Maximator
Augustiner-Bräu

 

Bottle from Market of Choice. Probably bottled in 2022?

A clear dark amber with a dense, brown head that falls off to a ring leaving little lacing. The nose is rich, bready, caramelized and yet dry. Notes of brown sugar. Minimal hop character. The palate opens rich and fruity with dark fruit, bread, toffee and dark caramel. A little thin and watery, but nice fruity and bready sweetness. Solid.

 

Poured from a bottle into a rocks glass
Appearance – The beer pours a ruby-brown color with a tall head of tan colored foam. The head has a good level of retention, fading slowly over time and leaving tons of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – THE aroma is super big, sweet, and rich. Tons of brown sugar and molasses along with aromas of cherry, fig, and plum create a very sweet smell. Along with these are smells of toast and spice with the spice being an inviting mix of allspice and coriander. Quite nice and inviting overall.
Taste – The taste begins with a sweet dark fruit flavor of fig, plum, raisin and cherry. Mixed with this are other sweet notes of brown sugar, molasses, and a touch of buttery toffee. A nice brown bread flavor backs up all the sweet, and is accompanied by some light spice of cinnamon, nutmeg, and coriander. As the taste advance the fruit fades a touch, all while the malt and the molasses get stronger. A touch of cough syrup like alcohol comes in at the very end, leaving one with a nice rich and warming taste overall.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is thick and syrupy with a lower carbonation level. Both are great for the big rich flavors of the brew and make for a nice warmer overall.
Overall – Big and rich, just like a doppelbock should be. A quite nice and tasty warming brew.

 

 

 

330 ml bottle poured into a Tulip.
Bottled 10/25/22

L: Saddle brown and clear, orange hue, looks ruby in the glass, 1.5” tan head, thick foam, medium retention, small amount of lace.
S: Malt forward, bread, spicy hops, mineral note, hint of corn, anise like note.
T: Malty and medium sweet, restrained bitterness, dark bread, raisin and prune, sweet malty aftertaste is slightly medicinal, alcohol is well hidden.
F: Medium body and carbonation, soft creamy feel, small finishing bite.
O: Solid, no complaints.

A: a rich reddish brown with a sexy tan head.

S: sweet and bready with toffee and a hint of banana.

T: toffee, brown bread, and dried fruits.

M: medium thick in feel with moderate carbonation, and a slick feel.

O: rich, tasty, and solid.

 

 

Picked up a e50cl bottle with a date of 04.23 here in Stuttgart but visiting the brewery next weekend in Munich so I’ll be doing a comparison bc this seems a bit old judging by the date. Although it was likely released in the fall of 2022? I don’t know. Pours a gorgeous deep amber brown. Big nose of sweet roasted malt. Flavor and feel is boozy, sugary, malt with a hint of hops in the finish. A heavy drinker with a strong alcohol presence. Had high expectations for this beer and this bottle was a bit disappointing. Starkbierfest next weekend in Munich will be interesting if multiple mugs of this are consumed. Will hopefully take a few fresher bottles home.

Need to amend this as I’m currently drinking a freshly poured draft at their Braustuben connected to the brewery in Munich. Suuuuper smooth, rich and roasty malt, drinks way too easy. Sneaky and tasty stuff. Still quite strong and boozy, though. Score has been increased but it just doesn’t meet the quality and expectations from this brewery.

 

Bottle code L045202233. Not sure if that’s bottled or best by 2022, your guess is as good as mine

It can be a gamble grabbing an import where you can’t decipher the bottle code, but I feel like it doesn’t matter as much for a Doppelbock. And while this isn’t the most well known example of the style, it’s fun to try the random ones sometimes. Let’s get into it

Pours a murky medium brown with a finger of light tan head that quickly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

The nose here is sweet and fruity as you’d expect, but there’s a firm bitterness to it as well. I’m picking up on aromas of molasses, burnt caramel, red grape, golden raisin, leafy hops, candi sugar, dark bread, sweet honey, and light clove

It takes on even more bitterness in taste, really striking more of a 50/50 balance. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting brown sugar, molasses, leady hops, red grape, black tea, dark toast, toffee, and light walnut. The swallow brings notes of burnt caramel, red grape, molasses, fig, herbal hops, black tea, light clove, dark bread, and toffee

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes mostly dry and balanced

While it’s a little more bitter than I had expected, it’s still nicely done. Worth grabbing if you come across it

The color is a dark amber, almost like a strong tea. The head is huge and foamy, and rests for a few minutes before dissipating.

The smell smells like syrup or molasses. There is a quality that smells like uncooked biscuits, and is quite yeasty.

The taste isn't as sweet as the smell would have you think. There is a slight fruitiness like figs, but an overall malty quality that resembles caramel, and there is a tinge of bitterness in the aftertaste. There is a slight booziness and burn in your chest after drinking.

The feel is very unexpected, but it could be due to the bottle's age. The mouthfeel isn't thick like I would expect -- almost thin and watery compared to most doppelbock, but certainly more thick than a lager.

Overall very good. This is pretty much exactly what you should expect when you buy Munich-based doppelbock.

 

 

11.2oz bottle. Poured out a clear, golden brown color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of sweet maltiness, toffee and caramel. Sweet maltiness with caramel and toffee. Mild bitterness.