Incinerator Blonde Doppelbock
Two Brothers Brewing Company

Another cool label on a bomber from Two Brothers (considering the somewhat more staid designs on the 12 ouncers); though the fire-breathing goat-thing and the name 'Incinerator' probably sets up unreasonable expectations. Pours a deep gold color, with a thin lacing of head trailing the glass. Slightly malty scent with a touch of grassiness to it.

It's a little hard to evaluate the flavor of this beer against the style; from what I understand, this brew was something of a happy accident. There are certainly not many other peppercorn-accented blonde doppelbocks out there. This is a rich, deceptively chewy lager for its relatively light color, and its flavor is quite unusual. Pale malt in large quantities seems to have grown sweeter, mingled with some herbal or grassy flavors. The pepper flavors have either blended into obscurity or mellowed out entirely; they were not evident in my bottle. The high alcohol content is surprisingly well-masked by the balanced flavor; it's quite smooth and quite drinkable.

I'd like to see Two Brothers work on the peppercorn aspect of this next time around, as it could be an intriguing addition to the taste. I really liked this beer and will be purchasing it again.

 

 

 

They may not be brewing it anymore, but for now this beer is still being distributed...

Interestingly, it really is blonde, along with some slightly darker highlights. It develops a foamy sort of near-white head that, while it doesn't grow particularly large, holds itself well. There's some substance, as it leaves behind a reasonable amount of lacing with moderate cling to it.
Honey and sugared fruits are on the nose, surprisingly sweet. Something about it reminds me a little of DFH 120, minus the alcohol and sheer intensity. Black pepper does add a touch of spiciness.
The flavor actually is more akin to a doppelbock, and it's understandable what they were going for in blending two radically different styles. It's not as sweet as the smell, does have that peppery kick, and even has a nice little smokiness in it. Grains do come out a bit as an underlying but consistent taste.
Well, seince it's not going for straight doppelbock and is belnding a lighter beer, points shouldn't be docked for having a lighter (barely, and I means just barely, medium) body. It has a solid crispness into a fairly, but not completely, clean finish.

 

 

 

Pours a light orange crystal clear with a white medium head. Instantly I'm hit with a bready malty smell, even from a couple feet away. Not much to the scent, but reminiscent of many Oktoberfests I've had in the past.

The taste is very much like an oktoberfest, with bready malts dominating an otherwise crisp and clean taste. This finishes with a nice hoppy bite. It's light bodied and just insanely drinkable, I would very much like a liter of this. They could have labeled this an oktoberfest and it would have fit in nicely.

Overall, this is a great German style lager. Extremely well balanced, drinkable, crisp, and sweet. Wonderful.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a light amber with about a half finger of white head. The foam fades quickly but leaves a solid ring along the edges of the beer.

S: Honestly... this beer smells like an American Adjunct Lager with just a slightly elevated spicy kick. But it's very subtle.

T: It starts out wet and a bit spicy. There is a solid amount of pepper up front. As it moves towards the middle, it gets sweeter like an adjunct lager. The finish is back to spice. It actually has a nice kick to it.

M: Light bodied beer. It's light, but packed full of flavor. The spice starts strong, fades a bit, and then returns with a punch. It's smooth, but the spice detracts from it's "pound-ability".

O: Decent beer. I love pepper beers, but this one is just OK. The spice is there, but I was left wanting more crisp/clean flavors. The lager sweetness works well with the pepper, but it's overpowering at points. I'd drink this beer again if I had the chance, but it's not on the top of my list to try again.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Half Acre tulip.

A- pours a clear golden with a 2 finger off-white head. Small blotches of lacing cling to the glass.

S- caramel, bread, dark fruits.

T- sweet caramel, nice dark fruit flavors, and some vinous notes.

M- medium body and carbonation. Slightest syrup feel but drinks below its abv.

O- another ok beer from Two Brothers. Nice sweet flavors but nothing that gets me excited.

 

 

 

From: Friar Tuck, Savoy, IL
Date: "2A191622" stamped on bottom
Glass: Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock Glass

I was excited to see Two Brothers re-release their doppelbock, which I hadn't the opportunity to try in the past. My expectations were not met, as the Incinerator is a fairly weak-bodied hellesbock with an equally faint aromatic and flavor profile, mostly dominated by peppercorns (and even these aren't particularly powerful. In general, I'd consider this a miss, maybe it needed more time to lager.

Pours a 1.5cm head of marignally off-white foam that has about average retention for the style, lasting about a minute as it collapses to a thin ring around the glass with some thin islands of foam atop the body. Head leaves no lacing along sides of glass. Body itself is a copper-orange color, transparent, with light bringing out brighter orange and yellow hues. Carbonation is very active and visible along all sides of glass.

