Goosinator
Left Hand Brewing Company

GoosinatorGoosinator
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From:
Left Hand Brewing Company
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
Doppelbock
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 8.63%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
20
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 18, 2015
Added:
Jan 06, 2006
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by rrski198:
Photo of rrski198
Rated by rrski198 from Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

Feb 21, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of wethorseblanket
Rated by wethorseblanket from California

3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Shared by Richard on 1-14-12.
May 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Oct 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by afsdan from Colorado

Mar 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaydoc from Kansas

Dec 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by barnzy78 from Illinois

Nov 27, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by FreshmanPour77 from Minnesota

Nov 23, 2011
Photo of Dotcubed
Reviewed by Dotcubed from Arkansas

4.12/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5
Looks good, deep color, lite fine bubbles. Smells kinda sweetly like maly syrup.

Dusty smell. Has a lite ness.
My wife says it tasts like vitamin B capsules.

Whoa, this 2005 bottle is nutty. Like black walnuts. Earthy, bitter sweet. Balanced but lacking body in my opinon. It's a little light.

The bitter sweet out lasts my expectations.
Reminds me of the Celebrator Dopplebock but different... maybe less roast on the malts.

I wish I had another bottle to open in a few years.
Feb 04, 2008
Photo of blitz134
Reviewed by blitz134 from California

3.66/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I probabaly had this one about a month and a half ago. Stumbled across the review in my notebook.

Dark caramel body with hints of red. Light tan head, two fingers thick. Persistant and sticky.

Caramel and raw sugar in the aroma. Sweet yeast rolls. A little floral hopping. Sweet alcohol as well. Overall quite smooth and cohesive.

Caramel and raw sugar again in the flavor. Toasted malts and a little nuttiness and Tootsie Roll underneath. Sweet overall. Noticable but well integrated alcohol.

Thinnish mouthfeel. Lower carbonation level is nice and leads to an appreciated smoothness.

Good drinkability. Easy to put back. Decent overall flavors. Not major faults just nothing too overly complex.
May 06, 2007
Photo of Bitterbill
Reviewed by Bitterbill from Wyoming

4.15/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This one pours from 750ml caged and corked bottle(2005) a deep clear amber with a medium sized head of foam that receded rapidly. After the second pour, the foam stuck around much longer and showed some good lacing.

The smell is very strong. I'm getting a lot of caramel and roasted malt and it's way on the sweet side, kind of reminds me of butterscotch.

The taste on first sip is huge malt....lots of sweet caramel, roasted malt, some dark fruit, and bread. The more sips I take, the more the sweetness seems to subside and is replaced by strong burnt caramel along with some molasses and some bitterness. There's even a touch of sourness in there. Hmmm. I'm not exactly sure if the various flavours are really working all that well together.

I'm now on my last pour and....the foam is really thick and billowy now with the clarity I mentioned earlier being replaced by a murky amber and the flavours seem to be meshing more favourably so I'm starting to like this Doppelbock more. I guess my initial experience with the complexity of this brew caught me off guard. Yep, I like it.

Bottom line: This starts off a bit muddly but if you persevere with it, it turns out to be a pretty darned good brew in the end.

Edit: Jan 2, 2011:

2005 Left Hand Goosinator

Still a great looking brew with plenty of foam.

Huge caramel malt smell, lots of chocolate and toffee.

Lots of the same in the smell with some definite oxidation. Loads of bread in the taste as well. Bottom line, this didn't handle the 5 years well but is still drinkable.
Mar 21, 2007
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This bomber was absolutely a great wine replacement, and went extraordinary well following a good piece of salmon among other dishes. It was a dark brown colour, with smooth caramel and chocolate malting yet not too sweet. Hops played a secondary role. A yeast impact that adds to a thicker mouthfeel.
Jan 07, 2007
Photo of Bobikel
Reviewed by Bobikel from Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
2005 Vintage

Appearance - Pours a hazy, dirty copper with an excelent thick head. Decent lacing.

Smell - Malt, yeast, with no discernable hops. Slight traces of caramel & Alchohol

Taste - VERY smooth malt & caramel, slight hop bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel - Smooth and inviting

Drinkability - Quite drinkable. Smooth with just a bit of complexity. Good for people who might not like the dark/heavy side of beer just yet.

Overall - A descent dopplebock, not worth buying, in my opinion.
Dec 04, 2006
Photo of gbontrag
Reviewed by gbontrag from Colorado

3.77/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
just get the pliers, the damn cage is wound so *&^%#@ tight!
Rich, clear mohagany brew goes down the glass, and a thick froth the color of Victorian lace goes up the glass. Thick meringue breaks up into a large and irregular patchwork of foam.
A sharp, short wiff of alcohol followed by resinous floral, piney hops, and a little tonic water, and European bitters. Not to be denied, luscious, sweet soft caramel.
Immediately, I'd say delicious. Melted chocolate grabs the caramel facade and dives across the palate. Here comes hints of mints, finishing with bittering qualities from the hops and burnt grains. It leaves a little grassy and flat. I'd say it needs more bottle conditioning carbonation to boost a flat mouthfeel. The aftertaste is metallic, and all-in-all unexciting. This kinda bums me out. It started so good: It approached the rim of deliciousness, and fell back.
Jun 17, 2006
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

3.56/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml bottle from Julio's, Westboro, MA. Corked and caged.

Poured roughly into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1 1/4" tan head over the slightly cloudy copper brew. Head holds strong, with plenty of delicate lace. Aroma is a slightly soapy hops character over a lightly sweet malt base. Taste is moderate malt sweetness, with balancing hops, and little to no alcohol presence. Actually seems like more of a plain old bock to me, not that there's anything wrong with that. Mouthfeel is smooth and nice if you ignore the style classification, and drinkability is also great with the same guideline in mind. I like this beer quite a bit. But not as a DBock.
Jun 08, 2006
Photo of Beaver13
Reviewed by Beaver13 from Colorado

3.17/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
750 ml bottle. Pours a dark red with a huge fizzy off white head that retains well.

The aroma is vegetal and oakey with some chocolate malt and cola and a little fruit and a little smoke.

The flavor is grassy sweet caramel malts with a little smokiness and some sour fruitiness. There is a bit of a bitter finish that comes out more as it warms. The mouthfeel is medium to full with sharp carbonation.

Overall, a decent beer, but a little on the sweet side with some off aspects. It's also a little pricey at $10.
Jun 07, 2006
Photo of ChrisA
Reviewed by ChrisA from Florida

4.35/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to Gid Berger for the graduation gift. 750ml bottle corked and caged. Very cool looking bottle. It poured a rich cloudy caramel color. Two finger foamy head. Scent of apple cider and some spice. Amazing malty pleasures on the palate. The sweetness does not give way to too much alcohol, which is a good trick considering this weighs in at 7.2% ABV. It appears that this brew is of limited availability. Shame on me, I should have saved it for a special occasion. Oh well, this is the type of beer that is it's own special occasion.
Jun 01, 2006
Photo of grumpy
Reviewed by grumpy from Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Purchased at Sam’s Blue Light in Durham, NC, and tasted from a miniature Belgian glass.

Well….. this is a solid offering from Left Hand, with no major flaws for the style. On the other hand, nothing about it really stood out. True to form, but not a beer I will be going to any great effort to seek out in the future.

All the right stuff is there – some caramel and chocolate notes, a little fruit, malt sweetness, a light hop bittering – all in a reasonable balance. Mouthfeel was adequate, and carbonation was reasonable. It just isn’t very exciting. Not bold, not memorable. A little pricey for the quality.

Bottom line – drinkable, but not a favorite.
Mar 20, 2006
Photo of GCBrewingCo
Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

3.91/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The beer poured into the glass very slightly hazy deep amber brown with a tan and tightly bubbled yet frothy head which rose tall and fell slowly to lace the glass.

The aroma was malty with a strong caramel presence and a nutty Munich malt impression. Some alcohol was present in the aroma and there was just a hint of something vegetal and corny (DMS). The alcohol paired with the dark crystal led to just a hint of phenolic spicy character.

The flavor was malty and nutty with a strong caramel presence. The flavor was spicy with a bit of pepper. The beer contained quite a chocolate flavor and a substantial bittering level that caused the malt character to immediately dry on the palate.

The finish was dry with a lasting impression of Munich malt and a spicy bit of pepper into the aftertaste. The body was just above medium and nicely done. I have no idea where the pepper came from and it would not be something I would expect in a dopplebock, but it worked for me. Could use some dark fruit presence as opposed to simply dark caramel and chocolate.

750 ml, corked and bailed bottle, 2005.
Feb 10, 2006
Photo of ADR
Reviewed by ADR from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Special edition 2005 brewed beer...a tough cage wire and a stubborn cork. Medium ginger-brown color, chill hazed. Big 3/4 inch head. Somewhat widely spaced horizontal marks for lace (much more sticky foam later on down the bottle). Aroma of blueberry and Oat Flakes cereal. Reserved carbonation, would be almost creamy if the body was a bit thicker in impression. Toasted gran flavors, some hazelnut, darker than caramel but not particularly heavy or sweet for the style. Lacks meaty tones as well. Hops are non-detectible. Pleasant smooth finish, one of the beer's best aspects. Improves on warming up a bit. Alcohol seems pretty well-hidden. There's nothing really wrong but its not as distinctive as a number of Doppels and it sells on the high side of $11.
Jan 14, 2006
Goosinator from Left Hand Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 20 ratings