Doppelbock
Baron Brewing

Poured a deep, murky brown color with good carbonation and a big dirty white head. Nose is chocolate, dirt, yeast, clove, wheat. Taste is banana, wheat, chocolate hits about midway and on the finish. Light clove feel as well.
Mouthfeel is a light booze, wheat, chocolate and a little bitterness and dry on the end.

22oz bottle. Bottle labeled 'Liberator'.

Poured a dark and deep brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of nuts, toasted caramel, chocolate, roast, and some coffee. Tastes of roastiness, bitter chocolate, and nuts.

Notes from 5/30/08

Thanks to hopdog for opening this...
Appears a dark brown with mahogany edges with a small, off white head. Spotty lacing slowly droops into the cap.
Smell is of cocoa, roasted java beans, vanilla, and raisins.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas but there is a slight dropoff with mild tartness, and traces of cocoa, vanilla, and soured coffee. There is also a touch of sourdough swirling around the palate
Mouthfeel is tart, medium bodied, sweet, with residuals of raisin bread.

This is a big improvement over the SS Eisbock from Baron. This bottled brew pours a dark, but clear consistency, with a slight ring of a head. Like the eisbock, the carbonation is low, but I think it's slightly stronger here. The aroma is not heavy, but it does smell good and appropriate for a D-bock.

The taste is quite malty and rich. Hops and bitterness are kept to an appropriately moderate volume, and there's a stronger, richer, darker, malt flavor. It has "that traditional, dark German malt flavor, yet without being roasty" character I enjoy. "Good job" to Baron. Unlike the helles eisbock, I can recommend this bock. (Extra note to Baron: I would love to try an eisbock version of this dark-bock brew!)

A good offering from Baron.
Pours an extremely deep ruby color with a nice white head that fades sort of quickly. The nose is very lagery, with some grain and slight esters. Taste is quite nice, rather light for the style. Some roasted malt characterisitcs, bordering on schwarzbier taste at first. That quickly fades though as the malt thickens and turns a bit creamier in the middle, Good Caramelish toffee through the middle as well. Body is just a little thin. the finish is very lagery and crisp. Mouthfeel is good, slightly thin and rather carbonated though. Drinkability is quite good. Overall a good beer.. Tasty and very drinkable. Gets better as it warms. Very sessionable. Certainly one I will revisit.

My half-liter mug of Liberator at Baron's taproom was diminished by a minimal showing of suds and virtually no head. There was also no aroma beyond that of simple tapwater. These shortcomings undermined the beer somewhat, though the flavor was abundant and worthy. This opaque brown lager has a determined chocolaty flavor accented by notes of caramel-molasses. The beer is modestly sweet with a plump body, but has no fruitiness as an ale might. Engaging and smooth, but lacks vigor.

A: Deep brown to black with amber highlights. Med-low foam stand. Off white head.

S: Mellow malt sweetness with low melanoidins. Very neutral lagger note.

T: Full bodied, big- but clean malt that fades to a floral/perfumish finish. Malt dominates as it should - but something distinctly not German in there. Too much melanoidin malt maybe?

D: Bigger vs. draft I had at Prost! (Seattle) last week, which is good. Nice and drinkable but I am still mystified by the finish.

On tap around town for the winter as "Liberator"

Slightly sugary aroma. Malty with some melanoidins and some fruity yeast character.

Dark brown with almost no head.

Big rich flavor with tons of melanoidins. Sweet but with just enough hop bittering to keep it from being syruppy. There's a dried fruit component too.

Big mouthfeel, seem really big. Not noticeable warming but as you drink it you can tell it packs a punch but it's not overly strong.

Very nice interpretation of Doppelbock.

Appearance – This one is a dark burgandy in color with a nice head that showed good retention and left some terrific lacing on the glass.

Smell – This beer is just rank. It’s like sticking your nose in a jar of unsulphored molasses and maple. It’s super sugary without being sweet, if that makes any sense.

This is not a complex nose by any stretch of the imagination. There is almost nothing to this but straight molasses and light maple. It’s like a simple bock on steroids.

Taste – I tasted this along with a bottle of Celebrator. I could pick up several different flavors in the Celebrator, one of them being a very bockish maple molasses flavor. Well, that’s all that this one is. It is just huge. It’s exactly like the DBs that I remember from Germany. No roasty malts, no caramel or complex sugars, and no fruity flavors of any kind. Just raw, Doppelbockish molasses and maple.

Together it tastes like raw red grapes after the harvest before they get a chance to sweeten up for bottling. There’s also a sense of bitterness to this one. What a mouthful.

Mouthfeel – This one is medium-bodied and bitter. There is no sweet feeling in the mouth when drinking this fella. The big molasses though will pucker your mouth if you’re not used to it.

Drinkability – This is not the fancy shamcy bring in the band kind of Doppelbock. This is the raw, unadultrated, give it to me like the Germans drink it kind of DB. I really am just amazed that this came from an Amerian brewery, although the brewmaster imports all of his ingredients from Bavaria.

Comments – Skyhand and I cornered the owner at the brewery and, after a few samples, both growlered up on this puppy. Man, if you have ever lived in Germany or have a true appreciation for the real Doppelbock deal, you HAVE to try this Baron Brewing offering.

Update – I got the wonderful opportunity to sample this beer again in 2007 thanks to skyhand, and boy it was just as good I remember it. I love the simplicity of this DB. It is raw, untamed, and not for the weak of heart.