St. Martin Dunkler Doppelbock
Aktienbrauerei Kaufbeuren AG

One of my favorites! Hands down!!!
Wish I could find it again

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle from Friar Tuck's in Champaign, IL
No clear bottled on date, but "1.06" stamped on bottom of back label
Poured into an Ayinger willi glass

Aktien's Dunkler Doppelbock is a solid, chocolate-meets-caramel-meets-fruity-yeast-esters version of the style. The blend of esters, caramel malt, and chocolate is expertly pulled off, and combined with a decent aroma and satisfying mouthfeel, this is a doppelbock to pick up if seen. Would really like to try this fresh to see what the differences are.

Pours a 2cm dirty white/very light tan head. Composed of smallish bubbles, this looks very soft and pillowy. Head retention is fairly poor, as it dissipates in under a minute, leaving a thick ring around the glass with a few faint islands of foam atop the beer. Very minimal lacing. Body is a very dark reddish-amber hue, with light revealing more of the deep, mineral-red color. Some carbonation is visible through the transparent body.

Very heavy smelling. Aroma is of roasted malt, caramel malt sweetness, dried fruit (prunes, raisins, currants, black mission figs) and some spiciness (from ethanol?). Some oxidation is evident. The result is a darkly sweet beer, with faint nods towards roasted malt and chocolate, fruity esters, caramel, and sherry (from the oxidation).

Taste is a smooth, delicious blend of chocolate and caramel malt with dried fruit esters and yeastiness around the periphery. Very pleasantly surprised, as the aroma was indicating this might be oxidized. Caramel malt sweetness is very well balanced across the palate with the roasted/chocolate flavor at all times. Sweetness is never cloying, despite no obvious hop bitterness. Aftertaste is of light chocolate and caramel with very faint pure roasted flavor in the close.

Beer is medium to medium-heavy in body, with low, gentle carbonation that creates a soft, smooth mouthfeel. Finish is fairly dry. Generally, very inviting.

I am a beer lover through and through, and I've tasted many beers from around the world from large and small breweries, and though I enjoy all types of beer I find that I truly enjoy the Doppelbocks.

I would rank this beer in my top 3 beers of all time. I would like to say though, that since the brewery has changed owners a few years back it seems this beer is not quit as good. You won't be disappointed but it's just not quite as good as it once was.

I wrote this review to pointing out something for true doppelbock drinkers. If you find a bottle with the old label (as in the picture above) that bottle was brewed by the original owners. If you see it, buy a lot of it. You will not be disappointed. Now it could be that the older bottles have just had time to settle, but I tend to think it's the new staff at the brewery. All in all this is still a very good beer.

 

 

Pours a deep, dark brown with a nice off white head and some good lacing as it goes down. Smell is rich caramel and toffee along with hefty amounts of figs, dates, and other dark fruits. Slight hint of nuttiness as well. Taste really brings the dark fruits forward along with caramel and some candied brown sugar. Mouthfeel is fairly full and nicely warming without really being boozy. Very nice drinkability. Other than Andechser, probably the best Doppelbock that I've come across.

Thanks to Dyan for hooking it up with this one.

A: The pour is a slightly muddy mahogany color with very minimal head formation and carbonation.

S: What a nose on this beer! Plenty of yeasty esters providing banana and clove notes. There's also a nice fruitiness to it as well as a nice caramel, toffee, and chocolate sweetness.

T: The beer is pleasantly sweet with flavors of caramel, toffee, chocolate, and some cola. As the beer warms up, the yeast flavors really come out, especially the bananas.

M: A medium to full bodied beer with somewhat minimal carbonation.

D: A really fantastic doppelbock. Quite complex and deep both in flavors and aromas--great all around.

Thanks to Dyan for bringing this one. Unexpected, it was a last-minute addition to "The Most Epic Fucking Tasting You Wish You Were A Part Of."

Pours a medium brown color, similar to that of a weizenbock. Upon opening the bottle, there is a scary moment as foam rushes upwards, but it culminates in a meniscus and no beer is lost. In my glass, it looks nice a crisp and clean. The carbonation is nowhere to be found, and as a result, I wonder why the gush was so nearly imminent.

Aroma is classically simple like most of the doppelbocks that I have tried. Toffee and chocolate come through...still not sure how they do that with only 4 ingredients. There is also a very nice German yeast spiciness.

