Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

A hazy red-brown beer with a disappearing light brown head. The aroma is sweet and very spicy combined with notes of berries. The flavor is sweet malty with lots of berry and wood notes as well as hints of alcohol.

(Bottle 50 cl) Courtesy of Kramer17801. Hazy, orangey brown with a small, rough, off-white head. Aroma of burned caramel. Rather full body with plenty of roasted malt, burned caramel, lots of fruit and a fairly bitter finish - a lot more bitter than a German Doppelbock. 310807

Bottled. