Somnambulator
Walking Man Brewing Co.

Again with the clever “walking theme” beer names….

I suppose one could make the argument that this isn’t a good beer, and I would understand that. It’s a Bourbon Barrel Doppelbock, and it’s dominated by Bourbon. I mean DOMINATED. The typical flavors of a DB are muted under a blast of Bourbon, rather than being complimented by it. I don’t care. I still thought it was quite tasty. But then, I like Bourbon, and I like beer aged in Bourbon barrels, whether the effects are overpowering, or subtle.

It was served in a tulip glass, and was very dark-amber in color, with a beige head that left no lace. It smelled of Bourbon. The taste, other than Bourbon, was malt-sweet and somewhat chocolate/brown sugar. Mouthfeel was medium. The alcohol (10%+) and/or the hops balanced the sweetness and gave the beer a bite in the aftertaste.

So, I really enjoyed it. That said, I wouldn’t always be in the mood for a beer of this sort, and I would wager that some people would never be in that mood. Such is life in the craft beer universe.

 

From draft poured into a pint glass. The Look of this beer was dark brown but held in light some redness comes through. Nice head with minimal lacing.
Smell was faint mild toated malt. A little rye bread with a touch of german hops in the smell. Overall not to much smell.
Taste was very nice, very strong but clean malt profiles, balanced by the mild hop bitterness. a little alcohol spice.
MF was very acceptible as my mouth fully enjoyed this. Honestly I have probably drank a handfull of Doppelbock beers, but this was the best of my life!

On tap at Concordia alehouse.

Have had this before, and my recollection of the beer was a bit more positive then what I sampled tonight.

The beer pours a rootbeer amber color with good head retention and fair lacing. The beer is pretty boozy on the nose, with the bourbon barrel aging very noticeable. One gets quite a bit of vanilla, cherry and chocolate. The flavors on the palate replicate the nose, except the beer is a bit hot from the noticeable alcohol. The beer is a bit hollow on the mid palate, and the finish is not as smooth as I recall. Still, the beer is very nice tasting, with lots of brown sugar, vanilla and milk chocolate. The beer is medium bodied and the alcohol just a bit too noticeable for my taste.

This is a solid beer, but a bit heavy and tiring on the palate. Still, it was a pleasure seeing this beer on tap at Concordia tonight.