Aroma features noticeable black peppercorn on top of some sweetish honey-like aromas and very mild graininess. In general, a very subdued set of scents, also missing out on a number of key caramel and/or fruit esters commonly found in helles doppelbocks.

Opens with light syrup and honey-like malt sweetness, with light biscuit and bread undertones. Sweetness remains through mid-palate, but the presence of the peppercorns used increases noticeably. Back of palate sees a slight amplification of malt and bread-like flavors and sweetness, with a drop-off of the peppercorn influence. Aftertaste is rather slight, with some grain, light honey, and modest flowery notes present. Ethanol content isn't noticed at all. In general, rather timid in flavors for a malt-heavy beer; rather surprising.

Beer's body is medium to medium-light in weight, with mid-level carbonation that peters out fairly quickly. The result is a mouthfeel that is crisp and slightly prickly at first, but which gradually reduces to a mildly carbonated, smoothly flowing feel. The weight of the body itself is overly light for a doppelbock, rather surprising and disappointing. Closes out with a semi-dry character and some residual stickiness around edges of palate.

22oz bottle, #8 of 15 in the 15 Beers for 15 Years Anniversary Series

Pours a reddish copper with slight chill haze, thin white head does leave some lacing on the glass. Aromas are muted and never really develop as it warms. Sweet honey, faint caramel and biscuity grain, the pepper maybe comes through a bit in the aroma as it warms, but it might be a forced from my imagination. Tastes are unfortunately muted as well. Some honey, grass, faint biscuit, and hardly any black pepper as I was hoping for. There's a bit on the finish as it warms, but if I wasn't told there was black pepper in it, I probably wouldn't have noticed. Mouth-feel is medium-full, smooth and very creamy, seems low on carbonation. Alcohol is well concealed. Overall, I was really hoping for expecting more black pepper with this one. It's barely detectable, and even the qualities of the doppelbock are quite faint. I asked my wife to taste it and tell me what she tasted. She said, "nothing". Usually she's good at pulling flavors out of beers. Disappointing, but still glad I got the chance to try it.

 

 

 

Served in an Innis and Gunn cervoise.

Keepin' the fast-movin' anniversary train a-chuggin', this stuff pours a clear copper-amber topped by a finger of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises bread (a full damn loaf of white/wheat bread), light toasted biscuit (yup, there's a difference...shut up...), mild honey, and light sweet flowers. The taste brings in more of the same, though the bread is generally in the background, whilst a sweeter version (think a sweet roll or something along those lines) frolics up front with the honey, some banana, some mild black pepper, and a kiss of what seems like cinnamon. Not bad. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation, a slightly slick feel, and a fairly crisp and dry finish. Overall, a pretty nice blonde doppelbock, though the overdone carbonation and the cliff the flavors drop off at the end keep it from achieving any real greatness. That said, I'd gladly drink another bottle if one appeared before me...

The Incinerator Blonde Doppelbock is back for a limited time. This is #8 of 15 of the retro releases. The bottles were all sold out within hours (as I was told) of its release. The beer is still on tap at teh roundhouse for those interested. It poured a nice clear golden color with white head that laced. The smell was slightly fruity with the typical Euro malt. The taste was very even and good....for an 8%+ it was very smooth. The body was full with mild carbonation. Overall it was very nice to see the incinerator again.

Not sure where I got this one. Reviewed from notes.

This beer was clear, an amber body topped with a half finger head that subsided far too quickly for my liking. However, as it was indeed relatively blonde on color, light for a doppelbockit good marks.

Aroma started out sweet and fruity, mostly dark fruits such as raisins and prunes but sweeter. Smelled like a darker beer than it was. I liked that, also that I didn't get any kind of funk in there.

Taste was sweet, with medium malts mostly prominent. A slight pepperiness came in at the finish, which seemed a little out of place. But it was easily recognizable as a doppelbock.

Mouthfeel was good, full bodied with subdued carbonation.

Drinkability... that spiciness kind of put me off. One bomber was OK, and I am glad I tried it, but the fact that it was a one-shot and is now retired won't cause me to lose sleep.

22 oz bottle poured into a Pilsner glass. No date on the bottle which is unlike Two Brothers.

A - The color isn't quite a helles as the "blonde" would suggest, but rather a medium amber that's just slightly cloudy. Almost no head. Off-white ring and some lacing down the glass. Appearance is slightly lacking.

S - This beer is bursting at the seams with rich malty aromas. Caramel and Vienna malts perhaps? Lots of caramel aromas that bring a large sweetness to it. A small yeast touch upon agitation as well as a spicy alcohol aroma.

