Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Doppelbock
Aying, Germany

11.2 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with Douglas88. Pours a clear dark brown with a moderate, almost creamy off-white head that lasted through most of the glass. Very pleasant aroma of malt and molasses. The flavor is again malt and molasses with just a little bit of prunes as well. Some slight warming from the alcohol at the finish enhances the experience. Really good stuff. Thanks Doug!

Wow! This one was fantastic. Deep, dark black coloured body very plentiful in the tan head. Lots of rich chocolate and oaky aroma. Taste is a creamy malted flavor with plenty of syrupy coffee flavors as well. A new favorite of mine.

Tremendous and one worth re-visiting often. Deep brownish crimson, thick tan creamy head. The nose held rich interwoven notes of sweet bread, fig, raisin, and roasted chocolate malt, with additional tones of toffee brittle and molasses. Ultra smooth dark sweet malt flavors lead right off the bat, but quickly get accompanied by light smokey tones and German hop flair. Just perfect balance. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, bittersweet malty finish. At 4.17 or so, it still may be underrated in my book. A great change of pace from the "Big" IPA, Stout, Barley Wine theme ....

A mighty complex brew. Lovely chocolate brown with a thick mocha head that stuck around. Nice scent here--plenty of chocolate. Also pleasing notes of cookies, very warm and fresh. Taste is predictably rich with the expected load of chocolate with a surprising bit of fruitiness. Finish is nice, with some nuttiness and smokiness, with the alcohol being more prevalent at the end. Good texture, nice and creamy. Improves as it warms. Quite nice.

Exhibits the black, amber-tinged appearance expected of a doppelbock. Rich malting apparent from the first whiff. Heavy body with exorbitantly rich malting, but great for winter. This beer is redolent of malted milk balls and is somewhat cloying at points. A fine beer, but definitely geared for consumption during the cooler months.

Very nice. Great complex flavor, beautiful head, nice aroma. Very good.

Good, solid doppelbock. I had my expectations set a little higher from reading the reviews before going into the tasting. Started off beautifully - poured thick with a deep brown color and small off-white head. Smell was as expected. Tasted smokey, almost like the smell of a wood-burning oven; chargrilled. Accents of pepper and black licorice. Descent grainy, chocolatey, roasted malts. I kept waiting for this beer to come full-circle and wow me, but it seemed to come up just short from possessing the sort of complexity you look for in a doppelbock. That being said, it was a damn good doppelbock, just not the best.

Rating for the 3rd time. The first time I gave this a 3.7 and concluded it was good, but not THAT good. The second time I rated it 4.5 and concluded it was THAT good. The 3rd time through I decided that this beer is damn good, but not legendary either. The flavor and aroma just isn’t getting it done despite how sickly smooth it is. It’s still a great beer but I can’t put it on my top ten list after 2/3 bottles are not there. Pours a dark brown body, nearly black. There’s a small head. Aroma is malty and fruity. It’s not overpowering in any way, yet well balanced. Plums/raisins, lighter fruits, even chocolate. Flavor is about the same. Caramel comes through in the flavor as well. This is so smooth it’s sick. If any beer could get a 6/5 for palate it would be this one. Fantastic.