Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

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

thanks zeswaft. surprisingly smoky aroma. mostly malt though. taste has a crazy strong malt a bit into the finish. not like any other dopplebock i’ve ever had. so strongly malty. a bit of sourness in the front to middle, roasts dominate the back end.... i like this, but i think it’s too intense for me.

Weird taste of tarragon and dill, this is one of the more unusual bocks I have tried. It certainly has its roasty malty moments, but I will remember it for its pot-roast spices.

Bottle. Pours deep brown with a large head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, dark fruits and a bit of grass hops. Flavor was equal parts sweet and bitter. Complex. Fruity overtones. Full body. Creamy texture. Very nice.

A thin, wispy, yet stable head crowns a very dark brown body with ruby highlights. The nose is fairly nondescript with a slight hint of toasty malt and chocolate. In stark contrast, the flavor comes out very strong with toffee, chocolate, and dried plums. Notes of tobacco/smoke and toasty malt are also evident. Palate is very nice. Nice and thick with plenty of body. Overall this is certainly one of the best bocks I’ve had. Always a treat!

Bottle. Cherry, prune, malt, and a rum-like alcohol aroma. Ruby brown with small head. Sweet prune/dried cherry aroma with a moderate hops and alcohol burn to finish. Nice dopplebock - smoother than typical.

(500 ml (2006) from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/massachusetts/w target=blank>Julio’s Liquors) Very chocolatey...Pours a very dark brown with garnet highlights. One finger of light tan head recedes a bit to form a thin cap that stays. Aroma is pretty much bitter chocolate, maybe some coffee (not the notes like raisins, brown sugar, molasses etc. I’d expect form a doppel). Mouthfeel quite rich and smooth, a touch fizzy in the finish. Some thin lacing but kind of sloppy. Flavor is deeply chocolatey and quite bitter. Maybe a bit of caramel as it gets warm. Lingering bitter chocolate aftertaste. I don’t know, this is a nice beer but kind of a letdown to a doppel fan. It is so porter-like that I will be anxious to eventually try their Imperial Porter to see how much difference there is.

Bottle. Opend with a loud pop(I like that!). Poured a dark brown body with nice size head. Great aroma. Malt, candied sugar, raisins, plums, tart cherries, caramel, chocolate. Flavor was all the above with a extremely well balanced, mildly carbonated dopplebock. This was just fantastic and reminded me that I need to drink more Dopplebock. Not to self: get more Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock!

Aroma of caramel, chocolate, dark cherries, plums. Appears a beautiful deep claret color with an overexuberant rocky brown head that lasts - at first I was concerned about infection but there appears to be none. Flavor is sweet at first, but giving way to savory malty notes - bitter hops come through to the end over a buttery caramel base, with a somewhat salty finish. Palate is moderately thick with good effervescence. Overall, not your ordinary dopplebock but not bad at all.