Plank Heller Doppelbock

Brewed by Brauerei Plank Laaber
Style: Doppelbock
Laaber, Oberpfalz/Bayern, Germany

A nice light drinkable beer. 500 ml bottle pours a nice head which quickly dissipates. Some yeast haze in a golden straw colored brew. Little to no lace, with some citrus in the finish. Also a nicely bittered finish. Good stuff

Poured an almost clear golden amber color with a small off-white head. Fairly sweet toffee aroma with some notes of browned apple flesh. The flavor was not as sweet or thick as the aroma. Watery caramel with a mild bitter finish.

Bready aroma. Beige camel colour, with tiny crown. Bitter and malted and light chocolate malts, above-average but appropriate carbonation. Man this place can brew.

Clear sunny yellow coloured lager that focuses directly on malts. The faint white head quickly departs. Not much fruit complexity, but rather crisp biscuit, fresh bread, cerealic base. Very fresh vienna malts. Soft and pleasant herbal/hay-like hops. Not grand, but quite successful in its homogeneity. Every ingredient fits one another. Subtle, sometimes grainy, sometimes toasty. A bit of honey reminiscent sweetness creeps up, but never dominates, the toastiness balances it out nicely. Pleasant, but the appearance is disappointing and aroma perhaps too shy.

500ml bottle. Mostly clear amber/orange color with a medium head. Aroma of brown sugar, fruits (pears and peaches), caramel and perfumy spice. Taste was fairly dry. Had a spicy, dry finish. Alcohol was well covered, and this seemed like a much lighter beer than your average doppelbock.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing. Pale golden coloured beer with a lightly yeasty hazy. Very fresh biscuity malt aroma. Bready and crusty with a nice yeasty character on the back. Light herbal hoppiness is apparent in the nose as well. Flavour is simple, fresh bready malt, herbal/grassy hop flavour and a fairly assertive bitterness. Clean, malty, and pretty tasty. A simple, well-crafted beer.

Picked up a single 16.9 oz bottle from Cellar’s Wine & Spirits in St Paul, MN. Pours a semi-clear light golden pale brew with a fast dissolving white head that leaves behind some spotty lacing and a white ring. Aroma of lightly sweetened biscuit malt, some apricots, bubblegum and some citrus zest. Taste is light sugar dough malt, a touch of tropical fruit and some cotton candy. Finish is semi-sweet, with a light sweet malt aftertaste. A light dopplebock that could have been a maibock.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy dark yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, caramel, husks), lightly to moderately hoppy (flowers, herbs), with light notes of honey, alcohol, and peach. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, syrupy/watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. Michael Plank and his crew make some world class ales, to be certain, but all three of their lagers just aren’t up to the same level quality. That’s too bad, but it doesn’t mar my view of their weissbiers and weizenbocks. This one has potential, with a nice hop component and juicy malt, but it’s kind of rough/raw, and the mouth experience is disappointing...sticky sweet with a grainy aftertaste (portended by the husky malt character in the nose). Not truly bad, mind you, but needs a lot of work.