Sprecher Bourbon Barrel Dopple Bock

Brewed by Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Glendale, Wisconsin USA

1 liter bottle. Thanks Tim! Big shot of bourbon in the aroma, boozy and sweet, toffeeish, some raisin, dark breadiness and strong malt sweetness present, along with a light, floral perfume. Deep mahogany color, head is slight and fading. Flavor is similarly full of bourbon, bready dark malts, dark sugars, more raisin/date character, and finishes on a lightly tangy note. Smooth, thin, sticky mouthfeel, full-bodied and low in effervescence. A bit much bourbon for me, kind of one-dimensional, but not terrible.

1 liter flip-top bottle. Poured deep brown with a moderate sized brown head. Sweet caramel malt aroma with nice vanilla, oak, and bourbon accents. Flavor is also primarily caramel malt, with vanilla, raisin, oak, and bourbon. Bourbon nicely compliments the dopplebock, rather than overwhelming it. Good beer. Thanks, Stine.

1 liter bottle acquired in trade with ughsmash (thanks!). Poured a deep brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of wood, vanilla, bourbon, and some dark fruits. Tastes of wood, vanilla, bourbon, dark fruits, and caramel.

Big ol’ bottle shared by theisti at Indra’s tasting on 12/7/07. Pours a deep brown with a tiny, creamy, beige head that reduces quickly to a thin ring around the edge of the glass. The nose has a nice, woody, bourbon barrel front over toasted, dark caramel malt. Medium-bodied and soft with a sweet, yet lightly dry finish, accented by just a touch of alcohol. The flavor is of sweet dark caramel malt and cocoa with a woody, bourbon overlay. This one was quite tasty and one of my favorites of the evening. Like tjthresh and his Alpha Kong, I wish I could have drank the entire 1L bottle myself. ;) Thanks again for sharing, Tim!

1 liter bottle purchased at Blue Max in Burnsville, MN, shared at the 12/7 tasting at Indra’s. One of 389, so says the bottle. Pour is clear brown ruby with quick fading off white head. Aroma of the bourbon, some wood mustiness and not really too much else. Taste of a bunch of the bourbon and barrel right up front. After the initial taste / aroma settled in, there was a nice Bock backbone and even some smokiness. Overall, interesting, though not exceptional.

Thanks Tim! Oaky aroma, bourbon, nutty, some brown sugar. Maybe a little too much oak/bourbon, but not by much. Taste is brown sugar, oak, bourbon, nice maltiness, spice.

Bottle sampled on 7/05/07: Pours a mostly still transparent mahogany with a thin ring of off-white head. Aroma of sweet caramel and oak with a touch of vanilla and dark fruits along with some metallic character. Body starts fairly full with some earthy, oaky butterscotch and caramel malt along with mild brown sugar, raisin and vanilla complexity. A pretty decent barrel-aged doppelbock.

1L flip top via trade with kingpinIPA. Pours dark brown with a thin off white head. Nose is sweet with a bit too much bourbon in it. A lot of oddness in the nose. Taste has a lot of bourbon and oak, with a bit of the dark malts associated with a good dopplebock. Not great, not terrible, but I’ll say sprecher has disapointed me wtih these big beers.