Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Doppelbock
Aying, Germany

Thin mahogany body with dense 1/2 inch tan head. The aroma is roasted malt and heavy brown sugar. Where’s the sour to offset the sweetness??? This issue continues in the taste. When I was a less seasoned beer rater, I liked this more. Now that I’ve expanded my horizons, this isn’t what I remembered. Thin, sweet, and unbalanced.

Beer pours a beautiful reddish brown color with a nice thick head of tiny bubbles. The aroma is very complex with notes of lemon, coffee, oak, and a nice roast malt. Flavor is equally fantastic. Perhaps one of the best beers I’ve ever had. Damn good.

Bottle from Beer Run in Charlottesville. I thought I’d rated this before, but apparently not. I was underwhelmed the first time, but I thought I’d give it another shot. So, for me, this is a re-rate. Pours a dark chocolate brown with a large brown head. Brown sugary wheaty aroma. Kind of off-putting. Nice malty taste. It has a "off" aroma and taste to me, but it’s minor (maybe it was bigger with my last bottle), so this is still enjoyable.

12 oz bottle. Pours clear cola, with a creamy light tan head that dissipates to a ring around the glass. No lacing. Strong aroma is fruity and malty, with figs and molasses most prominent, along with some toast and a touch of chocolate. Flavor is rich and malty (duh); rather sweet but nicely balanced toward and through the finish. Mouthfeel is medium to medium-full and slick, with low (a bit too low) carbonation. Smooth and a bit warming. The short head and low carbonation makes me think I may have sampled a slightly off bottle. Still an excellent beer and certainly the best doppelbock I’ve had.

Big malty fruity aroma. Dark body with lots of red highlights and almost no head. Flavor is delicious. Dark fruit, sweet roasted malt, coffee, alcohol, a dry roasted bitterness. The feel is silky. Just a wonderful beer! As good a Doppelbock as I have had.

33cl bottle @ biergasthof schiffner. I loved the little goat that came with it! and the beer... Dark brown in colour with a small beige head. Aromas of wood, nuts, malt and bread. The alcohol is well hidden, which i think is important in strong beer. Long roasted flavours and smooth malt notes with a light hop bitterness in the finish. very good.

Bottle. Celebrator pours a clear dark ruby body and a small, beige head. The aroma surprises me a bit, as it feels quite weak. There’s a roasted, slightly smoked start, followed by dark berries and a sweet maltyness. As it warms up, there’s also a slight vegetal touch, cooked cabbage I think, some alcohol and a more pronounced fruityness. In the far back, there’s some cocoa and coffee. Sure a complex beer, but I still expected more. Maybe I’m not being nice now, it’s sure a good aroma, but I prefer Aventinus. Another style, but not that different, and it’s sweeter. Maybe it’s just my sweet tooth talking. The flavor brings out the berries more evident, and dried fruits also does a proper job. There’s also the dry, roasted flavors from the aroma, as well as sweetness and a little bitterness, but the vegetables from the aroma is fortunately not tasteable. Quite sticky, full and quite warming in the mouth. It finishes with a long, roasted flavor, and shorter flavors of dried fruits, malty sugar and some hoppy bitterness. To sum it up, it’s a lovely beer, maybe deserving a higher rating, I would be happy to lift my rating for aroma and flavor by .5 point, but that’s not possible, so 3.7 it is. I have more bottles, so a rerate might be appropriate. (080318)

Pour dark brown, with a humongous tan thick foamy head. Consistency is a little runny in the glass. Aroma is of dark malts, chocolate, spice and a little alcohol. Tastes like rich thick malt with a hint of herbal chocolate and earthen aftertaste. Really, really good and unique. You have to try it. Consistency is medium . Lacing is superb. The taste lasts in the finish. This beer is exceptionally smooth. It has little ifany bite, and seems to have little carbonation. The roast in the malt is fortunately kept under control.