Big Butt Doppelbock
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

A bit watered down but not bad for the price point.

 

 

 

I am starting to really enjoy some of the beers that Leinenkugel is putting out and this one was a bit of a treat for me. The beer is a medium brown color with a large foamy head with a thick lace on the glass. The nose is that of caramelized malt, fruit, hops and brown sugar. The taste follows the nose, which is something that I like. However, from time to time it is interesting when the taste does not follow the nose as in some of the beers from The Dude's Brew. Anyway, this is not a great Doppelbock, as in the Tröegs Troegenator, but it is good. There is a medium body as well as carbonation. If you are new to the Dopplebocks then give this one a try.

This is not bad. As a bock, it has the thick dark roasted malt background. Doe this compete with other craft brewed dark beers I have tried? Not so much.

 

 

Nose of biscuity malt, light caramel, nuttiness & hay, faint cocoa. Taste thin roasted malt, caramel, & chocolate, faint nuts, medium bitterness, thin body and watery.

Dark beer that pours perfect in a beer mug, i suggest mug and nothing else besides straight from the bottle. This beer is dark and tastes caramelly, molasses, and has a kick of harsh alcohol bite. This beer should only be consumed in Feb-Apr. When snow is melting. You see grass but there's still patches of snow and ice. You feel spring but not quite there yet, too early for a canoe paddler. This beer is brewed in Wisconsin where lots of snow pours so if you live in a climate where this weather doesn't happen then you more than likely will not appreciate this beer. But these brewers brewed this beer perfectly for what it is so I give it a 5.

On-tap 12/8/2016 at Doherty’s East Ave Irish Pub in Pawtucket, RI, served in a tapered pint glass.

A: The beer is a medium brown color, with a large foamy off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains lager yeast, caramelized malts, brown sugar, some fruit and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of brown sugar, caramel and some fruit. Then some breadiness comes in from lager yeast and a hearty malt character. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings some balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, this is a decent beer to drink for a while if you’re in the mood for the style.

 

 

 

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark chestnut color with amber highlights and a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, dark breads. Taste is the same, malts, dark breads, a bit mild for the style. Feels medium/light bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer, but didn't have that malty punch I expect from this style.

 

 

I thought it was a rather enjoyable beer, Light Crisp, sweet, Carmel & molasses overtones. Drinks smooth, Bottom line it's a happy little beer that makes you feel good. For those of you looking for a rich head that's not going to happen with a Bavarian style dark bock, stick to your Stouts or IPA's. Thanks

 

 

Lots of black oily slickness that doesn't form a head, much like oil on water. Aroma was boozy, thin prune impact, bitterness.

Taste was like alcohol, dirt and tobacco. Not sweet, really the dark fruit booziness and bitterness seems to dominate, drinks as if it was twice as strong as it really is. Anise. Decent artwork but not a beer I'm down with. Doesn't do anything good really.

 

 

 

 

From notes taken 05/11/16:

Quite clear, medium dark brown. Two finger, beige, loose, foamy head of lower moderate retention. Legs that slowly sink back down into body. Toasted grain, caramel, brown sugar, soil, minimal dark fruit aromas. More dark fruit to palate, but still very toasty and sweet with caramelized sugars, somewhat like dark corn syrup or maple syrup. Light smokey-tartness to it as well. Distinctness of hops mostly lost in the balance, although background bitterness makes their presence known. Quite good, true to the style, even, albeit not on par with many others of the style (in part due to lower ABV). Medium-bodied, sloshy, spritzy, sudsy, and velvety. Seems to melt in the mouth like hard candy or a glob of syrup. I may have over-rated this by most people’s standards, but I put my blinders on for macro, and I am extremely biased toward dark beers.

 

 

 

12 oz brown bottle.

Poured a deep brown color, appeared to be clear. Nice head that dissipated quickly leaving a small ring around the outside of the glass with some lacing. Strong malt backbone, nutty, coffee, syrupy sweet. Its been a while since I had one fresh in Europe, but I think this misses the mark by being a bit to sweet.

12 oz. bottle, APR2516 printed on the bottleneck. Acquired a single bottle of this stuff as part of a mixed six pack at the local Binny's.

Poured into a Duvel tulip snifter.

A - Dark brownish red pour, ruby when held to the light. One finger of thin khaki-tan froth. Doesn't leave much lacing to speak of. Appears well carbonated. Looks okay.

S - Aroma is all malty / bready / nutty. Subtle notes of chocolate malt, cream, alcohol esters, brown bread / bread crust.

T - Taste brings more of the same: lots of nutty, bready malts. Brown bread, bread crust, some cherry cola-esque flavors; not spicy. Smooth & creamy, with lots of nuttiness & subtle chocolate.

M - Feel is smooth, crisp, creamy, light-bodied, & sweet. Mildly nutty / malty finish.

Overall, an average to slightly below average offering from Leinenkugel's. Good for the mixed sample pack, and as a beer to offer up to macro-drinking friends.

Leinenkugel's Big Butt Doppelbock -----3/5.

Bottle from Albertsons. Decent looking pour, dark, clear brown with a soft foamy beige head. Sweet, nutty aroma and taste, but kind of watered down. Finishes sweet, like a root beer barrel candy, and painfully dry.

A good example of how some mediocre beers, though not terrible, can—even at a cut-rate price—come to be something that tastes terrible to you. Picked up a case of this at one of my local beer stores, at $10 a case—obviously something they want to move as spring rapidly heats to summer.

It looks great poured into the glass—good cappuccino head, which settles into a firm ring at the edge of the tulip, along with a pleasing dark-maroon mahogany tint—but most of the remainder of this beer's expressions are quite disappointing. The bouquet lift up subtle hints of molasses and smoke, but those elements are overrun by this very metallic, flinty, tang of an aroma. The flavors, too, start out alright—some charred wood, smoked malt, and burning sugar elements that give good depth—but are likewise overwhelmed by the cloying extremity of the aforementioned burning sugars; the result is an all-too-sticky, all-too-shallow impression. It's ultimately a facile brew, and this—while inoffensive, even almost unassuming, at first—grows to a mawkish pitch with each successive sip.

I think the "okay" grade is about right—and, as another reviewer notes, better than you might expect for a big-brand's stab at a doppelbock—but it has way too much of the saccharine and way too little of the nuance to transcend that level. Not an effort I'd rush to re-visit, even at steep-bargain prices.

 

 

 

Poured from 12 oz bottle into pilsner glass

Appearance: a 1" pillowy cream colored head falls quickly with a minute amount of lacing. Color is clear reddish-brown with moderate streaming bubbles.
Aroma: very malt forward -- barley sweetness and ripe fruit, with earthy hops.
Mouthfeel: light to medium bodied, prickly carbonation with a somewhat dry finish.
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, chocolate, caramel, dates, raisins, earthy and herbal hops.
Overall: pleasant and drinkable, maybe a tad too much carbonation.

Good effort, closer to a doppel than one might think from a major AAL producer. I believe this is all malt (website) but no matter, taste is what counts and this one tastes good. Color is right, malt in there aplenty, hops enough to be noticed, some underlying bitterness and overall impression is less cohesively put together than the European model. Certainly worth trying.