Online Doppelbock Tasting - February 4th

First Doppelbock of the night for me, and it's the first Doppelbock there was-

Well, the modern interpretation, at least. Paulaner Salvator.

Overall, this is a perfectly fine beer, but seems to have fallen from its once-lofty perch. The flavor is definitely what you'd call prototypical, revolving around dark bread, spicy hops, caramel and melanoidins from the malt, but there's something insubstantial about it at the same time. On top of that, any dark fruit character comes off more like sugary sweet dates than raisins, and that carries through to the finish. The better ones come off as more muscular yet leaner. Enjoyable and drinkable, but not elite level B+ (3.85).

 

When @THSdrummer set this up awhile back, I just happened to pick up this dopplebock which is a style I don't drink much. I've heard this one is top notch and I've been wanting to reset the palate, IPA burnout! This beer has a very malty presence with notes of caramel, sweet fruit, a beautiful mahogany hue with a ligh brown two finger head that lingers awhile. Medium feel coating the tongue nicely.

 

Easily my favourite too, if i was asked which one i consider to define the style it would be this. So envious, it´s been months since i had it last time!

 

Revisiting this 2013 review just for the tasting thread. Almost a year old, 2/16/2016 coded. Fantastic as usual! Aromas and flavors of huge caramel, brown sugar, toffee, molasses, toasted biscuit, brown bread, nuttiness, and light chocolate maltiness; with underlying raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, and apple fruitiness; and light herbal/peppery hops. Light herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Medium full body with a fantastic creamy/silky mouthfeel; some light sticky/chalky roast/hop notes as well. Lightly drying from lingering bitterness. Amazingly clean lagering, not yeasty at all. Mildly warming 7.4%, but extremely drinkable. Just an all around fantastic example of the style. Big rich malt complexity with complimenting fruity notes; and balancing noble hop character. 4.25


Cheers!

 

This is a very tasty brew, totally different than a standard doppelbock, they used 3 different barrel's for the aging process. Really nice sweetness, malty, definitely picking up the barrel notes, mostly whiskey.

Lee Hill Servies Vol. 9 - Barrel Aged Doppelbock | Upslope Brewing Company - Lee Hill

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18564/248386/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!



Budgie Bandolier (White Label Promo) (Punch Out) 1975
A&M Records, Inc. NM

 

So glad to see this and hope it is at least a monthly feature moving forward. I'm revisiting an old favorite Salvator Doppel Bock. It just as good as I remember and makes me wonder why I don't have this style more. I looked back on my review from 12/15/03 and realized two things 1) I'm old & 2) my tastes are pretty much the same....

I went out to the store to buy some additional beers today but couldn't find any doppel bocks but did find a Doppleschwarz - Big Eddy Cherry Doppelschawrz from Leines and it is a pretty good follow-up to the Salvator.

How about an Irish Red or Irish Dry Stout for March?

Enjoy everyone! I'm looking forward to reading about your beers!

 

Agreed. I'm so excited that they're gonna be 1,000 years old in my lifetime (hopefully)! Easily my favorite German brewery other than maybe Bayreuther Aktien and Schlenkerla. Already have my vacation planned for 2050 !

 

Goose Island Fassinator ("blonde doppelbock")




Not surprising an American brewer would bastardize a great German style. The color is for sure blonde, reminiscent of the "golden stouts" that were popular a year ago. THe flavor comes across as blonde, too. The malts are light and provide a generic sweetness. There is a bitterness on the finish the makes it drink clean and more quaffable that I expected for the 8% ABV. Overall, not what I would call a doppelbock. But, since this is my first beer of the night, I don't mind that it is clean and going down relatively fast.

 

Grabbed a classic for this.

Wheat, caramel malts, dark fruits, very full flavor, cheers!

 

I haven't had many dopplebocks, but I definitely enjoyed this. Tons of toffee and caramel with some toasted bread crust chocolate and brown sugar. 4.05

 

I'm at work unfortunately, but I drank this after the late shift Friday (early Saturday morning):



Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel
7.1% ABV

One whiff off the thick, creamy head of tan foam screams “German quad!” Dark dried fruits — dates, prunes, raisins — nearly pour out of the bottle, and they’re super sweet in the nose. I didn’t have to go outside to smell them; the aroma is so strong it cut right through the air fresheners and other household smells that often junk up a beer’s nose. Smelling it blind, I might’ve guessed it was St. Bernardus 12.

The first few sips aren’t nearly that sweet, but all the dark dried fruit flavor is there. As it warms, a bit more sweetness shows up, and it’s always tasty and pleasant. Having the sweet tooth I have, I wouldn’t mind a little more sugary taste, but it’s never overly earthy or bitter.

The presence of chocolate is also interesting. When I did take the beer outside to get a full dose of the nose, I came back inside wondering if I’d smelled chocolate. Over time it grows to the point of being a like a chocolate donut. That’s the nose — the flavor is unsweetened baker’s chocolate. Never does the chocolate presence reach stout-like levels, but it’s way more than I expected.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/911/2899/?ba=Premo88#review
4.49 (+4.4% rDev)

I tried to be as objective as possible when scoring this thing. The first sip made me think “straight 4.5s across the board,” and further investigation led to nearly that score. It's as German-quady as an eisbock ... so dang good.

I'll keep sneaking peaks while I "work" ... and maybe a late night addition when I get off.

Cheers, boys, girls and goats!

