Allgäuer Cambonator Doppelbock
Allgäuer Brauhaus AG

 

 

 

Purchased at the LCBO as a sell off for $3.85 for a 500ml flip top bottle. Served at 4deg C in a tulip.

A- Opens well and pours a tiny head that is gone in seconds. Very dark brown. Clear

S- Good hops as expected from a doppelbock. Touch metallic

T- Very smooth and good malt backbone. Touch of heat. Nice blend all around.

M- Creamy good.

O- Pretty good beer. Enjoyed it a lot and am glad I had a taste of it

Food Pairing

This pretty good little beer went well with..... Roasted chicken with potatoes dusted with Italian seasoning

Enjoy

 

 

Appearance: Dark chestnut, big head, long lasting

Aroma: Malty, sweet, fig-like

Taste: Starts sweet and malty, then finishes dry and hoppy; pretty well balanced overall

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time, so please disregard those scores

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear cola brown with a 2 finger light tan frothy head. Very nice retention and good lacing. Substantial yeast sediment.

Dark malt and light caramel on the nose. Along the typical average smell of the style.

Flavor is predominantly just euro dark malt. Faint Caramel notes. Pretty rich. Faint dark fruits like raisin and figs.

Full bodied mouthfeel with medium carbonation.

Overall it's pretty good. Average drinkability. Nothing that'll blow any minds but a good cold fermented dark beer.

On tap at Gourmet Haus Staudt.

Pours cloudy dark brown with a lasting beige head and some lacing.

Aroma is sweet and malty with caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and dark fruits.

Flavor is also malty and sweet, but not too sweet for the style. Caramel, toffee, syrup, and brown sugar. Lots of great dark fruits, particularly raisin and date.

Fairly full body with a smooth mouthfeel. Not at all boozy.

This is a very good doppelbock overall.

1pt.9oz bottle purchased at Enoteca in Post Falls, Idaho, for $3.99. No obvious freshness date. According to the label, this is a “Dunkler Doppelbock.” Does that mean that a doppelbock not labeled “Dunkler” is going to be light in color?

Poured a dark, cola-ish color that takes on a more rubyish tinge when held up to light. Decent sized beige head with lots of lace left on the sides of my glass.

I smell dark, roasty malts and some traces of dark fruits. Rather yummy smelling but not over the top at all.

Tastes like toast, with brown sugar and some dark fruit notes. In the background there’s a little bit of pipe tobacco and some booze, which I wasn’t expecting from something listed as having an abv percentage of 7.2. Finishes somewhat drier than I’m used to with doppelbocks, but not in a bad way at all.

Somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Not quite as full bodied as some doppels I’ve known but it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s missing any depth.

Not bad at all for the price. This isn’t a great, essential beer but it’s pretty good. It definitely went well with a late-morning omelette on a day spent at home nursing a sore knee. If I were out at a bar I wouldn’t want to session this but as a one-off it was rather tasty.

a: This was perhaps the darkest doppelbock I've seen. It poured with a large off-white head that faded fairly quickly leaving little lace in its wake.

s: I found sweet bread, brown sugar, fig jam, and a little chocolate. Not as rich as some, but very inviting.

t: Falls far short of the smell unfortunately. Starts off okay with flavors of sweet bread and toffee that lack the layers I found in the aroma. The sweetness builds to near cloying levels towards the middle. The finish has an off tasting lingering bitterness and a bit too much heat.

m: Oddly heavy feeling.

o: There are lots of great doppelbocks out there and this just isn't one of them.

I tried this beer a few years ago and didn't think particularly highly of it at the time. I thought I'd give another one a try (from Binny's in Schaumburg, IL).

Pours thick, big bubbles in a bone white head that's about 1 finger in height. Head collapses, lacing around rim of glass in a few spots. Beer is dark brown in color with amber highlights when held up to light.

Smells of caramel, coffee, boiling malt, and alcohol. Slight hint of prunes as well. Still, none of these scents really merge well together and things feel a bit adrift.

Something is off here, at least in regards to doppelbock standards. This is definitely a sweeter-type doppel, but what I taste is dark, sugary malt, almost like a really heavy cola. A bit winey in flavor near the end. Cloying sweetness. Not really reminiscent at all of dark fruits, more of syrupy sweetness.

Finish is semi-dry. Body is thick, with a fairly low amount of carbonation.

