Bourbonator Doppelbock
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

I was able to try this bourbon barrel aged Doppelbock on tap at the Iron Hill in North Wales. It was on tap there around 2/8/2009. You know this has to be a big beer because they served it to me in a small 12 oz. pilsner glass.

I've never seen a Doppelbock pour this shade of brown before. It was an extremely murky caramel brown color with traces of brown sugar coloring along the sides. One of the best brown colors I've seen on a Doppelbock! The head of foam however was a little less than desired. It had a 1/2 an inch off white colored head of foam on it. This head of foam had decent retention that only left behind a tiny string of rings and a few mini spots of lace around the glass. I just can't get over the fact how cool the color of this beer really was. It was eye candy all the way.

This is one potent beer! It was roasted and sweet at the same time. The roasted aspect of the aroma contained dark roasted malts and a subtle splash of dark chocolate. After the roasted part has its turn, in comes the sweetness. The sweet part of the aroma had burnt brown sugar, french vanilla, rum raisins, bourbon, a subtle hint of ripe banana, and a drop of alcohol. If there was one sweet aroma that stood out, it would definitely be the vanilla. I loved the scent of this beer! It was hard for me to put it down because it smelled so damn good.

"Bourbonator" was full flavored with dry roasted malts, a splash of dark chocolate, rum raisins, a hint of sweet plums, a touch of burnt brown sugar, a subtle taste of charred oak here and there, a pinch of vanilla, and then this beer finishes up with the taste of bourbon based alcohol. Sometimes this full flavored Doppelbock did get overly boozy. Hopefully you know what I mean by that. This beer wasn't short on any dark flavors. I thought the taste of vanilla was a nice touch to this Doppelbock. While the aroma was more sweet than roasted, the taste was more roasted/boozy.

This was clearly a full bodied beer that featured a full flavored aftertaste of roasted malts, rum raisins, bourbon, charred oak, burnt brown sugar, and more alcohol. I don't know if it was all the flavors in this beer or the relatively high ABV%, but this beer will push you around. Take your time with this beer and sip it. No wonder they put this beer into a small glass.

This was one delicious Doppelbock! You'd think that a Doppelbock aged in bourbon barrels would get way too boozy with bourbon, but this beer didn't. Well, not all the time. The bourbon/alcohol did let quite a few other flavors through the bourbon/alcohol wall. This beer was so interesting and good, that I had two of these suckers. It was hard to put down until my senses realized that I should stop drinking this beer. If it's still available at the North Wales Iron Hill, get it while you can!

On tap at the North Wales Location.

Poured a medium and cloudy brown color with a smaller sized off whtie head. Aromas of wood, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and some dark fruitiness. Tastes of bourbon, vanilla, brown sugary, caramel, and dark fruits. Wood more dominant in the aromas and bourbon more in the tastes. Softer body with the alcohol content well hidden.