The flavor brings on even more impressiveness. The toffee and dark chocolate usher in a surprising vanilla flavor. Everything is nicely proportioned.

I am astonished by the complexity and simplicity of this beer...in the same breath. This is one of the best doppelbocks that I have had the pleasure of trying. I look forward to my next bottle.

A-Pours a deep, not quite opaque dark brown. Some off white head dissipates rather qiuckly, leaving a thin skin but no lacing.

S-Lots of caramel, sweet malt and raisins.

T-Rich caramel sweetness in the front with a surprisingly rich roasted malt and a hint of smokiness in the finish. Excellent depth of flavor.

M-Medium bodied, almost heavy with some nice coating qualities.

D-Delicious. A very tasty doppelbock that I really enjoyed.

HV

1 pt 0.9 fl ounces into pint glass.

A: Nice hazy dark reddish amber with 4 finger head on pour that pretty much disappears along with some nice lacing on the get go. Looks like tea after the head vanishes.

S: Rich malts with caramel background notes. A bit of grainy booziness. Dried dark candied fruits.

T: Light chocolate with molasses and deep fruit preserves. Ever so subtle caramel notes. Lighter than some of the meal in a bottle varieties that I have had like Celebrator.

M: Medium to Full, very nice.

D: I had 6.

Got a couple of these from Dyan. Thanks, dogg.

This beer pours a murky dark brown, opaque in the glass but not quite black. Like their helles lager, a small quater-inch head forms, but it sustains nicely. It smells of dark fruit - raspberries, figs, dates - and chocolate. Swirling brings out hints of molasses. The taste is remarkably balanced, berry-like fruit flavors providing a lot of complexity without cloying the palate. Spicecake and chocolate appear toward the finish, along with some nuttiness and dates. The finish is roasty and dry with a light hop bitterness. Very complex without compromising drinkability, this is awesome stuff.

Hell. I know I've had better dopplebocks then this one. I'll post it as soon as I can recall what it was... but I wouldn't hold my breath.

The beer pours a coffee brown color with surprisingly good head retention and OK lacing. On the nose this beer is gorgeous. I get brown sugar, milk chocolate and cherry cough drop, but believe me when I say I get a boatload of all of it. As attractive as this beer smells, it's every bit as good on the palate. This beer is rich and malty; just everything a good German dopple should be. The beer is fairly sweet, but there's just enough hops to keep the beer from becoming heavy or tiring on the palate. The beer has a lovely long, chocolate filled finish. Mouthfeel is fairly full, with a long finish. Drinkability is exceptional, and I'm ever so glad I have another of these bad boys in the fridge. Have no idea what the alcohol is, but it's very well disguised. Just delicious. Very, very impressive.

If there's a better way NOT to label a beer for freshness, I don't know what it is. Best before: nothing printed. Month bottled? Not notched. Onto the beer

In my Aventinus glass, St. Martin sits a ruddy brown with crimson highlights. A dense light brown head fills the rest of the glass, receding to a disk.

A solid dopplebock if there was one. Bready with an intoxicating combination of caramelized sugar (mildly burnt), brown sugar and a dark fruit character with figs, plums and raisins. This is like liquid fruit cake, rich and decadent, while avoiding being saccharine. Very clean, there's no real hop character noticeable

Opens medium-light in body with bread-like character. Sweet with a raisin bread like character with the caramelized sugar showing through. There's a surprising cream-like flavor (light) and this really works very well with the fruity sweetness. The mid-palate is a touch watery (just a little heft would have gone a long way) before an excellent finish with a mild burnt-sugar bitterness and some fruitiness. While the flavors live up to the beautiful nose, the light mouthfeel is a little disappointing, and I can't help but dock half a point, almost against my will. Carbonation, while visually prominent is soft and lush, Just incredibly drinkable, I wonder why this isn't rated higher.

Pours brown - slightly hazed - with a tan head that descends to a patch. Some trailing lace slides down the glass without much stickage.

The smell is of caramel/toffee with hazelnut and earthy spicing.

The taste is of sweet caramel and a vague hint of alcohol with some fruity/earthy notes. Sweet with a touch of noble hops in the finish.

It is medium-bodied. Slightly swishy.

I like the aromatic malts here the best. It is sweet, though with some balance. Caramellish/toffeeish, nougaty in character as a whole. A nice doppelbock!