Forst Sixtus Doppelbock

Brewed by Forst
Style: Doppelbock
Merano, Italy

Clear dark garnet in color with a strong glowing ruby tone within, delicately placed tannish head sits thin on top, reduces to a small collar around the edge and a broken whispy haze hovers, very minimal lace of spotty glaring lace stick. Aroma is quite full of dark plum and some sweetened molasses with some notes of anise. Taste has some deep tones swimming around in sweetly rendered malts lending plum and molasses, bits of chocolate make an appearance in some of the late lingering along with a small surge of sticky biting hops. The plum wears off as it warms and becomes more full of molasses and dark toffee; some spicyness fills the nose within the belches. Feel is favorable medium in body with a decent lighter slick, creamy feel and lightly gripping carbonation. A very nice showing with this brew, a pleasant surprise for sure eh.

Deep dark-to-burnt caramel aroma and initial flavor. As it develops through the glass, the palate thins out nicely as the taste becomes sweeter--an odd concurrence of events (I expect the sweetness with increasing thickness). Finishes rather nicely. Looks good too. 'Notwithstanding the foregoing', the burnt caramel is most decidedly not my bag and the beer suffers on account of it.

Creamy, light brownish foam, good lacing. Clear brown colour with reddish shine. Intense caramel aroma, toasted malt, rye bread and weak spicy character that remind me of spices used in traditional "sud-tiroler" dark bread. Light sweet, persistent bitter aftertaste, long dry finish. Medium body, oily texture, excellent balanced between bitterness and sweetness. Not bad for a not all-malt doppel bock, it contains at least 9.8% of maize. It is brewed by a medium size indipendent brewery from Meran, in Sud Tirol, the German speaking region of Italy. Maybe the best italian industrial beer.

2009-09-21, draught at Eataly, Bologna, 6-4-7-3-14=34
Dark amber to brown color; small head. Delicate caramel aroma, Medium body strength, with good caramel flavor, compared to the bottle it’s less round and has some more chocolate touch. Correct bitterness; in the end it’s possible to find some residual sugars, also the chocolate is more evident. Solid.

2009-09-18, bottle, 7-4-7-3-14=35
Dark brown color; medium creamy head. Aroma of mildly roasted cereals, and slight oxidisation; caramel. Medium body, strong caramel flavor, dry, with roasted nuts; correct bitterness. The final is more mouthfilling, and round. Not powerful but complex enough, and well brewed.

2003-10-20, bottle, 7-4-7-3-13=34
Dark amber color. Quite strong aroma: malt, unmalted grains, bran, paper, cane sugar. Round mouthfeel, with a strong presence of caramel; some malty sweetness at the end, before the bitter final.

Sweet caramel malty nose. Dark brown to black in its color. Rich and sweet in the taste. Fairly full-bodied. Alcohol is present in the aftertaste but blends well with the sweetness. An appealing beer. The flavor hits the palate just right.

Malty aroma. Smells like a bucket of caramels. Tastes like a sweet malt ball chocolate candy. The appearance is a deep dark bock brownish amber color with a heavy beigh head comprised a small bubbles. slightly carbonated by intense bubbles initaing in stalagmites beginning at the bottom of the glass and slowly rising to the top like helium balloons. Not a very complex beer, but certainly made with subtle character. palate sits smooth with a hint of warmth within the belly. That is the 6.5% alcohol that gives the beer a slight barleywine taste. Overall, very impressive.

nice dark amber color,small off white head that faded fast and left a small amount of lacing.Malty,nutty aroma.Nice roasted malt taste,mild hopping with a very mild alcohol presence.after taste was mostly malty with a mild hoppiness.a very nice brew to have around.

I just tasted one of these that I've been cellaring for about a year now. It does age well. You know it's a malty beer to begin with. The age adds a bit of complexity to the taste and aroma - that classic sherry like flavor that well made beers can develop. Both the smell and the taste had a definite nutty aspect. Good beer fresh or aged