown, but not black. I drank from the bottle so I can't comment on the head.

The smell is malty like a doppelbock, but what stands out is the skunky smell of the hops. The skunkiness is almost like a Mexican lager, and there's even something slightly smokey like tobacco might smell. Those smells are mostly drowned out by a sweetness.

The taste is a bit fruity. There is a malty, sweet flavor that is characteristic of most doppelbocks, but I find that it's extremely muted. What stands out is the skunky, hoppy flavor. If you prefer doppelbocks that have some qualities more akin to a lager, I feel that you may enjoy this more than similar doppelbocks. There is an earthiness that pairs very well with the fruity, maltiness from the doppelbock.

It's not quite as thick and syrupy as a typical doppelbock. There's more wateriness than I really would expect to find in a doppelbock.

I find that this beer is a great alternative to other high quality doppelbocks when they're sold out at my local store. This is a classic doppelbock that won't disappoint. It's certainly lower quality than a beer like Ayinger's Celebrator, but it's still a solid doppelbock.

 

 

 

 

Purchased from high end super market (Central Market, Austin, TX).
6 pack.

Served: Ice Cold into Ice Cold Mug.

Look: Dark Brown. Little darker than a German-style dunkel.

Smell: Hints of chocolate, caramel and malts.

Taste: Light malty smooth taste. Much lighter than other bocks with powerful finish of spices and fruit.

Overall: Great German Beer with plenty of flavor and kick, without the heaviness.

Poured from a bottle.

Appearance - Mahogany cola color with a miniscule head that dissipates to nothing quickly.
Smell - Malty mostly with some Dark fruits
Taste - Maple and malts, hint of figs and brown sugar,
Mouthfeel - Medium to heavy, mild carbonation on the finish, light bitterness
Overall - Decent doppelbock. Worth giving it a try if you come across it.

Appearance:
Dark mahogany, clear, thin head , minimal lace.

Aroma:
Toffee, caramel, decocted Munich malts. Dried fruit, Very faint hops.

Flavor:
Malt forward for sure, slightly sweet, Balancing hop resin bitterness. Clean, slightly sweet and spicy finish

Mouthfeel:
Moderate mouthfeel. low CO2, smooth and not hot

Overall:
A solid benchmark doppelbock.