I didn't find this particularly enjoyable, but it wasn't altogether awful, either. The taste is the major detractor, with the over-sweetness and slight cola flavors a real turn-off. I will probably stay away from this for some time, if I ever go back to it.

On-tap at Gourmet Haus Staudt

A: The pour is a dark brown with plenty of amber tones to it. There's a large off-white head that sits on top.

S: Not an overwhelming aroma, but good. Some decent dark fruit notes such as cherries, dates, and raisins, but mostly dark specialty malts that provide a subtle roast and sweetness.

T: Starts off with a definite metallic tinge, but it fairly quickly fades to rather normal doppelbock flavors. Moderate raisin and date flavors with a decent caramel sweetness along with some molasses.

M: The body is medium with a certain creaminess on the tongue and moderate carbonation.

D: A nice doppelbock that was dangerously easy to drink. Wouldn't mind having this one again.

Nice body to it. average head.
Smell gave off some sweet smells.
The taste and drinkability were god-awful. It tasted like there were chemicals left in the bottle. I couldn't even drink half the bottle. It was the first beer I have ever put down, and not been able to come close to finishing.

500ml bottle into a tulip. Appearance is dark brown with red highlights. A solid off-white head forms and retains well.

Fairly mild aroma, nutty and caramelized, slightly metallic. A bit of date-like fruitiness.

Toasted and caramelized malt flavors wash the palate first, follower by raisin-like fruitiness and a touch of roasty astringency. Full bodied, rich, fairly dry and bitter in the finish.

appearance - chestnut brown with no head at all

smell - cocoa, dark chocolate, cherries, malts

taste - similar to the nose, cocoa, malts, dark chocolate, cherries, malts, caramel, molasses

mouthfeel - medium body, low carbonation, smooth, slightly sweet

drinkability - good beverage that I will look to get more of in the future

A: Dark brown with a tobacco hue. Nice thick and foamy beige head. 2 fingers with fabulous lacing.

S: Fruit (banana) almost bubblegum. Some malt, earthy taste.

T: Nice taste.Good malts. Nice toasty taste. Citrus is present in the sip as well.

M: Very smooth with great carbonation and finish. Good example for a doppelbock.

D: high, not celebrator..but close.

Pours a nice chocolate brown body a head the dies down quickly. Great smell of fruity banana, and a hint of amber malt and alcohol, smells refreshing. Ahhh it smells like a good moist banana bread. Awesome balance in the flavor with a hint of alcohol lingering at the end. Flavor starts as smooth deep amber malt, just a hint of sweet. The finish is a hint of bitter hops to balance. The lingering alcohol stands out, but surprisingly not much of the fruity banana smell comes through in the flavor. Mouthfeel it a blend of oily slick and refreshing watery. Drinkability is good due to balance and mouthfeel. The alcohol will creep up on you though. Funny thing I noticed on the label says that it contains malt liquor. Hmmm.

Got this at Sam's in Chicago this past summer. Poured with a medium light tan head which mostly dissipated and no lace. Color is nice dark, clear mahoganey. Aroma is fairly simple of dark, sweet malts, fresh, and little hop. Flavor's about the same. Body seems a bit thin for a dopplebock, but does have good carbonation. A little warming in the short finish. Ok beer; nothing special. Could do a whole lot worse. Could be a session if you didn't have any other choices.

(From Notes)

Underrated, big time. 500 ml bottle to Chimay goblet.

A nice, light brown color renders a creamy, light tan head and a little bit of lacing. Smells of dried fig, roasted chestnut, and caramel, with a strong emphasis on the high ABV (7.2%). Taste is emblematic of smell in this case, with more sweet and round tastes than smoky. Round figs come through with dark fruits and sticky, soft texture of this doppelbock.

Medium to heavy carbonation. Crisp and a touch watery in the mouth, but finishes nicely, rounding out the flavor balance in the back of the mouth.

500 ml bottle into a pils glass

Pours a clear chesnut brown color with some red-orange highlights. A one and a half inch cream colored head forms on top and settles down as a cap which retains throughout, leaving some minor lacing.

Aroma is of caramel, toffee, raisin, fig, and slight chocolate. Pretty standard for a Doppelbock really, but damn good.

