Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Marshall, Michigan USA

12 ounce bottle from my Summer Secret Santa. Pours a hazy, murky looking orange-brown color with a thin head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of rich coffee, coffee grounds, caramel, cinnamon. Taste is bitter, rich roasted coffee, caramel, cinnamon and a slight leafy/vegetal note. Medium bodied. Good beer.

12oz Bottle – Trade – JJClark
Aroma: Big coffee aroma with dark roasted malt lingering through.
Appearance: Dark brown in color, Clear with a thin head.
Flavor: Big coffee flavor this also still had the malt and light spices for added flavors.
Palate: Dry Coffee Finish, with a Good Mouthfeel.
Overall: This was a very impressive brew. Loved the flavor and it was not too over the top with flavor. The actual malt was still getting through.

Bottle courtesy of Plucier: Poured a deep copper color bock with a small foamy head with good retention and good lacing. Aroma of medium coffee notes with a lightly sweet caramel malt base. Taste is also a mix between a lightly sweet caramel malt base with some nice medium notes of dry coffee. Average body with some OK carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Not extremely complex but well done and interesting take on the doppelbock style.

Pours a lightly hazy, dark caramel brown color. A small, foamy, khaki colored head settles to a thin, swirly film with a prominent edge. Minimal, spotty lacing noted. The aroma is simple but inviting, with big, roasty coffee notes showing atop a lightly smoked caramel malt base. A touch of cream is present as well, adding smoothness. The flavor is really well balanced, with the lightly sweet, toasty malts being perfectly complimented by roasty coffee and spicy, earthy hops. Its not all that complex, but man is it tasty and easy to drink. Smooth, medium-plus body with a creamy palate. Lingering coffee roast on the finish. Damn good brew.

on tap at great lakes brew fest. i didn’t take many notes on this but i really didn’t find the coffee and dopplebock working here. nose and initial flavor has good dose of coffee to it but the finish was clean and dopplebock like but these two converge on the palate for a pretty gross after taste. perhaps i think dopplebocks should just be dopplebock. congrats to frankenkitty for the awesome logo for this beer. can’t wait to see it on the bottles!

4/25/2009: Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock has a weak coffee aroma and is grainy with more of that "green" coffee flavor to it. This beer is okay, but I was really hoping/expecting something more out of it!

Sample from bottle at Dark Lord Day 2009. Rating #153 for this beer.

Bottle, have waited for this for a while. Room-filling sweet malt and overabundant coffee bitterness, roasted malt and grain and a smokey, peaty touch. Dark ruby pour with a lacing, thickly rocky tan head. Taste is a thick Doppelbock malt profile with a little alcohol showing, dark beany espresso, ashy with hard-bop roast and heavy, aggressive carbonation. Sticky and lightly metallic, dry and earthy aftertaste. Spice is in the back, way under the toffee and light smoke. This is an utter trainwreck of clashing styles, and ultimately very confusing; however, the DB appears to be much better than the coffee component.

On tap at Radio Maria, Champaign, IL. Deep translucent red-brown body, thin buff head. Coffee nose. Coffee makes the first impression on the palate, and lingers before giving way to sweet brown sugars and burnt caramels. Earthy finish. Lacks the heavy, dull breads and toffee of most doppelbocks. In fact, nothing about this beer really screams "doppelbock." That said, I found Perkulator tasty, but it will probably be a disappointment for those looking for something true to style.