Heavyweight Bock-Bock

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

This was the class of the holiday event at HW. Seems Tom brews some of his greatest creations, then deems them OTOP (One Time One Place) This needs to be regular rotation material. Starts off with a roasted chocolate malty sweetness. No discernable hop profile up front. Midway through I detect some spicy black pepper notes, very dark, some smokiness. Most doublebocks get overly sweet and sometimes cloying. This one walked the line like a champ with perfect balance. More-More!

750ml. bottle. Clear chestnut color with a thick, creamy head that left great lacing on the glass. Mild nutty, malty aroma with some dried dark fruits and a hint of black pepper. Flavor is mildly sweet and malty on first sip before drying considerably with a strong alcohol presence. Raisins, pepper, caramel and a bit of smoke are all flavors that emerge over time. I have no idea what the alc/vol of this beer is, but it has got to be up there. Another winner from Tom Baker.

750 from Cornboy. Pours a bright golden color, very cloudy and a big white head. Nose is very fresh, lots of sweet malt and spices, some nut notes as well. Taste is very fresh, lots of nuts, malt, light peppery spice and a fresh outdoor sense.

Looks gorgeous, with a deep reddish-brown color and a purdy frothy white head. This one smells a little bit dry and ashy, somewhat sour, and hardly malty at all, but the flavor is much different. Slightly sweet, nicely balanced malts and caramel, plus some good ol’ raisins and plums abound in the flavor, which I quite like. Some alcohol presence, but its not unpleasant.

Interesting to see such a "run-of-the-mill" style deemed a OTOP beer - clear copper pour with huge white head - aroma of cinnamon, raisin, cherries soaked in rum - medium bodied, pretty foamy in the mouth - high sweetness, but tempered by a woody, smokey quality - I certainly taste the port qualities that sneagrams was talking about - brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate - some spiciness comes late, and helps the smoke keep the sweetness from becoming cloying - very well-balanced - ranks up there with the established doppels of europe - Heavyweight, please start making some of these OTOP beers into regulars!

Tap @ Blind Tiger VSK night. Murky brownish black with a small head. Aroma is floral hoppy with just a hint of roastiness. Taste is smooth and sweet but balanced nicely with just a hint of bitterness. Flavors of caramel and mollasses, cigar ash and salitness. Flavors become more muddled as it warms becoming more sugary sweet.

Poured a hazy amber color with a medium sized, light tan head that left creamy, nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of caramel malts, toasted dough, peat smoked malts, with some roast, and faint citrus fruits. Taste of caramel and roast, peat, nuts, dried fruits, and light alcohol.

2005 bottle from my buddy Nick (Crosling). It’s interesting, looking at the descriptions of the beer’s color that some say clear copper, some say amber-caramel, others dark chestnut brown. I’d like to further add to the disagreement by calling it blonde (though with a strawberry tinge to it). As in a blonde doppelbock, which I think this is. The cap got jarred a bit in transit, so to prevent any further C02 loss, I opened it only 24 hours after receiving it. Needless to say, it was completely hazy from start to finish. The head is a light straw-beige, creamy and large at first, but eventually receding all the way to a ring and light cover, but never disappears altogether. Quite a bit of lacing as well. The aroma begins with a subtle flowers and herbs note, mixing in delicate light grains, bits of honey and dough, and growing spicier with fresh noble hops as it warms. Fresh yeast is all over the place, doughy and dry and almost a Belgian-like quality to it. Very clean though, is the yeast, and hardly any of the usual doppelbock suspects are present. No melanoidins, breadiness or deep roast. In fact, I just get toasted grains and light caramel as the strongest of notes. The flavor begins with a vanilla cream, cake icing and rich, toasty grains. Fruitiness comes from a light yellow raisin-like note, and there is plenty more dough, dry baguette notes and light white pepper. I was left in the dark as to the alcohol content of this one, not finding any mention of it in the flavor or aroma. Carbonation is exquisitely tight, with finely bubbled carbonation. Texture is pure unfiltered goodness, smooth and substantial, very creamy. I’d love to see Heavyweight make this a year-round and I too hope to get more of this unique and wonderfully crafted beer.