Sudwerk Doppel Bock

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Doppelbock
Davis, California USA

Bottle. Smells like Raisenettes. Nice and dark color with a small head. Taste is honey and port with a ton of dried fruits. Finish is tons of honey and chocolate. Not bad stuff here.

12oz bottle, courtesy of aspidites. Thanks, Mike! Pours a dark reddish-brown color; khaki-colored head with fine-bubbled lacing. Pleasant caramel, toffee, and dried dark fruits in the aroma; good amount of sweetness. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: plenty of dense, chewy malts upfront (caramel, nougat, and even a touch of honey) with a nice amount of milk chocolate and vanilla rounding things out; very drinkable with just a bit of citrus hoppiness. A minimal, warming presence of alcohol. Lengthy, milk chocolate and citrus finish, ending slightly dry.

Courtesy aspidites. Dark ruby/brown with a small, thick, tan head. Rich malty nose, sweetness, hints of smoke, biscuity grains, aged malt, lightly spicy dark fruits. Same flavor, tons of rich malt. Full/medium body, smooth. Solid doppelbock.

Pours a barely transparent dark mahogany with a well-lacing frothy tan head. Aroma of authentic toasted dark caramel malt and German lager yeast. Body starts slightly thin for the style but has nice caramely flavor and lightly bitter, Hallertauer hop balance. Finishes with a touch of milk chocolate and enough sweetness to hide the alcohol. An enjoyable, true to style doppelbock.

12oz - thanks aspidites - Aroma of chocolate, cream and hops. Pours a transparent very dark crimson, almost black with a small head and great lacing. Flavor is roasted chocolate malts, cream and a touch of hop bitterness. Palate is sticky and tart. A tasty brew.

Pours dark brown with sparse white carbonation. Smells of fruit, spices, tea and coffee. Tastes of sweet raisins, plums and sugar with some mellow sweet malt. Mouthfeel is thin and watery.

Sampled February 2007
Very well carbonated, in fact it overflows my glass with four-fingers of head in my glass. The head is a light brownish tan color and it sits atop a dark, almost black beer that shows clear, purple, amber highlights when held up to the light. The aroma is rich and chewy and this is quite evident even as I pour the brew. Sweet melanoid rich malt notes yield notes of molasses, toffee, concentrated raisin, fig and even prune notes. I would guess that this beer has some age to it as the malt character seems to have picked up some oxidative notes around the edges, at this stage it seems to only add to the complexity; a touch of port, maybe a hint of sherry and some chalky malt notes are what seem most attributable to this.

The taste is not nearly as big as the aroma would have suggested. I think that the apparent age may have reduced the flavors a bit here. Still there is lots of malt left that adds quite a bit of complexity. Lightly sweet up front, this malt sweetness accentuates a raisin / fig note. The finish has a touch of chalky malt character to it and perhaps a hint of roast malt character. The malt really reminds me of caramelized, sweetened fruit. The body is quite a bit lighter than I expected, even the big malt characters here seem indicative of a brew with more body than this. In the end this is quite a tasty brew, though I have a feeling it was a bit more decadent in a brewery fresh state.

From a 22oz Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy, ruddy tobacco color with a thick layer of quickly dissipating light tan head. Aromas of gentle chocolate with some toasted hazelnut husks. Light roast coffee with a faint whiff of astringent mint. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel. Some coffee and chocolate start off the palate with a bit of a dark fruity raisiny character. Lots of toasted nuts linger in the final smack with some dry roast coffee. A bit of the mint astringency from the aroma finishes out the final smack with a gentle burn.