Big Axe Salivator Doppelbock

 Big Axe Salivator Doppelbock. 7.9 %, 24 IBU, Big Axe Brewing, Nisswa, Minnesota. 

Clear, caramel-toned, nice slice of tan head atop.

In the nose: sweet and malty. Toffee and caramel. Delightful.

In the mouth: rich and delicious. Warm, full-bodied, more flavors of toffee, caramel, nougat. Liquid candy bar. I am enjoying this treat and will probably go back for more. Yu-um. 

Traditional German style winter lager with rich flavor.  This brew is defined by intense malt & bread notes, along with mild hints of caramel, chocolate and a slightly sweet finish.

Modist Gifts of the Sacred Father Doppelbock

 Modist Gifts of the Sacred Father Doppelbock.

8.5 % ABV, Modist Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Clear, dark reddish brown, lush, creamy head on top, looking good.

In the nose: caramel and toffee notes, just slightly sweet. Hits the mark.

In the mouth: smooth and lovely, with the slightest hit of alcohol at the top.  Clean, rich, delicious, abundant with malty flavors. Caramel is king, of course, but it’s never too sweet. Nice balance. All in all, an exceptional doppelbock. Quite yum a dum dum.  

Doppelbock brewed with decoction mashed pilsner, Vienna and Munich malts. Kettle hopped with German Hersbrucker then fermented and lagered with German lager yeast.

Pivovara Medvedgrad Grička Vještica Doppelbock

Pivovara Medvedgrad Grička Vještica Doppelbock.

7.5 % ABV, Medvedgrad Brewery, Zagreb, Croatia. 

These Craotian beers showed up today. I've never had a beer from Croatia before. (Edit: not true. I had one called Karlovacki 19 years ago.)They're all German styles, and look, here's a doppelbock. You know I llove a good doppelbock. Why don't we drink it? 

Clear, crimson-hued, slim auburn head. 

In the nose: Rich, sweet malty flavors, caramel and toffee in charge. Beautiful. 

In the mouth: More caramel, toffee, brown sugar and butterscotch at play on the palate. Medium bodied, smooth, sweet and malty. Good balance, and easy drinking, though the higher ABV lo is increasingly encroaching. Floods the mouth with deliciousness and warmth.

Grička vještica (The Grič Witch) is a strong dark lager of a subtle ruby red color. It's flavor is light, rich in fine sweetness and of a pleasant aroma. The quality is ensured by the layering period of no less than 60 days. It is named after a legend of The Grič Witch, who was so beautiful as to enchant the people of Old Zagreb. 

Augustiner Maximator Doppelbock

Augustiner Maximator Doppelbock.

7.5 % ABV. 

Brewed and bottled in Munich, Germany by Augustiner Brewery. 

So, there I am looking at the list of top-rated doppelbocks on BeerAdvocate and the first one that I hadn't had was this one. Had I had anything from Augustiner-Brau? I have a review of their Edelstoff lager from May of 2010 on BeerAdvocate. I didn't care for it then, so I think I'll try it again. Meanwhile, I'll try this one for the first time. We have it at the store where I work, and I talked the manager into singling them out. Not enough space in my fridge for another 6-pack of doppelbocks. (He says, though he just stuffed it with IPAs, double IPAs, and barrel-aged barleywines.)

On to the beer: 

Clear, caramel/brown-ish hue, cream-toned, short-lived head.

In the nose: Classic malty notes dominate, dark fruits, figs and raisins, caramel and toffee. Brown sugar, molasses. Sweet stuff, but well-balanced. 

In the mouth: Sticky, sweet, and ever-so tasty. Lightly roasty/toasty. Medium bodied, moderate strength, low bitterness, and richly rewarding. Flavors from the aroma arrive on the palate. Goes down nice and easy. An utter delight. 

The pleasant, dark Doppelbock of monasterial origin, especially suited for festivities during the chilly season.

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbocker Lager

Question for myself: why don't I have a decent doppelbock-specific glass? And further, why don't I have an Ayinger Celebrator glass? And more importantly and deeply, why hasn't Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, or anything from the Privatbrauerei Franz Inselkammer KG, Brauweri Aying ever appeared here since I started this?

