JosephsBrau Winterfest

Brewed by Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Palo Alto, California USA

Bottle from Trader Joe’s. Dank malt nose, some toffee and caramel with a cloying hint at dark spice or brown sugar. Seems to pass through Sam-Adams-ville. Ruby-brown pour with a light, tanned head. Taste is unbelievably cloying. Seriously, it’s hard to believe a beer can cloy this much. I’m dumping 90% of this bottle and refusing to drink any more, labeling it as "an overly cloying, undrinkable mess", and going back to subtract the points I had awarded for aroma and appearance - no way this cloying, metallic, vegetal, grainy DMS bomb deserves a 0.9. An early favorite for "Worst Beer of 2009" - shame on you, Gordon Biersch!

Has mostly a caramel malty aroma with some hints of molasses. Pours a dark amber color with minimal biege head and too difficult to see the sediment and action. Creamy caramel malt taste with molasses, florals, and butter in the background. Medium/full bodied, creamy buttery and resinous feel, with lively and fizzy carbonation. An outstanding bargain at Trader Joes for a buck. I can enjoy this session of a Doppelbock all day especially knowing what I paid for this.

Nose of chocolate, roast, smoke, dried fruits. Deep brown color with golden highlights, medium to full bodied. Flavors of chocolate, roast, caramel, smoke, toast, banana, pear. Light oxidation. Finish is medium, light bitterness over the sweetness

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle, into a regular pint glass. Dark brown color, light colored head. Sweet beer with hints of caramel, bananas and malt, but with a bite of spice and hops. Much better when enjoyed cold. A great beer for a winter night in my opinion. It is definitely a sipper.

Dark cola brown color, head disappears fairly quickly. Pretty well-carbonated. Aroma is of light caramel, malts, and sweetness. There was some hint of the alcohol as well. Flavors were similarly malty, sweet, lots of caramel... and alcohol. I think the alcohols in this beer are the problem. It’s way too prominent for being 7.5%, makes you think it’s all the wrong ones... potentially headache-inducing or something. I probably think too much though. The palate was nice, smooth malty silkiness and some nice fizzy carbonation. But still, the alcohol is there, and it is pretty unpleasant. Damn. Wish this one was a bit easier to handle...

12 oz bottle, purchased at TJ’s. Pours a dark brown color, clear appearance. Aroma is very potent and spicy with strong scents of caramel and chocolate. The aroma also reflects the high alcohol content. The flavor is also very spicy and moderately bitter; its tough to drink this one fast and definitely drink at room temp. Palate wasnt smooth but wasnt rough either.

Dark cola colored pour with light head and some lacing. Earthy undertones and solid banana esters with just a touch of an alcohol burn in the after taste. A real warming sensation as it rolls down to the stomach. Great stuff on a cold winter night!

Lighter than the German Doppel Bocks, not as rich as an Ayinger, for instance, but much better than I expected! Give it a try, esp. in front of a fireplace. Drink it not too cold, leave it outside the fridge for a while.