Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

Brewed by Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Bloomfield, Connecticut USA

Bottle shared by sliffy. Pours a deep crimson with a very short off white head. THe aroma was of light chocolate, caramel malt and some smokiness that all seemed to work with each other. Flavors of sweet malt, smoke elements, earthy hops and some nutty qualities that were nice. Medium bodied, smooth carbonation...sweeyt and a bit smokey throughout with a nice bitter/smokey finish to even it all out. Pretty nice brew.

Thansk to Jrob,finally got to try this,Aroma was german malts and hints of dark chocolate,dark fruit ,and a tidbit of licorice,huge lager head, fantastic big body with a quick impression of chewy ,slightly sweet choccolate,which smoothed out to a simple malty dryer taste,that aftertaste was wonderful,the mouthfeel was ancredible,a smooth caramel with the liveliness of a lager. Different then Celebrator,but just as good

Sampled with stegosaurus. Pours a very dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, caramel, and some chocolate. Flavor is rich and smooth with some brown sugar and a touch of spice. A very nice dopplebock.

Poured a dark brown, nearly black, with caramel colored edges with a spotty off white head. Smells of malt and yeast, with a hint of flowers and sugar. Flavor was wonderful, heavy roasted malt to start that fades into a nutty, bready, grainy finish. Very smooth transition, refreshing textured finish. Great example of the style.

1 L bottle sampled thanks to drewbeerme. Pours a brown black with an off white head and patch lacing. Dopple aroma malt, bakers chocolate, brown sugar, fruit. Malty sweet flavors more bakers chocolate and hints of fruit. Not too sweet or too dry, balanced well to make an excellent beer.

Bottled in 2006

Date: 3/31/2007
Serving: 1 liter (!) bottle from jimbowood (Oct 2006). Thanks Jimbo!
Event: Rye Pale Ale (10 gallons) brew out.
Location: shigadeyo’s house.

Tasting Notes
Aroma: Caramel and chocolate malts with some hints of yeast.
Appearance: Very dark brown color. It has a huge head that is thick, foarmy, and biege/tan in color. Great retention.
Flavor: Deep malts (chocolate) and some nuttiness. The alcohol (8% ABV) has a strong presence, but is is nicely controlled. Roasty finish.
Palate: Medium body and smooth. Very drinkable.
Overall: This is a very good Doppelbock. It is quite complex, full flavored, and definitely deserves its spot in the list of top Doppelbocks. It could also quite possibly be mistaken for a Porter in a blind tasting.

I believe Jasonmech sent me this. I’ve had it before, but I was always a bit tipsy so never rated it. Good to finally get a bottle to have to myself. 2006 flip top 500 ml.
Has a fairly strong chocolate/cocoa aroma along with a touch of caramel and dark fruit. The body is quite dark, brown but approaching black and the tan head diminishes rapidly from it’s initial thumb thick size. Very smooth and round on the first sip. Quite malty with lots of cramel fruit and some very faint X-mas-beer like spice. Finish is roasted/toasted grains and caramel sweetness. Very nice brew.

2006 bottle. Pours a dark dark brown with a nice light tan head. Big sweet malt, though not cloying. Toast and a slight amount of caramel, alcohol, and fruity to peppery hops. A nice balance. Slight hints of honey and cinnamon. Thick and creamy in the mouth, with perhaps a bit of grit, but not offensive, only giving this some more weight, very nice. About perfect. Tastes great too. Sweet, round malt. Toast and caramel round out this treat. Alcohol and roast are present at a greater level than I expect in the style, but I’m certainly not complaining. this is a nice beer indeed. A slight hint of chocolate in the finish, over the alcohol and spicy hops. the finish is very dry and dark though. I may just buy another bottle when I head back to Connecticut again. Warming brought more fruit and realy had me convinced this wasn’t quite to style so I dropped my rating of overall to 4.1... though I have my doubts.