There's a reason why I had to check on this recently, and I'll get to that later, but I was ultimately disappointed to learn that in the nearly 9 years of this blog I haven't posted about any of their beers. BeerAdvocate says that I've reviewed six of their beers on that site, so I was diligent in the past, but haven't followed through here on the blog. Part of that is my fault, for not picking them up at the store or being aware that I should do so, and part is due to the distributor not giving me samples. I actually had this beer on tap at Acadia 3 1/2 years ago, but did not take the opportunity to snap a shot and use it to post my old review, which I sometimes do. And due to those reasons I hinted at above, I called on the Sample Man, ( a lady, in this case) to help me out.

So, I now have a bottle of the classic German doppelbock, with the little goat around the bottleneck, and I will use a Belgian abbey dubbel glass, because that's the closest thing I have to the shape of the doppelbock glass.

Here are my notes from February, 2003:
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock lager, 6.7 % ABV, Aying, Germany.

A color as black as night, and a toasty tan head.

Strong and seductive aromatics: sweet and candyish, with notes of toffee, anise, and cocoa, and a slightly burnt character that perhaps derives from the higher alcohol.

Taste is huge with malt, highly warming (note the ABV), full, rich, and delicious. A perfect aperitif beer. Three things ring above all else: malt, coffee, and caramel.
 Solid, bold, and loaded with coffeeish flavor. One of the world's greatest brews.

My 16 and 1/2 year old notes? Do they stand up? Yep, I called it. Nothing more to add. We could go on, wax rhapsodic, perhaps, but sometimes brief and to the point is more than good enough. It is actually perfectly delicious, complex, and beautiful.

And the reason I was thinking about them is Richard. I'm going to go back to a Facebook post from a week or so ago, and give tribute to one of my favorite long-time customers and his departed wife.

This is Richard. (I haven't seen him post anything online in a while, and he always pays in cash, so I've forgotten his last name.)
But Richard is among my favorite customers of all time. I've felt for years that I would be at my happiest if I were to come to work, walk up to the bar and see a room full of Richards. And I don't mean only white, male, retired dentists, no, of course not. I mean anyone who only wants the best beer available, and doesn't care about anything else.
Richard used to come to the Blue Nile and only order our best, every time. I once asked him why he didn't want the free pints that came to him when he ordered an expensive Belgian beer during happy hour, and I will never forget his answer. "If I wanted a discount, I'd go to the gas station and buy a case of PBR."
Which I am sure he never did.

After I left the Blue Nile and went to Acadia, Richard followed and I always was delighted to see him and serve him. Today, I came in and he'd been there for a bit, drinking some Hammerheart Flaming Longship, and told me he had a story to tell me. The gravity of his tone suggested something, and my instincts were true. Richard's story was that of his wife Jean, of nearly 45 years of marriage, and her untimely, accidental death, only a few weeks ago.
I'd met Jean several times and she was nothing but sunshine and light, happiness and smiles. It was heartbreaking to hear of her passing.
I listened to Richard tell the story of their life together, their tales, their travels, the family they raised, and he told the story of getting into craft beer, locally, at Johnny's Bar in St. Paul on University Avenue, where they were the only place to have Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock on tap. Throughout his story, he kept going back to how no one else ever had it on tap, only a few places, maybe one place in D.C., etc.
And I thought to myself, I know someone who had it on a few years back....maybe he missed it... maybe not...but...
So, I went downstairs and checked the tap handle box of the distributor who never asks for them back, and there it was, a handle that did not include the name of the beer, so I had to write it myself in Sharpie. Celebrator Doppelbock, which was also Jean's favorite.
And I gave it to him, and he refused, so I insisted, and he accepted. And he said it would make a nice complement to the beer glasses I'd given him over the years, and I said I hoped it would keep memories of Jean alive.
So, Cheers to Jean and Richard, everyone, and all the beers we cheer together to keep us happy and alive!

And here's to celebrating life, love, and friends!

Dark, malty and rich. Ayinger, at the foot of the Bavarian alps, is one of the world's most respected breweries, family owned and operated since 1878. 

Steel Toe Doppelbock

Steel Toe Doppelbock.
8.3 % ABV. 35 IBU.
Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN.

Clear, rich amber/copper coloring, slim whitish head.

In the nose: Rich and (liquid-) bread-y. Sweet, and a bit boozy.

In the mouth: Caramel malt, a touch of toast. Campfire in a glass. Rich malt, exquisitely balanced. Little hops, just enough to do the trick.This one is not as dark, rich and full-bodied as I prefer a doppelbock to be, but, hey, I don't mind, it's a different take, and it is tasty.
And boozy.
And there ain't nothing wrong with that.


