Doppelbock
Lupulin Brewing

Pours a deep amber-brown in color, perhaps a “golden brown” when held up to a proper light source. Clarity is brilliant, and it’s topped with a medium-dark, tan head. Lacing is good, as is the overall duration.

Sweet and bready nose, almost like a loaf of fresh baked, whole wheat bread, but with notes of dark fruits (raisin, fainter plum) just underneath the breadiness.
No overwhelming hop character of course, but it isn’t to be expected for the style. Clean: No sour or off-style notes, here.

SWEET! Almost too sweet for me, and doubtless too sweet for many, but with just enough underlying hop bitterness to keep it interesting (and from being too cloying). Likewise, interpretations of this style often run in the sweet to too-sweet range, so it isn’t too far off from several of the brands which hew closer to the style’s benchmark: Ayinger Celebrator.

Fully coats the mouth and palate, including the roof of the mouth, and there’s just enough gentle scrubbing carbonation to keep it from being too “slick.”

As noted in the initial aromatic (nose) impressions, there are notes of both dark fruits and bread, but also a lightly red wine / vinous character which is a bit more subtle at first, but which picks up a bit as this one warms.

At 8% ABV it is, again, pretty much on-par for the style (not pushing the boundaries of good taste at 9%+, as with some of the Baltic Porters and so-called Czech “doppelbocks”), and when combined with the sweetness, it may be too much for some drinkers, all in one go. This 16oz portion might therefore very easily serve two people, were they so inclined.

As for myself, I find it to be an easy-drinking experience. Yes, it’s sweet but it’s smoooooth and has plenty of character hidden beneath that 8%.

Overall a very good take on the style, and one that I would recommend to others who enjoy the Doppelbock style.

Canned-on: 12/03/21

Note: I remember liking this when it was first released (split a can with a friend, as I recall) and I haven’t tried it in more than a few years. This is mainly because I don’t see the entire Lupulin range as regularly as I do with the range from the more Twin Cities-centric breweries.

I am sure happy to try it again, and will actively “hunt” for it next year. : )

 

Lupulin Doppelbock, 8% ABV. Pours dark brown and thin, with a two-finger beige head that left some lacing. Aroma is malty and bready. Taste is roast malt and caramel/toffee, faintly sweet, moderately bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellentish. I prefer the BA version, by far.

 

Coppery brown pour at 52° with excellent clarity; light tan head; very little cap retention; solid ring with some spots of lace; medium legs on swirl. Caramel malt nose. Baked brown bread; lightly sweet caramel malt. Medium body; moderate minus carbonation; no astringency; light warmth from 8% abv. Overall a very enjoyable rich malty lager.

 

 

 

Rated this against a few other local doppels (Utepils, Arbeiter, Bent Paddle as well as some of the classics from Germany)...this one stood out to me, though, in part, it maybe is a little over the top and strays a bit from classic guidelines. I really liked the peppery notes, and also the complexity of the sweet maltiness.

Dark brown pouring from the can. The beer has a ton of amber notes held up to the light, and looks somewhat clear. The head is 2 finger and tan colored. The bubbles are overall fairly small in the head, and it looks frothy. The head retention is quite decent, and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is pretty minimal. Slight malt in this beer, with slight caramel. The aroma is a letdown.
The flavor is WAY better than the nose. I get a ton of caramel in the flavor. There's a good toffee hit in this beer as well. Slightly roasted flavor. There's a bit of bitterness on the backside, but is pleasing.
Decent body for the style. It seems full. There's a bit of a bubbly feeling on the backside.
While the aroma is lacking, the flavor makes up for it. Delicious.

16oz can canned 12/13/22 into a tall Lager glass.
L: Pours deep tea red/brown w light tobacco edges, a thin creamy light khaki head w good retention, low carbo, almost no lacing.
S: Lightly toasted grains, caramelized malts, a trace of cocoa, light alcohol w warming, light aromas overall.
T: Sweet caramelized malts, gently fruity & hopped morphing into a zesty almost resinous bitter linger, but malts are powerful. Clean in the middle, some alcohol w warming.
F: Standard, lightly creamy & smooth med-bodied w a med-long finish that has a med-length linger.
O: Incredibly well balanced, well bittered at the end, EZ drinking, not overbearing in any profile. An outstanding American Dopplebock that is incredibly smooth.

Dark brown murky opaque pour with a pinky finger of tan foam. Smells strongest in this order: toasted caramel, doppel malt, prune, raisin, and earth. Taste is yeasty and earthy forward, prune, hint of ester even, toast big rounding out. Feel is sharp with the yeast, decent malt, little boozy here and there though. Nice new world take on the style

LIGHT TASTING DOPPELBCK NOT ENOUGH MALT TASTE

 

 

A Tavour Treat. Pours a medium brown color with a minimal head that disappears quickly. Aroma is roasted malts, caramel and dark fruits. Taste is peppery with a hoppy bitterness at the finish.

 

Appearance: Pours a dark ruby to brown color with a strong tan head. SRM of 19-20. (4.00)

Aroma: Mild aromas of rich bread malt, smooth caramel, slightly syrupy. Mild. (3.75)

Flavor: Moderate flavors of rich bread and caramel malts. Some hints of German spices and banana. Yeast with a sweet finish. (4.00)

Feel: Medium-bodied, strong carbonation and bready mouthfeel. Finishes sweet. Somewhat clean. (4.25)

Compared to Sprecher Doppelbock 2/2023: Pours lighter, stronger head. Milder aromas and flavors. More bread and banana flavors. Less dark and sweet caramel and chocolate. Bready and more yeasty dry.

Overall: A pretty good doppelbock here. Drinks cleaner than I'd expect with milder flavors. The flavors could use a boost, but they appear as it warms a bit. Still, what flavors are here are good. German bread and yeast. Milder, yet clean, soft, and drinkable. (Rating: 3.97)

16oz can from Tavour. Dark brown pour, foamy beige head subsides. Aroma is sweet, malty, raisins. Taste brings more sweetness, malty, woody, raisins and a little bit of ABV. Mildly dry finish.