Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock

Brewery: Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH
Location: Kelheim, Germany
Style: Doppelbock
Brewery Website
Rating: B

Today we are reviewing the Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock from Germany's Schneider brewery. The Aventinus pours up a hazy walnut brown with lots of bubbles rising in the glass. The head is a clumpy, light tan foam. The nose finds lots of yeasty ester notes with banana and green apple being predominant. There ate also aromas of malt syrup as well as some vinous notes.

The palate leads off with some dark rye bread notes. There is a dry champagne flavor as well. Plenty of yeasty notes are here, but the fruitiness is a bit more subdued on the palate than on the nose. There is a fleeting juicy wine note. Sweetness is pretty low by doppelbock standards. The Aventinus is medium-bodied and feels a bit light for a doppelbock. The finish sees the malt flavors ring out with supporting notes of yeast.

The Aventinus is a decent doppelbock but to my palate I don't see anything that stands out to any great extent. The yeast notes are nice, but I would definitely like to see some richer maltiness here.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian Doppelbock

Brewery: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Location: Freising, Germany
Style: Doppelbock
Brewery Website
Rating: B+

Today we are tasting the Korbinian doppelbock from Weihenstephan. The beer pours up a dark cola/mahogany in color with a hint of ruby. The head is frothy and dark tan in color. The nose finds wine, fresh baked whole wheat bread, a faint banana note, herbal hops and a hint of dark chocolate.

The Korbinian is off-dry with a fleeting malt syrup sweet note that disappears quickly. The malt has a dark rye bread character. There is a touch of acidity. Hops are just barely perceptible. There is a notable mineral water/metallic note. The Korbinian is medium-heavy bodied with a touch of astringency. The finish is a long fade on the bready malt note.

The Korbinian is a solidly crafted doppelbock, especially if you are a fan of the low-hops, "liquid bread" interpretation. This is a fairly dry doppel; the residual sweetness many doppels seem to have is not here. My only complaint is the metallic note seems a bit out of place. But that's a small quarrel, as the Korbinian is a very nice beer.

Tröegs Troegenator Doublebock

Today, Beer! reviews the Troegs Troegenator Double Bock:

Brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Style: Double Bock
Brewery Website
Rating: A-

Up for review today is the Troegenator Double Bock from Tröegs (umlaut rule in effect - I'll give you the first one, but I'm skipping it from here on in). The Troegenator pour up a clear, deep amber-brown color. There is some fine carbonation in the glass and a short, tan-brown, frothy head. The nose is fairly light with notes of wine and wheat toast.

On the palate the first thing I notice is a light tangy note followed by a touch of sweetness. There is a nice toasty note reminiscent of lightly toasted bread. Wine and oak are notable as well. There are both bitter and floral hops notes present, but they fade well into the background. There is also a faint vanilla/marshmallow note in the background. The Troegenator is medium-heavy bodied with light syrupiness and juiciness present. The finish has lingering oak and syrup notes with a squirt of juicy tang.

Troegs has a great dopplebock on their hands with the Troegenator. The flavors are very well balanced, with no one flavor overpowering anything else. They really nailed the right amount of sweetness, which to me is one of the biggest components that sets the decent dopplebocks apart from the great ones. The Troegenator is one of the best double bocks this side of Bavaria, and is worthy of your finest Octoberfest stein.

Spaten Optimator

Brewery: Spaten
Style: Double Bock
Location: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Brewery Website
Rating: B

After my recent tasting of the Celebrator, I decided to give the Spaten Optimator a try to compare another Bavarian dopplebock. The Optimator is a dark amber-mahogany in color. There is a foamy, off-white head that dissipates rather quickly to a thin ring of foam. The nose has sweet notes of caramel and fruit. There is also an aroma of lagery malt notes.

On the palate, the Optimator has bread, sweet and toasted notes. The flavor of raisins comes through as well as a touch of bitterness. There is a warming alcohol sensation.The Optimator is medium-bodied with a creamy, slightly syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is sweet malt with caramel notes. This is a typical German Doublebock. The Spaten Optimator a good beer, but you can definitely see why Ayinger's Celebrator stands out in comparison.

Of note here was that I did notice a bit of an "off" flavor. I wouldn't quite say that the beer I tasted was skunked, but I think it was starting to turn that way. This beer does come in a green bottle, and I purchased mine in a "mix-a-six" so it was sitting out in the open and not in a 6-pack. Do yourself a favor and reach towards the back of the shelf if you find yourself in this situation. Hopefully you'll grab yourself a bottle with less light exposure.

Ayinger Celebrator Double Bock

Brewery: Ayinger
Style: Doppelbock
Location: Aying, Bavaria, Germany
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Tonight I am celebrating the Saints winning the "Big Game". And what better way to celebrate than with a Celebrator doublebock. The Celebrator is a very dark mahogany in color, nearly black. It pours with a foamy, dark tan head. The nose has both bready and winy qualities to it, with hints of fruit and sweetness.

On the palate, the Celebrator leads with both bready malt and roasted notes. There is also noticeable alcohol with a winy character to it. There is a touch of sweetness up front that disappears quickly. There is none of the syrupiness that many other dopplebocks display. There is a bitterness that develops as the initial notes fade, with the flavor of strong black coffee taking over and carrying through the finish. Earthy and nutty notes play a nice complimentary role in the background. The Celebrator has a fizzy carbonation and a creamy, somewhat heavy body. There is also a touch of tannin-like astringency.

The Celebrator Double Bock claims to be the "finest Bavarian double bock beer" on the bottle, and I can't really argue with that. The Celebrator has a distinct flavor profile that really makes this a standout among doublebocks.

Samuel Adams Imperial Series Double Bock

Brewer: The Boston Beer Company
Style: Double Bock
Location: Boston, MA
Brewer Homepage
Rating: B+

The Samuel Adams Double Bock is deep tobacco brown with a tan head. The lead aroma is sweet maltiness. This is complimented by a slightly tart, winy character.

The Double Bock has a powerful bready malt flavor.There are also bitter hops notes, and some residual sweetness. In the background I detect some sweet spice and a squirt of citrus.  The mouthfeel shows a hint of syrupiness without being too heavy. There is a crisp finish that has lingering sweetness as well as some hoppiness.

There is some definite potential for aging with this beer. Beers with high alcohol and residual sugar tend to stand the test of time fairly well. The Sam Adams Double Bock has quite a bit of complexity that seems a bit muted by the powerful, sweet malt. I plan to check back in a year or two to see how this beer ages. My one complaint here is that there is no vintage, or even a "bottled on" date on this bottle. Samuel Adams suggests right on the bottle that the Double Bock can be aged, so it's disappointing that we don't know how old the beer is.