Doppelbock Lager

Color: Pale Gold
Alcohol content by volume: 8.3%
International Bitterness Units: 35
Bready rich malt backbone, caramel, toast.

Fulton Coffee Doppelbock German Style Doppelbock

Fulton Coffee Doppelbock German Style Doppelbock. 7.75 % ABV. 28 IBU. Fulton Beer, Minneapolis, MN.

Opaque. Reddish brown, large cream-toned head.

In the nose: Subtle coffee flavors, slowly growing. Slowly, but surely, unfolding. Earthy, nutty, roasty.

In the mouth: Rich, warm, and quite tasty. Malt flavors come to the fore, caramel and toffee and cocoa. Coffee keep rushing back. Lightly fruit, plummy, then earthy, medium-bodied, delightfully drinkable...if you're into coffee doppelbocks. And I am. Very good, this one. Very, very good.

From the coffee beer 4-pack sampler. Three more to go.



Fulton has teamed up with four Minnesota coffee roasters to create our first Coffee Beer.

Wait, what's War & Peace, then? Are you saying Imperial Stouts aren't beers?

Bent Paddle Doppelbock German-style Lager

Bent Paddle Doppelbock German-style Lager. 7.7 % ABV. 20 IBU.
Bent Paddle Brewing, Duluth, MN.

Dark brown color, nearly opaque under a thin slab of cream-toned foam.

In the nose: Sweet and caramel. Dark malts, brown sugar, molasses.

In the mouth: Sugary-sweet from the start, Uber-malty and tasty as can be. Medium-bodied, long, malty finish, ending a bit on the dry side, but the sweetness never falters. Might be "too sweet" for some. Me, I don't care. It's delicious.

This German style Doppelbock is a full bodied "meal in a glass"- a hearty lager perfect for the winter landscape. Malt forward flavors of bread and caramel dominate the subtle sweetness with a slight hint of chocolate in the finish. Pours a deep amber red with a full effervescent head.

Oliphant Boodoir Barrel-aged Doppelbock

Oliphant Boodoir Barrel-aged Doppelbock. 9% ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Dark, black, obsidian, beautiful brown head.

In the nose: Big ol' whiskey. Cocoa, molasses, vanilla. Charcoal. Deep. Wonderfully inviting.

In the mouth: Bourbon coats the scene, covers the palate, grips the senses. Strong. Slick. Suggestive. Super duper. Sweet and delicious. The doppelbock below is fairly covered over by all the bourbon barrel action, but I don't mind a bit. I can feel it's tracings, just a smudge.

It's a decadent treat that can't be beat, and it's just what I need right now.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel-Aged Dopplebock

Brunswick Bierworks & La Trappe Ora Et Labora Doppelbock

Brunswick Bierworks & La Trappe Ora Et Labora. Doppelbock. Brunswick Bierworks, East York, Ontario. Canada. 7.5% ABV. 30 IBU.

I'm always about the proper glassware, so it's time to break out my La Trappe chalice for this one, lacking any Brunswick Bierworks chalice, that is.

Clean, deep burgundy color, slim brownish head.

In the nose: Dark fruit: plum, raisin. Molasses, brown sugar. Big, sweet richness, but not too much.

In the mouth: More plump, malty flavors. Good balance. More richness, more sweet, but all kept in check. Creeping alcohol. Clean, with a dry finish. A tasty nightcap. Even if I'm not quite ready for bed.

Editor's note: If you live where I do, and are interested in this beer, I have to apologize. I think you have to be in Ontario. I just have to write about every beer I drink, and share it here, whether you can find it locally or not. Sorry.

And to Nick, the next two are coming, sorry it took so long.

Handshake brews for a Good Cause

The first of the Brunswick bierworks handshake Brew Series serves an almighty moreish New World Double Bock named Ora et labora which translates to Work & Pray the philosophy of the La trappe monks Brewed by La Trappe's Brouwmeester Lodewijk Swinkels and Brunswick Bierworks Brewing Ambassador Christian Riemerschmid von der Heide, this collaboration weaves traditional krausen fermentation with a mighty maltbill and a unique blend of Opal, Loral, Mandarina Bavaria and Ontario Newport hops sourced from the Americas and Europe; bridging the two worlds of brewing

Paulaner Salvator Double Bock

Each time it happens, I still can't believe it. A classic beer is found to not be in the Nib. After seven years of this blog, there's still a few that haven't made it in. A lot of work to do. And this week, the Sample Man gave me some Paulaner beers, one of which has been covered here, the Hefe Weizen, but the doppelbock? The doppelbock, Salvator, hasn't made it in?

