Livery Cask Aged Hoppelbock

Brewed by The Livery
Style: Doppelbock
Benton Harbor, Michigan USA

Bottle #36 at Papsø’s blindtasting. Hazy orange coloured with a medium sized white head. Fruity aroma of brett, wood, hops and pine needles. Fruity flavour of brett, wood, hops and pine needles with notes of grape fruits. Hoppy finish.

Thanks, Beerlando! Pours a cloudy amber. Aroma is dusty, bretty and woody. Flavors follow, with a hell of a flavor in the finish. I really enjoyed this one.

750ml hand-bottles by the brewery. Pours lightly hazy, dark orange-amber. A small, foamy blanket shows good retention, leaving cream colored, vertical columns of wet lace on the glass. The nose is quite interesting, notes of bready yeast, pale malt, mild caramel, and grassy, floral hops working together nicely. Oak, vanilla, and mild bourbon notes are accompanied by a dry, bretty funk overtone. Flavors are lightly tart from the brett, underlying caramelized bread notes and light candy, contrasting with zesty, grassy hops. The palate is medium-plus in body, smooth, and dry on the finish. Tasty stuff. Reminds me of the t’ij beers. Really good stuff.

From a 750mL Bottle. Somewhat hazy, golden body with hints of orange and a finger of quickly dissipating white head. Bold aromas of lemony noble hops jump out of the glass right away, along with a subtle musty, cherry-like brett character. Not really getting much vanilla or distinctive spicy oak characters coming through, so the oak appears to be revealing itself more in the brett presence. Peaches, pineapple, and hints of honey malt sweetness. Medium-full bodied, softly carbonated mouthfeel with a rich, malty texture. The base beer is definitely more mai-bock in nature than doppelbock, although after the dry-hopping and barrel-aging, the malt make-up becomes kind of a moot point. A mild tartness comes out up front on the palate, followed closely by a pleasant herbal hop bitterness edged with lemon. Strangely, the malt sweetness comes out on the near the back end, giving it a bit of a doughy, bready sweetness. Finishes moderately hoppy, with some musky brett left lingering on the palate. Remarkably dry, although the once presumably-hefty malt presence doesn’t appear to be missing texture-wise. Thanks, Sean!

750mL Bottle. Aroma casts a strong waft of catty coconut and citric acids. Tangy and unripe fruit pith. Nice, but confusing at this point. Pours a orangey-amber, with a rim of white. Flavor starts quickly with some pineapple Brett and some sweet pale molasses. Foamy. Crisp funkiness that melds into a run of some very citrus-like plain hop oils. Malts take a back seat to some coconut frosting and bit of sponge cake. Long lemon hop oil finish. A few cookie-like malts perk up in the back. I’m not sure what this is shooting for, but it’s very enjoyable. Confusingly off-style, but the character of this beer is nice. Lots of fruitiness from some barrel funk working well with a nice hand of hops and a kiss of malt texture. Thanks so much Sean for my first Livery beer!

FoBAB 2008. pours copper with small white head. nose of saaz hop, orange, and earth, flavors bright, orange, grass, spice, wood, really tasty.

Big liter bottle bonus from Mike, BBB63. Thanks dude. Pours a rich deep orange with a puffy tan head. Nose is hoppy, malty, sour and damn interesting. Taste is sweet, sour, and damn funky. This is really good.

On tap at FoBAB. Poured medium amber with a tall, creamy cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sweeter caramel and bright floral notes upfront with some sour fruity mash behind.. this grew on me. The flavor had a sour core with caramel and fruity notes present again.. touch of brown sugar and mild floral bitterness accented.. sour oaky and fruity finish. Medium-bodied with an increasingly heavy barrel impression on the palate.. OK feel.