 

From the second oldest brewery to THE oldest brewery in my mini test for doppelbock dominance comes Weihenstephaner Korbinian. I've narrowed my night down to these two because (A) They are my favorite, (2) They are from the oldest breweries in the world, and (D) wait...Where the hell was I going with this?



Alright, maybe a stange isn't the best glass for a doppelbock, but it's still semi-proper and beautiful. This pours a slightly murky deep brown with a good, big and sticky tan head. It smells of sweet malt, a bit of oxidization, and a bit metallic. Almost like flat soda. A touch of dark fruit emerges in the end. Taste is much more pleasant. Very grainy, a touch of lightly burnt toast, and some moderate sweetness. The feel is rich again, well carbonated (almost foamy in the mouth), and balanced favoring the sweet side. Overall this is another great doppelbock, but the Weltenburger blows this away in my opinion.

Thank you @THSdrummer for hosting my favorite style for an online tasting. In 2010, I was fortunate enough to win Best of Show at the Orange County Fair's homebrew competition for this style, and there is still no style I could have been more proud to win in than the Doppelbock. Please excuse my pride in this picture as I have no intention of bragging. Just wanted to share. Prost!

 

Here's my second Doppelbock of the night, and then I plan on taking a break for a while-

Augustiner Maximator.
Now that's more like it. If you wanted to see first hand the difference between 'sweet' and 'malty', you could do a whole lot worse than drink this one and the Salvator back to back. This is malty, in that it has that deep rich quality up front, yet it finishes dry. The flavor is so saturated that you think you're drinking a sweeter beer than you are, and it's no where near as sugary as the Paulaner in the end.

The aroma is like dark raisin bread with a hint of honey and spices. On the palate it's toffee, nuts, white raisins, pumpernickel and a touch of ginger snaps. The mouthfeel is moderately full yet lean, with exactly the right amount of snap from the bitterness. As stated earlier, it finishes pleasingly dry, with lots of toasty caramel in the finish. My only issue, if I'm looking for one, is that the alcohol presence is a hair more than 'warming', and that undercuts the refined nature of the beer just a bit. Still, a solid A (4.4), overall, and one that you really must try.

 

Sorry I'm late to the party!
Anyway, here's my lineup...


And here's the glassware to be used...

I'll be right back with the first up. Wait...which one should start with? Should I go in alphabetical order, by beer name or brewery? Or maybe by BA score, lowest to highest?
I'll surprise you.

 

The time has come to experience the Celebrator for my first time. I was introduced to this beer two years ago by my roommate, who was too greedy to share. Enjoying this while working on my bike (the human-powered kind) for my first ride in 18 months following a string of injuries.

12 oz bottle with the goat "necklace" poured into a pint glass.

Presents as a dark brown, nearly black, translucent liquid that appears to be roughly the consistency of milk. Puffy, off-white head fizzles away rapidly, leaving just a light lacing on the glass.

This one smells of dark berries again, much fruitier than the Troegenator. The aromas are noticeable from over a foot away from the glass. As it warms a bit, a sweet milk chocolate aroma starts to push through.

This is definitely more bitter than the Troegenator. Quick attack of fruit esters (blackberries maybe?), followed by dark chocolate bitterness and some roasted coffee notes that linger through the finish. As I drink some more, the bitterness fades a bit and is replaced by another flavor, like a mild sourdough bread, and some fresh green grapes, that cleans up the lingering coffee.

Feel is medium to thick, a little thicker than milk, with medium-to-light carbonation that gives just a bit of fizz in the back of the mouth. The feel lingers on the tongue for a while, along with some of that sourdough.

This is way more complex than I was prepared for, with the flavor profile shifting with the temperature of the beer. I was slightly put off by the bitter coffee flavors at first, but after a few sips and warming the malty fruitiness took over. This beer tastes and feels like a full meal in a bottle. It's really enjoyable, but definitely not an everyday affair. Very, very satisfying and a nice reward to myself after a long day of cleaning. I'd love to know if other people find this to have a coffee flavor as well.

 

So here's a change of pace.

I'm revisiting a beer I haven't had in a few years since it's typically very hard to find because of its popularity.

For this tasting I chose a dopplebock which won't to be found in that category on this website. The beer is brewed by a German trained brewer who excels at his German style beers, but those beers don't see wide distribution ourside of High Point Brewing's home state of New Jersey. On here the beer is categorized as a Weizenbock, but the High Point website identifies the beer as the Ramstein Winter Wheat Dopplebock (i.e., it is a Weizen Dopplebock).

http://ramsteinbeer.com/seasonals/

So, going along with the brewer's wishes....

This beer is nice dark brown with reddish highlights and some persistent foam that has a bit of leggy lacing. In the aromas/flavors there's a nice blending of clove and black currant with some dark caramel and chocolate from the malt. There's also some banana and apple in the background as well. On the whole this is smooth, complex, well-balanced Weizen Dopplebock that is a real pleasure to drink.

Cheers, all!

 

The Upslope is very tasty. Not your typical doppelbock.

Cheers!

 

I am a huge fan of Weltenburger, if you dig into my posts you might notice some hints of it. They have little flaws here and there but their lineup is as solid as a rock and i´ve had the rare privilege to get their beers really really fresh since a few years already, which is a kind of miracle while not living in Germany. I´ve been shy to tell so many times as they are not that hyped or obscure, but it is about time we get out of the armchair. Nice to know i am not alone!