Time to correct that, and I'm going back and using notes from October of 2003:

Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock (Double Bock), 7.9% ABV, Paulaner Brewery, Munich, Germany.

Appearance: clear, gorgeous, deep garnet hue, with a fine, fuzzy cream-colored head.

Aroma: bready, yeasty, but soft, slightly hoppy and spicy, with some traces of fruit.

Taste: smooth flavor, but soon chocolate-y, caramel-y flavors, derived from malt, dominate the palate. Tasty, rich and malty, improving exponentially as we go.

Bright, shiny, delicious, with alcohol content eventually rearing it's powerful head. Flavor feels burnished, roasted, still fruity, and let us never forget, delicious. A world class beer, a champion doppelbock, and surprisingly approachable.

This unfiltered bottom fermented double bock beer has been brewed for over 375 years--always adhering to the original recipe. The taste is unmistakable, with its smooth chocolate flavor, robust dark caramel maltiness and a light note of hops--providing a nice intensity on the palate.

Oliphant Xuul Doppelbock Lager

Oliphant Xuul Doppelbock Lager.

It's another one of those. An Oliphant beer they've been making for years, and I can't believe I've never taken one home in growler/crowler form. According to Untappd, I've never even tried it. Never? Ever? Doppelbock is a style I enjoy, so I can't imagine not choosing this one, in favor of so many others. Could it just be that it was never there when I was? Some evidence will arise to prove to the contrary, perhaps. It still boggles the mind. Maybe I sampled Jason's, just for instance, and went forward with a Gobias or a Gaer Bear, or Ancient Bone Saber of Whomakalukulus, or whatever.

Wait. I know. I was there with my crap phone with no internet/data/whatever and couldn't check into untappd. Or just didn't want to. I must have at least tasted it once before. Not doing so makes no sense!

Enough. The time has come to drink!

Xuul Doppelbock. 8% Alc./Vol.

Clear, rich, caramel brown, slim white head.

In the nose: sweet and malty, nicely balanced, low bitterness. Nothing but nice.

In the mouth: Sweet and smooth. Sleek and supple. Big caramel malt. Tasty as heck. Clean and lovely. Personally, I like it. It is, and I know this hasn't caught on yet but I still keep trying, ....yum-a-dum-dum!

For a long time I thought that Xuul referred
to the demon from "Ghostbusters." No,
that's Zuul. I don't know what Xuul is, or
who these characters are. 

 two stoopid dogs flashes quickly on the screen. it's been over 10 years since syndication. the room flashes green. invasion; it has begun

Minnesota Breweries One By One #4: Surly Brewing Company, Minneapolis, with Stout, One, and Hopshifter 3.

(Note: I began writing this on Wednesday, and finished it Saturday.)

How my heart filled with joy and soared up among the clouds when I saw the weather forecast, with the news that today, Wednesday, the 20th of January would have temperatures in the 20's. Twenty-plus degrees above zero! Oh, frabjous day, calloo, callay! I could spend this day off going to visit another brewery and not freeze to death while waiting for the bus. It's a freakin' miracle, y'all.

You know they put this sign up for a reason.

I picked Surly for #4 today for various reasons, beginning with the appearance, reported in beer-related Facebook pages, of the first straight-up stout from Surly, not coffee, not cranberry, and not Russian Imperial. Also, One, the initial anniversary beer,  was re-brewed and was currently on. Got to have 'em. Secondly, doing a new beer based on a visit to Surly would mean taking notes at the bar, something I don't normally do. Surly can't fill growlers by law, because they're too big and Minnesota law don't allow that. No reason, just 'cause. But on the other hand, I don't think they would want to, though, even if they could. The brewery, bar and restaurant is busy enough as it is, without the added work of filling and selling growlers. I remember way back, nine years ago when they released the first cans at the same time they got the growlers going. Omar didn't actually want to do both, and they were glad to quit the game at the end of 2008. I would love to take home growlers from Surly MSP, with all the great stuff on tap there, but that the way it goes.