Taste starts off sweet with caramel and toffee with some toasty maltiness in there as well with raisins, perhaps a hint of cherry, coming in the middle. In the finish there's a bit of chocolate flavor that comes out with the raisin making it very tasty.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth and creamy going down, and rather easy to drink since it tastes so good.

An underrated Doppelbock in my opinion, the flavor profile of this one reminds me of Celebrator. God I love Doppelbocks.

A: Dark ruby, clear. Fast head, nice lace.

S: Molasses. Sweet, inviting.

T: Molasses and bread, obvious German Dop dark fruit. Nothing bad..

M: A slightly bit thinner than it's German counterparts, Celebrator, Tucher, ect.

D: I like a nice Dop every now and then when the weather is warm, more often of course, during the cold months. I'd consider this again, as a change to the heavyier dops.

Served in dimpled mug. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: Clear, dark brown with faint reddish color (mahogany). Tan head starts out about ½ inch thick and goes slowly, leaving behind lacing.

Smell: Sweet roasted malt with touch of fruitiness and dark toffee and no real hop presence

Taste: Initial taste is the dark molasses sweetness of the malt followed by a growing bitterness in the aftertaste as the malt tapers off.

Mouthfeel: Light carbonation, with medium body and a medium long finish

Drinkability: One would be fine but would switch easily. Not the best doppelbock but a good one and worth coming back to.

Bottle from Keg Liquor, IN.

Poured dark brown color with an average frothy light brown head that was lasting and produced good lacing. Moderate complex sweet malt aroma. Medium body with a smooth sticky texture and soft carbonation. Moderate sweet flavor with with a moderate sweet finish of average duration.

Good drinkable beer.

On tap at Hollingshead Deli in Anaheim, 17 oz pour into a dimpled mug.
Slightly hazy brown with reddish orange highlights. White head fades slowly leaving solid sheets of lacing. Fruity aroma with caramel, toffee, malts. Malt dominated flavor, slightly chocolate, caramel, and some mild hoppiness to finish. More full bodied than expected, very smooth, alcohol is hidden. Well made example of a doppelbock, highly enjoyed.

Kenny the bartender told me to enjoy, because this was the last keg, and the brewer will no longer be exporting to the States.

Pours with more effervescence than anticipated, and displaying off-white head of many bubble sizes. Settles to a thin but creamy cap that tops a nutty brown concoction, nearly opaque but not quite there. Decent lacing.

Prunes and dark fruits, raisins not exlucded, to the nose. Brown sugar. Hints of cinnamon, which I like, as I'm somewhat obsessed with cinnamon.

A malty, dark fruit taste profile as well, but not necessarily sweet. There is some nice spicing. Caramel. Roasted grains. Slight alcohol presence, with a spice and "dulling" quality that actually fits nicely into the taste profile. Some hop bittering mingles with the malt-party crowd.

Crisply carbonated with a cresting prickliness, this drinks easier than some doppelbocks. Pretty nice.

Huge cascading rocky white head, glowing brown color, decent lacing.

Malty sweet smell of molasses, plums, and even a few raisins. Slight smoky note too.

Nice sweet flavor, dark fruits predominate with roasty nuttiness, herbal hops, and slight vanilla and chocolate notes.

Thick and chewy mouthfeel, very smooth.

This is a classic dopplebock, I'm a huge fan.

Tasted on 7/30/08.

Served on-tap at Teresa's Nex Door in Wayne, PA.

Pours a dark chocolate brown with a beige head. Malty aroma with chocolate and caramel notes. Very carbonated which takes away from the richness and smoothness of the chocolate malt flavor. Nothing special.

On tap at Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA. Served in a 10 oz. glass.

Appearance: A hazy brown body with orange and garnet highlights around the periphery. A white foamy one-finger head fades rather quickly but leaves solid sheets of white lacing. Pleasant-looking.

Aroma: Moderately pungent and complex. Raisins, some lighter fruity esters, brown sugar, caramel, toffee, and spices - cinnamon and allspice are what I get. Nice.

Taste: A bit of a step down, but not too much. Dominated by maltyness, as is expected - toast, slight chocolate, caramel, toffee - but there's a healthy dose of spicy, prickly phenols here, some mild hop bitterness, and, unfortunately, a little bit of solventy alcohol in the close after this one warms. Still very nice, though.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly full-bodied, smooth, delicate, fine-bubbled, and prickly. Very nice!