T - Sweet malts flourish on the tongue and linger quite a while. Very caramel-rich with a raw honey aspect to it. An indescribably spice that's delicate is all over the place. Must be the black pepper. I can't say I've ever experienced that before.

M - Mellow and smooth, the Incinerator slides down like a dream. Medium-full bodied and rich, it's soft in the mouth.

D - The 8.2% hides well in this beauty. It certainly is a joy to drink and rather upsetting it's a limited release that's gone at this point. I'd love more!

Pours a hazy copper-blonde with light head that soon dissipates to gentle, lingering swirling. Light but noticeable lacing.

Aroma is fresh, piquant grapefruit and grassy bellpepper that subtly, deftly shifts to citrusy hops and back again.

Mouthfeel is satisfyingly full but surprisingly light with gentle carbonation; very refreshing and juicy.

Taste is very unusual and corresponds to the aroma- the advertised black peppercorn shows up on the palate as sassy sweet/sour bell-pepper much more so than spicy/hot pepper. Lots of grapefruit and citrus zest notes that blend well with the hops but have a dissonant sort of harmony with the pepper which many will find off-putting (but which I enjoyed thoroughly). Hops also complement notes of tea-like grassyness in the pepper. Bready-sweet, faintly caramel-ish malts are the backbone for it all.

One major caveat with this beer is it's lack of easy drinkability- the intense, unorthodox and competing flavors make for a taste that is somewhat difficult to acquire and most people will dislike, probably strongly so. This is a wild beer for the adventurous or the slightly daft. However, it should be noted that the label advertises it as "extreme or unusual", so don't say you weren't warned.

22oz. brown bomber, purchased way back at Belmont Party Supply, poured into a SA pint.

A: Deep amber pour with some copper hues. Short head with short retention. No lacing.

S: Big big sweet malts. Some baking spices and light molasses. Alcohol is present and smells like it's probably mellowed with age.

T/M: Nice, rich alcohol throughout. Not abrasive, just tasty and warming. Rich malts that don't get too thick. Dark spiced breads with light toasty nuts. Body is medium full without a heavy feel. Carbonation lends a nice smoothness.

D: Pretty tasty but not terribly drinkable.

22-oz bomber into a wide-mouth mug.

A-Deep amber color. 1 finger head that didn't last. Little bits of particulate suspended throughout.

S-Sour fruits, bitter. No real peppercorn aroma.

T-Peppercorn is definitely in there! Fruits as well. Spicy and bitter combination.

M-Overall good, not much to say.

D-Would pair well with a piece of meat. Not interested in having more than 2 in a sitting.

22 oz bomber

Pours a pinkish red / orange color with a minimal haze to go along with a minimal off-white head.
Black pepper spice and pale malts in the nose. A sweet and slightly sour strawberry presence as well.
The taste follows the smell. I get the taste of those strawberry candies that come in the strawberry looking packages. Next is a bit of sour pear / apple with a slight black pepper spiciness.
Intriguing medium / full mouthfeel. Definitely tasty yet unlike any other d-bock i've had. It's balanced and a good beer, but I'm not that high on strawberry's so this beer puts me off a little bit. Worth a try.

The beer pours a gold color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a slightly sour aroma. It's pale malts and lager yeast, but it's also warm and a bit sour smelling. The taste is average. It has a bold, pale and Munich malt taste that is smooth going down, but warm on the finish. It does have a slight peppery taste, but nothing too crazy. This is a pretty good tasting beer. It's a bit spicey, but I like it. There is a mild sour aftertaste. The mouthfeel is good. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a decent beer. I like the concept, but it fails to deliver. It's got flavor. It's got spice. I'm just not sure that's a combo I'm 100% behind, All in all, not a bad drinker.

Burnt orange with butterscotch trim. The interior of the beer is perfectly, flawlessly clear and is undisturbed by all but the occasional bubble... whose short journey ends at a thick crown the color of tangerine mousse. This is pretty much what I expect a blonde doppelbock to look like.

The first thing to hit my nose is black pepper, so I know the brewers didn't skimp. My guess is that the beer will be impressively black peppery on the palate. No wonder they call this stuff Incinerator. Otherwise, the nose has the standard semi-caramel maltiness typical of the style (the maibock style, not the doppelbock style).

Make no mistake, this is a big maibock. It's only a doppelbock in the sense that it has 'double' (or thereabouts) the amount of malt compared to a just plain ol' bock. My first impression is definitely a positive one. I usually find beer of this style difficult to like due to a lack of depth and complexity, but the addition of black pepper has taken care of that nicely.

The spiciness doesn't have much to contribute until the second third of the mouthful. That's where the flavor and the heat really begin to get your attention. Still, though, Incinerator is no hotter than your average (tame) chile beer. Otherwise, the flavor proifile consists of peanut brittle, caramel and earthy hops.