I posed for a self-portrait photograph with a mural
last summer. And yes, I always look this serious.

So, on this visit I would take notes and not buy a growler to bring home, and that is fine, because you know what? I have 27 different cans, bottles and growlers in the fridge at home waiting for me to review for this blog, and I don't need to add to that collection. No new growlers until some of those other beers go away.

I arrived around 6 pm, with the place bustling as always, and managed to find a single seat at the bar. On close inspection, of the 20 beers on tap (You have to ignore the presence of Bender int the lineup, they only served cans of it.), a full half were beers that have never been packaged in any form, only appearing at the taproom or in select bars or at festivals. There's a great reason to keep going back to Surly. They know how to bring us in.

The first beer I chose was the third in the Hopshifter series, where the yeast and malt of an India Pale Ale remains the same, but different hops are used in each iteration. For #3, the hop employed was Chinook, with brings the citrus to the party. Vibrant, bold, assertive citrus hop aromatics. Enticing, long-lasting bitterness on the palate. Light to medium bodied, with a lush, nearly delicious, sweet malty base, providing beautiful balance to hopheads like me. Long, bitter, grapefruit-y finish. I was fairly in love with this one.

Next up, time for One, a beer I haven't had in nearly nine years, and never thought I'd ever drink again. I had it on tap at the Blue Nile in 2007, of course, where it tasted all the world like a doppelbock, but Todd insisted it wasn't one. This new version is 11.5% ABV, versus the 9% beer they released in '07. And just for kicks, here's the review of the old one that I added to BeerAdvocate.com on January 10, 2007 (Can it be that the anniversary beers used to come out before the actual anniversary?)

"One", an anniversary lager. ("But don't call it a doppelbock.")
Brewed July 2006, with a blend of 7 different malts and candi sugar. 9% abv, 28 IBU.

(this was hard to categorize, as it's not a double pilsner, not a malt liquor,...I thought I'd err on the safe side and just enter it as an all-malt lager.)

Sample bottle poured into a wide-mouth Belgian chalice.

Deep mahogany hue. ("Tawny brown", says the brewer, but we're both right.) Slim whitish head.

Aroma: nice and malty, lightly spicy, with prominent notes of raisin and plum. Molasses isn't far off, either. Delicate sweetness.
And, though I tried not to copy the brewer's notes, yes, there's vanillla and licorice in there, too, can't deny it.)

Taste away: Mmmmm. That's all I'll say: Mmmm

...

...

...okay, seriously, this is quite a slick, delicious treat, and they're right it's not a doppelbock, it's unlike anything I can think of at the moment, and I think it's brilliant.
Those dark fruit flavors ride on top, coated with a candyish sheen and it's jostles the realm of the syrupy, but not quite. It grabs hold of the palate with each new sip, drips this sweet concoction all over the tongue and it splashes the roof of the mouth, coats the senses, then softly fades back, though the beautiful flavor never quite quits.

Alcohol is not as forward as you'd think, going into a 9% lager, but I still would advise against tippling too many!
Finish is long, body is medium to full, and the taste is well-tempered, very sweet, but not too much so, at least not to me. Those who can't stand a touch of sweetness may not like it. Their loss.

Surly One. It's back!

Happy 1st Anniversary Surly!
Here's to many more!

This new One is a clear, reddish brown, with a hefty head. A rich, lush malty nose, prevailing sweetness. Tastes of vanilla, oak, molasses, other undefinable goodnesses. Plenty of caramel and toffee coming through. I'd end up repeating the earlier notes from nine years past, it's remarkably
close to it. More bock than quad, but I suppose this term is suggest that it's bigness is much more than "doppel", though it's not like a Belgian quadrupel, except in comparison to strength. Full bodied, with a clean finish, alcohol really coming through in the end. One is a delicious treat that should be re-brewed again, and packaged so that we can savor it at home, and cellar for years to come.

By the way, here's what the the brewery says: "A re-brew of our 1st Anniversary beer. Intense malt flavors of toffee, bready malt, and a warming smooth, yet dry finish. Loosely based on a German doppelbock, ours is bigger, so we call it a Quad-Bock." They serve it in 4 ounces for $3, or 10 ounces for $6.

I did not have a One Time Sour Cranberry
Gose on that visit,
 but here's a picture of Jason having one with me
 back in October. Just because. 

I did not have a Darkness on this visit, but
here's a self-portrait photograph of me doing
 so in late summer, with Joe in the background. 

