Bells Consecrator Doppelbock

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Doppelbock
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

12oz bottle, batch 6656(!), courtesy of artusory. Thanks, Ryan! Pours a medium orange-red color; minimal head retention. Pleasant caramel, wet malt aroma; some candy sugar. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: toasty caramel, wet malts, vanilla and light spice. Medium, caramel and vanilla finish.

On tap at the brewery. Clear amber pour with no head. Good aroma and flavor of malt and fruits with a sweet finish. The body is light to medium with an oily texture and moderate carbonation. This doppelbock is good and well-made it’s just that there’s nothing remarkable in this beer.

Pours a hazy reddish/brown with a thin head that fade rapidly to a thin swirling cap and ring, leaving behind quite a bit more lace than I was expecting. Smell; dark roasted malts, wit caramel and a little chocolate. Some dark fruits are present with raisins and plums, a decent hop presence in the nose. Taste; a bit sweet to start with the raisins and plums, with the malts coming through, with caramel and the chocolate coming out more than it did in the aroma. There’s a nice litle hop bite the finsh to balance out the sweetness a little bit. It’s little different than most dopplebocks that I’ve had, but I found it to be pretty enjoyable. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and just a touch syrupy.

Pours a clear reddish brown, lightly carbonated, with a slim head of foam. Marginal head retention, little lacing. Mild sweet malt in the aroma. A hodge-podge of malt: caramel, toffee, sugar, dry toasted malt, drier toasted wheat bread. A hint of cherry fruit. A dusty flavor in the aftertaste. Nearly a full body. Very gentle carbonation.

I don’t know why i do this to myself. I know i don’t enjoy most german or belgian style beers and yet i persist. This is much the same as its been every year. it is smooth, and has a moderately complex malt profile, but its just not there for me.

Bottle @ Coles. Buffalo NY. Not what I’ve come to expect from a dopplebock. Deep amber color with notes of caramel. Decent but does call out for another

Bottle from Styles that Duane shared with me. Thanks guys. This has to be a pretty old bottle because theres no batch number on it. Deep orange copper pour with a bit of a head. Aromas of caramel and brown sugar. Very mellow and smooth flavor. Tons of caramel and some other nice sweet malt flavors. No real hops to speak of. Great stuff, thanks Styles.

Bottle (courtesy of Tpaglia): Poured a semi filtered medium brown color doppelbock with a small off-white bubbly head with limited retention. Aroma of sweet malt and dry fruits such a figs. Taste is also dominated by sweet malt with some dry figs. I could not detect any of the banana and cloves characteristic that I usually associated with the style. Body was above average with low carbonation and no alcohol was discernable. Interesting and different take on the style but still sub par for this great brewery.