H.C. Berger Dopplebock

Formerly brewed at H.C. Berger Brewing Co.
Style: Doppelbock
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Malty, flavorful without a strong alcohol presence. Only had once, and it is not longer produced.

(Note, this IS actually spelled with the ’l’ before the ’e’ in ’Dopplebock’ on the label.) Upon opening the bottle and pouring, I get an outstanding Doppelbock aroma, with strong hints of chocolate and some kind of coffee (mocha, maybe; I’m not sure as I’m not a coffee drinker). Probably all kinds of other scents that, as a relative novice, I can’t quite distinguish. I could be pleased just by taking repeated whiffs of that wonderful aroma. Dark, dark liquid, nearly black & opaque. Virtually no head to speak of, though. The first sipping starts out with strong mouthfeel and gives way to a rather thin, mild taste, and something of a lackluster, flat, underwhelming, stale finish (but still get the smooth, sweet taste of chocolate on the finish). The chocolate is really quite prominent throughout. Note quite as impressive in the taste and palate (rather disappointing, actually) as in that wonderful, inviting AROMA.

Overall, this one is hard to really like. The flat taste, mouthfeel, palate and finish, despite the nice chocolate overtones, is going to make this one hard to come back to. It’s simply hard to drink, like a flat/stale soda-pop. It does not help in the slightest that this costs $4 a 16.9 oz. (500 ml) bottle sitting in a store a 45-minute drive away. The aroma is about all it has going for it. Despite my liking for doppelbock styles, this falls into the middle of the pack among the 7 doppelbocks I’ve tried so far. I really wish that this hard more of a sharp character to it, because if it did, it could be first-rate.

Aroma of malt, caramel, molasses, some coffee, alcohol, nuts. Completely vanishing head on a nice brown-black liquid. Medium to full body, cloyingly sweet, sticky, very little dryness at all. Flavors of molasses, maple syrup, malt, raisins. This is too sweet, somewhat unbalanced (for once I think an American beer is a bit is too light on the hops, bet you thought THAT would never happen). No off flavors and pretty nice aroma, but too much like drinking syrup.