Surly Stout. It's new!

I closed out my session with the new one called, simply, Stout, and once again I emptied the glass with satisfaction. My notes went like this: "Utter blackness. Deep, smoky, malty aromatics. Beautiful roasted malt character coming through in the nose. I wondered if there was oats in it, as Todd is fond of that, but no, crystal malt is used to balance the roasted malt. Classic dry stout mouthfeel, finishing clean and dry. Class, straight-up stout."

After 10 years of coloring outside the lines, they do a stout by the numbers, and it is damned good. There ain't nothing wrong with that. Although. I don't want to see them throwing out Bender or messing with Cynic or tossing out their boundary-breaking history now that they've hit the big time. I recently noticed that Bitter Brewer has been retired after 8 years or so, but if sales are what sales are, what can you do? Personally, I think the name "bitter" needs to be retired in general in the beer world, unless you're really speaking to the hop freaks.

It's been almost 10 years since my first taste of Surly's first two beers, a special invitation to the brewery on Monday, January 31, 2006. I ordered my first keg of Bender for the Blue Nile the next day, and hooked it up that Friday. It was a different beer world, then, no doubt about it. Surly was the first new local brewery in years, and the first one to succeed since Summit. In the next 5 years, they started to slowly collect company, but the last few have been just about insane with the explosion of breweries around Minnesota. It's hard to conceive of this sort of expansion happening ten years ago. Someone had to get the ball rolling, and it was Surly. Say what you will of your opinions on their beers, or their fans, or the "hype", or whatever, but you cannot deny the effect they've had, how they turned palates around here, and made this a beer-friendly culture. Yeah, I'm a Surly fanboy. They are the #2 most tagged local brewery on this blog, 55 once I post this, and I've had a storied past with them over the years. But there's a reason for it. Just go through these past five years of posts, chronicling ten years of this brewery, and you'll get a sense of why I have such an attachment to them. As for the new brewery, skip ahead to this post, where I wrote at length about my first visit.

Minneapolis Town Hall Resuscitator Doppelbock

Doppelbock is a storied style, steeped in legend (most it about goats) that has lost some connection with the younger craft brew crowd, wowed by barrel-aged this and sour-that. Doppelbocks, or double bocks, are strong dark lagers originally brewed by monks for their Lenten drinking, liquid bread to maintain them through the fast. I like doppelbocks, but I find that once I tag a few of the pertinent flavors, that I don't have much more to say about them. Well, so what, I still enjoy them, even if I stop short with the flowery phrases. And so, we turn to...

Town Hall Resuscitator Doppelbock. All the doppelbocks gotta be -ators, going back from the original, Paulaner Salvator, as well as Ayinger's Celebrator. Not sure if anyone's done one with this name yet. You're making a doppelbock, you're going go through the dictionary, look up all the -ators, check to see if anyone's made a beer with that -ator, this -ator. Or do it the digital way. And I'm wondering if they've done this before. After almost 18 years, they must have done a doppelbock, but this same one, with this name? Let's do some research…Research over: there was a Liberator doppelbock, years ago, which I reviewed in February, 2004. The beer with this name is brand-new, and seems to be unique. (now I'm left wondering: How many years has it been since they've brewed a doppelbock? Barrel-aged week and fun & funky infusions are awesome, but I feel you need to have room for an annual doppelbock. Just me, I guess.)

Enough of that, let's get to the nitty gritty on this one.

Appearance: clear, bright reddish brown coloring, with a a large, lasting, off-whitish head.

Aroma: deep and malty from the onset, rich and full of caramel and toffee notes, molasses, too. Sweet, for sure. Hops lay low, malt is triumphant there.

Taste: There it is, again, bouncing off the palate, the rich caramel malt hard at play. Dark fruits, plum, raisin, too. And chocolate takes a bow, as well.Chocolatey, nougat-y, all the good stuff.  Mmmm. yeah, mmm. Nicely balanced, calm and cool. Tasty. Love it.

Here's the full information from the website: "Resuscitator Doppelbock, 7.6%, Resuscitatot was brewed traditionally from six different German malts including Munich, Vienna, Pilsner and Melaniodin to impart a more bready sweetness as well as a subtle acidity. We varied from tradition slightly with a late kettle addition of German Hersbrucker hops which lends a mellow green herbal flavor. True to tradition, it was fermented with a German lager yeast strain, producing low esters and fruitiness."

Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock

What? I haven't gotten around to anything from Weihenstephaner, the world's oldest brewery? What the--??? Come on! Let's take care of that right away. But, first...

My computer problems only got worse. Instead of random errors, I was unable to turn on the damned  computer. I bought some beers Friday, and when I brought them home I chose to drink the one that I'd already written about, long ago. Took the photo, then turned on my 10-year old eMac that I keep around just because. I plug in my iPod, which it doesn't recognize, though it does acknowledge it's camera, and proceeds to download all the photos, getting around the the Korbinian about 800 pics and an hour later. I tried to import it to a flash drive, and that device went unrecognized, too. But not an external hard-drive. So is this what my beer reviewing will be until I get the Mac Book Pro fixed, writing and importing photos on the 2004 dinosaur, putting them into the hard-drive, then transporting it elsewhere? Some one else's computer? The library? Well, if I have to, I guess...

A quick trip to the Apple Store, problem found, part replaced, everything's fixed and I'm only $18 poorer. Good to know that I've got a back-up plan, though, eh?

So, on to notes on Korbinian Doppelbock from July, 2003: (with exclamation marks edited out)
Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock,
Brewed and bottled by Bayerische Staatsbrauwerei, Freising, Germany.
7.4% ABV. 16 IBU.


Clear, dark brown color, and a big, bursting pinkish brown head.

Nose is a complete and utter gas. Far-flung aromatics: spices and fruit, sour cherries, grapes, sweet, rich,and invigorating.

Lush mouthfeel, luxuriating, the cares of the world drift away, or they'd better, for there's nothing that should interfere with the enjoyment of this phenomenol brew..hangs heavily in the mouth, and you want to extend any invitation and elongate it's stay, so welcome is this delicious presence in the mouth...hedonistic, even...

Medium body, delicate and delicious finish, stong malt presence. Drinks down a bit rummy, a trifle winish. Very complex and extraordinarily tasty. This one washes over you and makes it all better, like a hot bath.
One of the best doppelbocks on Earth, hands down.
-----------------------------

Almost 11 years on, was I warranted to spew such exaggerated praise? I think so.

August Schell Stag Series #8: August's Bock

August Schell August's Bock, Stag Series Limited Release Batch No. 8. A Collaborative Brew between August Schell Brewing, New Ulm, Minnesota, and Gold Ochsen Brewery, Ulm, Germany. No ABV given, but there is some gobbledygook, which I'll get to later.

Clear, amber-hued, creamy white head holds forth above.

Aroma: Lightly sweet and malty, …that covers it.

Taste: More sweet from more malt. More in line with a blonde doppelbock in flavor, without the same color. Not as dark and rich as many other db's. Medium-bodied, light, malty finish.Toasty and caramel-y.  Through it all, great balance, never too much of anything.
I'm enjoying this, though it doesn't seem especially special. Sometimes good is good enough.

What does the label tell us? "August's Bock is a blonde doppelbock beer collaboratively brewed by two 5th generation breweries in the sister cities Ulm, Germany and New Ulm, Minnesota."

Well, now we know.

Bocks and doppelbocks are the styles of beers that I enjoy drinking without having much to say about them. They are what they are, and they are good.

Tommyknocker Butt Head Doppelbock

Here's a quandary. I received some samples recently, including this one, and it raised some questions. Why does this bottle merely call it a "bock lager" and not a doppelbock? Looking on their listing on BeerAdvocate, there is no change. And the alcohol is still 8.2 % by volume. Did some prevailing wisdom decide it is best not to call it a doppelbock, for some reason or another?

Never mind. I had this 22 ounce bottle, and I'm looking back at my notes from a 12 ounce bottle back in November, 2003. Here we go...


Appearance: deep, dark brown color, hinting on violet, almost prunish, even, with a short, quick head.

Aroma: vibrant and fruity (grapes, raisins, dates), very nice.

Taste: big mouthfeel, warm, generous texture, and overloaded with malt. Very little hops that I can taste. Syrupy sweet at times, thickly coated, almost medicinal. Halfway in, that large presence on the palate seriously thins out, still substantial, but losing some ground.

 Overall, though, the bright, fruity flavor, with the ample alcoholic content, provides sufficient punch and rings in on every subsequent swallow, making this a very satisfactory, memorable doppelbock.