Drinkability: A damn good doppelbock, with a reasonable and decently well-hidden alcohol for the style. Well-made, tasty, a little spicy, a great array of malt notes - definitely recommended.

Pours a very dark reddish brown. Light barely penetrates the glass. Head is only a quarter of an inch but a pretty tan color which quickly dissipates to a film.

It smells sweet, malty a little smokey and a bit boozy.

Taste is sweet, caramel, toasted malt with some chocolate on the back end. The alcohol from the aroma is present in the taste but not in a negative way.

Mouthfeel is wonderful! It is silky smooth and creamy with a rich medium body to it.

Drinkability is quite good though one would probably be enough due to it's richness and alcohol level. I would be happy to run into this doppelbock again!

A : Poured a nice brown color with a solid head that took a bit to go down

S : Lots of malty goodness

T : Good solid malt flavors. A little on the dry side

M : A little thinner than I was expecting. Good carbonation

D : Real easy drinking. I could drink another one but I've had better doppelbocks

To be fair, I am on a kick right now where this beer fits perfectly. You know how it goes: you get into a certain beer-drinking groove and you find something that really just fits within that particular arena.

This beer is doing that for me. Despite its dark ruby color, the majority of the taste of this beer comes from nice, light, sweet pils malt. A nice distinctive, sweet blast mingled with that pronounced sulfur bite. Like a very good pils, but supersized to the extreme.

But that is just the start of this party. Well, not the "start" really, the pils malt is the host. It is there most noticeably at the beginning and ending, but the whole experience is undeniably affected by it. Now, if I know pils malt, it was hoping for a low-key party, you know, a couple of pils buddies sitting around listening to indy rock, maybe smoking a bowl, and then everybody goes home.

Unfortunately for pils, one of his buddies called Munich malt and told him about the party. Munich I called munich II, and the whole deal went cat-in-the-hattish quite quickly. Nice juicy summer fruits play a huge role in this beer, mmm, more plum than anything.

So, after Munich I and Munich II crashed the place, some crystal malts show up. Really just a nice layer of ineffably sweet complexity added on top of everything. If it wasn't already crazy enough, this guy really wrecks the party and makes it totally insane.

But then that damned fish starts nagging everybody. That's right, the alcohol makes its presence known in the end and cleans everything off. The sweetness fades, everybody is gone . . .

And you are again left with the pils malt, now alone and sad. He starts to wave goodbye, but he is really awkward about it and really clings onto that farewell. So, you feel sorry for the guy and have another sip . . . and the whole mess starts over again!

I was able to get this Doppelbock on-tap at Teresa's Next Door on 2/16/2008. They served it to me in a goblet. It was an interesting glass choice they made, but I thought it worked out quite well.

It had a dark chestnut brown body with a few crimson red highlights along the edges. It had a decent light tan colored head of foam that had good retention. This head of foam left behind a small tan film and a streak or two of lace. This had one of the most smokiest aromas I've smelled before in a Doppelbock. The aroma was very smoky with olives, a hint of smoked meats, wood, and a smidge of dark roasted malts in the background. The aroma was on the boder of being a Rauchbier. The taste was also smoky, but not as smoky as the aroma. It had a lightly smoky taste of dark roasted malts, a few olives, a slight touch of caramel, and then ended with dark roasted hops. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with a short lived aftertaste of roasted malts, dark fruits, and dark roasted hops. It's always was fun for me to try a new Doppelbock on-tap and this one was no different. It was nice little medium bodied smoky Doppelbock that was close to becoming a Rauchbier.

Pours an effervescent brown-hued chestnut with 3+ fingers of creamy sand colored head. Above average head retention & average lacing

S: Slight breadyness & roasty malt, plus a bit of licorice

T: Slight caramel, toffee with a some alcohol & a modicum of peppery hops up front. Leafy hops, boozey warmth, & slight pecan sweetness as this warms. Finishes with leafy hops, dark fruit, toffee sweetness, breadyness & some metallic hops, a warm boozey edge & gingerbread

MF: Medium bodied with low carbonation, a bit of slickness present as well

Drinks alright, wish I could've tried this at the source. I had a few of their biers von fass in Deutschland & they were pretty good. his one didn't travel too well IMO. A decent, not great Dopplebock. Got better as it warmed, but it was poured fairly warm