Given my slowness in cracking the crown, I estimate that this bottle is at least one year old. At this point, there's almost no alcohol noted on the palate. Come to think of it, I can't tell if the light stinging on the tongue is due to pepper or ethanol. I like it, though, it adds character to the mouthfeel. I've just noticed 'Dances On Your Tongue' beneath the dancing, fire-breathing goat on the label. I agree wholeheartedly.

Without checking my reviews, I have no idea what I thought of some of the other Two Brothers 'Artisan' beers. This one is different, interesting and (most importantly) good. Keep 'em coming guys.

Aroma: Toffee malt sweetness, light spicy hop character. Clean lager characteristics. Peppery and spicy.

Appearance: Very clear beautiful golden with a slight reddish hue. Slight off white head that falls quickly in the beer. Head rings the glass a bit.

Flavor: Toffee character probably from the use of vienna or munich malts. Spicy and peppery. A delicate earthy bitterness that is actually refreshing. Does have some fruity alcohol flavors of plums.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium high body. Medium low carbonation, creamy and slick and has some alcohol warming.

Overall Impression: This is a big beer (high in alcohol) that is actually pretty refreshing. Great flavors of toffee, clean lager fermentation and alcohol fruitiness that goes well with the hints of pepper and spice. After sitting for a bit the carbonation released from solution and the beer seemed to become more like a wine. VERY TASTEY!!! I would be very proud of this beer if I brewed it. This beer was originally supposed to be a maibock, oops!

Bock means Billy Goat in German and a billy goat is often used in advertisements and labels.

22oz bomber. Pours a hazy orangey golden with one finger of off white head. Aroma is sweet with some butteryness and green apple/pear. Taste is sweet malts with ripe apples and pears. Very fruity. Slightly sour and slightly alcoholy. I did not find the combination to be pleasant. Not one I would buy again.

this was tasty! i will get some more of this when i can. easy to drink. good ABV.

i am impressed enough to try more from this brewer. if you like to try new tastes then give this one a go.

the peppercorns were an interesting twist. i have a feeling that this would go very well with food!

recomended!

suckem up and movem out!

giblet

22 oz bottle pours a slightly hazed dark golden orange body with a meager offwhite head that quickly collapses. A few wispy patches of lace are left on the glass.

Aroma opens with buttery toffee and caramel notes. A few hints of floral and fruity hops quickly jump into the picture, joined by a waft of the cracked black pepper.

Mouthfeel is rich and coating with a soft alcohol warming atop a full medium body.

Taste is buttery toffee and sweetish malts leading into some caramel and overripe red apples. Bittering hops and warming alcohol are also prominent. Ingredients play off each other well. The black pepper adds a pleasant bite.

Difficult to say whether this is a true doppelbock or an imperial maibock but the distinction is meaningless. This is another skillfully crafted brew from Two Brothers that is tasty and enjoyable to drink.

Consistent with the description on the label, this beer struck me as more of a "super-maibock" than a doppelbock. It was light and golden with plenty of super-sweet malty cereal-ness. While I'm not a big fan of that sweet grainy flavor, I did enjoy this beer. It has a spirited booziness which makes it somewhat complex, and had a bit of bitterness as it warmed up in my mind. Bock beers are not my style; but if I were to choose one this would be pretty high on my list.

A bottle from Discount I split with SurlySober.

A: Caramel hints in ruby red wine. No head with absolutely no lace. Shaken it builds a little foam and then disappears quicker than it a toilet being flushed.

edit: second pour gave me a 1/4" creamy head which laced around the rim. Hmm?

S: WOW, this one really brings it! Caramel, fruity goodness, and malt. Pear and apples tint the background.

T: Just as the smell, fruit is overwhelming. I have a hard time distinguishing between this and a Barleywine. Sweet and fruity with a small bittery finish. Slight warming effect as it travels the esophogus. Minute peppery finish.

D: Not so much. It's ok but defintely not preferred.

Regal gold body. Clarity is good. Thin dirty white head. Lace is intermitent. Thick malty aroma with a little of that cracked black pepper coming through. The first thing I notice with when I taste it is the full body. Viscous and smooth. And not even close to being cloying even though this is a sweet beer. There is the perfect amount of carbonation for the style. The taste is very smooth and clean. The black pepper is barely noticeable, but maybe it's there in combination with the spiciness of the alcohol, even though that seems to be present only in trace amounts on the buds, which is surprising given the 8+ % of this beer. The malts are rich and smooth on the palate. Hops are around only to give a little balance. The more I drink it the more I do recognize the black pepper spiciness on the aftertaste. It works though. This is a good beer.