The Duck Rabbit Duck-Rabbator Doppelbock

The Duck Rabbit (The Dark Beer Specialist) Duck Rabbator Lager Doppelbock. 8.5 % Alcohol by Volume. Farmville,  North Carolina.

The duck-rabbit has grown goat horns on this one, and the -ator suffix is in play, as is traditional for a German-style doppelbock.

This one looks the part right away, a dark brown body, slimmed head, starts copious and drifts down.

Aroma: rich, sweet malty nose, toffee aplenty, caramel, molasses, nougat. Yeah, it's a liquid candy-bar, big, beefy, complex and full of character. That's just the nose, now, let's take it to the tasting.

Taste: Deep and rich, plump with dark, malty flavor. All that from the nose returns on the palate. It's a melted down tootsy roll rolling around in the mouth. Medium-bodied, with a long, sweet finish, inching towards dry. Fully-flavored, and rightfully delicious.

Smuttynose Smuttonator Doppelbock

There's a goat on the label and it ends in "-ator", so it must be a doppelbock. This one's from Smuttynose, so it's got to be a Smuttonator. What do they say about this one? "…a tasty mixture of German ingredients & good ol' fashioned New England tenaciousness. Our brewers take 30 hours to brew a single batch of this traditional double bock. Take your time & enjoy it's rich, malty & deceptively smooth flavor."
No alcohol percentage given anywhere on the label.
Brewed & bottled by Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Tawny brown body, adequate cap of tannish froth atop. Looks the part, though I could do well with a bigger head.

Fruity, malty aromatics, dark, rich plums, grapes, etcetera. Plenty sweet, plenty rich.

Taste: Full malty flavor takes command of the senses, dominates the palate. Bountiful dark fruit flavor runs rampant on the tongue. Sweetness is almost too much, but it's also damned tasty, too.

As we get further in, the flavors only intensify, the fruity richness glows and grows. This is one of my favorite doppelbocks of recent consumption.

Aventinus Vintage 2004

Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock Ale, (weizenstarkbier), Brauerei Georg Schneider & Sohn, brewed in 2004. Product of Bavaria, Germany. 8.2% ABV. Paper wrapped, with various events of that year lain diagonally across the sheet. Academy Award winners, Olympics, natural disasters, this odd fact: "Bill Haley invented rock'n'roll 50 years ago." Was that him? There must be a debate about that, somewhere. I'd bet Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard have something to say about that. Tied around the neck with string is a nice little card, and here's what it says: "Aventinus, the worlds oldest top=fermenting wheat doppelbock, has received accolades for the perfect balance of fruity spiciness (banana, clove, vanilla) and notes of chocolate (crystal and dark malts). In addition, the beer has demonstrated wonderful aging potential with aromas and flavors of chocolate (very soft), port and sherry when aged for three years or more.
Therefore, in 1999, the Schneider Brewery decided to age 240 cases of Aventinus each year in their historical ice cellar in Kelheim with each batch held for a minimum of three years.
Each fall for many years to come, B. United International is proud to release a small allotment of the latest vintage to all our customers across the USA. Please enjoy it now or hold on to it in your own cellar for further development…if you can handle the wait."

Well, I can't handle the wait. And I think that eight years is enough. So, let's crack this open and take in all this development.

One small detriment of age is noted immediately. Utterly still, no foam, no head, no nothing, very un-like the normally bilious Aventinus. There's a lot going on when you examine the surface, plenty of active bubbles spreading swiftly from the middle to the sides, but that's as far as it goes.

Aroma, here's where it's happening. Very much like the young Aventinus, but taken further in complexity. Banana and clove are there at first, followed by raisins, grape, figs, dark rum, port wine. Raspberry jam in a wine cask, chocolate looks below. Beautiful.

Taste: again, very still, no carbonation on the tongue. At least, very little. But the palate is washed over with the smooth wheat feel and the dark malt flavor I've come to love from Aventinus, pushed a little farther. Gets richer and fuller in the mouth, the more it takes command of the senses. A little pepper to match the clove, a touch of fire in this to stir up the fruit and chocolate notes. Mmmm, mmm.

One good thing about this venture in aging is that they charge no more for it than for a new bottle of Aventinus. One bad thing about it, if I may, is that while very good and some kind of an improvement, it's not quite a mind-blower and shies seriously short of transcendence. Although…although…I'm liking this more and more. Mellow and mostly magical.