Left Hand Smoked Goosinator Doppelbock

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

We interrupt this pay per view premier of "taking Woodstock" to bring you this rating of a 2007 bottle, made possible by Kaggie97 "the only name in genital wart therapy" And so the beer, it pours a metallic brown color and sports a not so solid thin sheet of off-white single layer bubbles. The nose is of meaty smoke or maybe its smokey meat, with a small amount of hops noted beneath. The flavors are clean and smokey, of the meaty persuasion. The body is a bit thin..the malts have oxidized just a little bit, but combined with the smoke element, seem like they could be brand spanking new. All in all, the flavors are clean and smokey, the hop presence is still evident and balancing, even after several years in the bottle. the body is medium to light..its a pretty straight forward smoked beer, but that being said, there really isn’t too much to complain about either.

2007 Corked bottle.
Pours an average amber with a thin body and little head but a suprisingly intricate latticework of lacing. Aroma is cereal malt with a touch of syrupy biscuit. Flavor is an onslaught of biscuit malt with tinges of sugar bread and cereal, with just a touch of smoke in the finish. Average mouthfeel. Would like a fresh bottle, as aging seems to have soothed the smokey character.

Bottle. Pours a dark brune body with a tan head. Just loads of smoke character all over this brew. Liquid smoke, char, campfire, wood, bacon, peat malt, and dark roast. Finish is strong and bitter ashen burnt malt. A nice smoked ale.

Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Cognac-coloured beer, minimal head. Aroma of smoked sausage. Lots of smoke in the flavour too, dominates completely. Not my kind of beer.

Bottle: Poured a clear deep amber color ale with a huge foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of of sweet malt with a side of toffee and light lingering finish of smoke malt. Taste is also very interesting with a well balanced mix between some smoked malt with some toffee and caramel malt. Body is full with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I very much appreciated the balance between smoke and caramel and toffee malt.

Nice aroma of smoked malt and fruits. Pours a clear amber color with almost no head. Good, rich flavor of smoked malt and fruits. The body is light to medium while the carbonation is soft. Well-done and interesting.

2007 Bottle.

Toffee pour, good-sized tan head with persistant lacing. I’m finding it a bit of a challenge to really dig in and enjoy this one. The smoke is nice particularly in the aroma, but it’s a bit on the sweet side and a bit thin in flavor beyond that milky sweetness, and certainly thin in body. (Compare Bov’s review below; I concur). I see a number of possibilities here. One is that I’m simply a lamer and that I don’t appreciate a good smoked beer. Entirely possible. Another is that Left Brewing is not exactly my favorite brewery. Might be, but to their credit they’re rocking two of the top ten smoked beers on the site. Another is that I screwed up by letting this sit for two years. Again, unlikely given the style.