Left Hand Smoked Goosinator Doppelbock

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Smoked
Longmont, Colorado USA

Bottled. Cloudy brown color, short head. Aroma is smoked, some chocolat. Taste is smoked, bit sweet, caramel malt, bit nutty. Finishes with a slight alcohol burn.

750ml Shared with my girlfriend and some pals at a party. Pours brownish with a 1 finger tan head. Nose is sweet and malty and sticky. Taste is sweet and very smokey, malty and strong. Nice brew.

Bottle@Home. Nice smoked aroma with a hint of toffee. Muddy, brown color, beige head, fair lace. Sweet, smoke, raisins, bitter, hint of licorice, toffee. Light sticky, alcohol well hidden.

Corked bottle, vintage 2007
Dark chestnut color with red shades; creamy head, a thin layer of which is persistent. It has a delicate smoked aroma, with cereals too. The front flavor is pleasant, with a good mix of dry caramel and smoked malt, though quite soon the mouthfeel becomes drier, and the late flavor and palate not fully satisfactory; even if idden, there are some good hops. Let it in the glass 15 minutes and it will get better. The smoke presence is an average level; I would expect more body and more sweetness from a Doppelbock.

750 mL bottle - pours clear light brown with quickly fading off-white head; level of smoke in the aromas and flavors are just about all i can tolerate, but still couldn’t finish the bottle; me and smokes are going on a hiatus

Bottle, cgarvieuk coolbeans party. Dark brown cloudy with some thin off-white head. Smoky malt. Really smoky. Burnt malt taste, overpowering. Quite lasting, very one-dimensional. Alright.

Bottle, thanks Argo0. Dark somewhat cloudy bronze with a thick off-white. Pleasant smoky, woody nose - medium intensity. Nice smoky character in the flavor along with notes of wood, plenty of caramel sweetness, a little cola and an herbal noble hop presence. Medium to full bodied with a smooth texture and moderate carbonation. Nice.

Carbonated enough to produce a three-finger thick, tan colored head with a regular pour. The beer is a dark, amber color and shows a brilliantly clear, cranberry color when held up to the light. The aroma is a fix for any smoked-beer lover; rich, hearty, aromatic, yet not overwhelming the smoke character is quite appetizing. Just a touch of sweet malt is noticeable, but it plays a substantial role in offsetting / keeping in check the smoke character. The aroma is a touch salty, deeply smoked a touch caramelized, sort of like a smoked salt water taffy. A very nice aroma, but only if you really enjoy smoked malt.

Soft and creamy at first, but then an aggressive carbonation causes the beer to froth a bit much. Luckily this is easily remedied with a few vigorous swirls of my glass. It still has a nice prickle of carbonation, but it is now much more in line with my idea of a Doppelbock. Creamy textured, medium full, but not too heavy; chewy, substantial with an almost velvet like finish, this is definitely a beer that just feels good (literally). Both smoke flavors and malt provide a sweetness to this brew that is a mix of raisins, salty caramel and sweet smoke. Surprisingly, underneath all this smoke character, towards the finish is a nice, solid spiciness that is clearly hop induced as well as a noticeable, slightly biting, clean bitterness in the finish. As the beer warms a bit the sweet, chewy malt becomes more noticeable, especially the raisin notes, with a bit of berry flavors, but also toasty, biscuit like notes towards the finish and substantial whole-grain bread-like quality.

While this is clearly smoke dominated, it is not so much that it overwhelms everything here; I really like that the spicy hop notes are still evident and the smooth, textured body of this brew really lets one know that this is a Doppelbock. This is more balanced in the flavor than it is in the aroma, but even the aroma has a nice malt character to it that slightly offsets the smoked aromatics. A damn tasty brew, one which I could have afforded a lot more of.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