Church Brew Non-Denominator Doppel Bock

Brewed by Church Brew Works
Style: Doppelbock
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Hand bottled by Jeff (aka TAR), thanks buddy! The brew has a deep brown hue with a creamy tan head, very good lace, and an oily film. The aroma has notes of roasted dark malts, caramel, licorice, prune, plum, light walnut, aromatic hops, and earthy yeast esters. The taste starts with a crisp and sharp bitterness. This is quickly followed by a roasty and chocolate malt tone which lingers forever. There is a fruity (prune mostly) , hint of coffee, and mild hop bitterness on the finish. Wonderfully complex flavors. The feel is medium to full-bodied with a oily and sticky nature. Crisp and mildly biting on the finish (mostly from the alcohol). A classy brew from a unique brewery. I like it and would say it is a must find.

Draught @ Brewery: Fits commecial descroption to a T. Smelled malty and toasted. Dark brown, clear. Small, diminishing, creamy, tan head. Small lacing. Tasted malty, but well balanced. No hop flavors at all. Pretty easy to drink. A good brew, but too malty for this hophead.

Very dark brown with a nice khaki head. Sweet scuppernong grape fruitiness is almost like a normal doppelbock aroma, but still odd. The alcohol shows itself.

Dark dark dark. Sharp and prickly up front. Lots of roast and licorice accompanied by slight dark fruits. The sharp roastyness made it seem more than 25 IBU's.

POurs with a dark brown to black body topped by a medium thick head with good lace. Slightly sweet and slighlty smokey malt aroma with fruity notes. Not as strong a nose as expected for a dopplebock. Slightly sweet malt flavor with some fruity and licorice notes and a very slight smokiness. Medium to full bodied with a slight tingle.

Draft: Blackened plum. Thick, dense, creamy, light tan head. Leathery malts, black cherries, shoe polish, and black licorice in the aroma. Subtle iron with more bready lushness, caramelized sugar, and roast underneath. Soft, creamy carbonation. Thick, full mouthfeel. Rich bready malts strike first alongside chocolate, spicy licorice and a late, but tasty surge of coffee and roasted hazelnuts. Somewhat Imperial Stoutish with its underlying tar richness. Clean alcohol deepens the flavors and reduces some of the sweetness, but the body remains oh so thick. Lurking interplay between chocolate-covered dried plums and toasted malts. Slight tannins penetrate the richness and tingle the palate. Retains its malt girth on into the finish with a thick, sensuous melted raisin texture and notes of dark chocolate, mineral, and medium roast. Delectably intense and gutsy, Doppelbock, which, amazingly, never becomes cloying.

Sampled on draft at the brewery this beer poured a black color with a small white-tan head. The aroma was sweet molasses and nutty malt. The mouthfeel is thick. The flavor is sweet and has a strong roasted malt presence and a decent hop profile. The malt turns sour and bitter on the finish. Some bitter chocolate come out as it warms.

Draught @ Church Brew: Served in a 10oz. stem glass. It poured an opaque brown with hints of ruby. There was a hint of a tan head. This would have been better if I hadn’t had to let it warm up a bit. It was about ice cold when served, and that hid the flavor and aroma. After a short warming, The flavor and aroma came out. The aroma was still a hair weak for what I have would expected, but it was still nice. There were notes of cherries, plums, caramel to the beer. The taste had caramel and cherry flavors. Very Good!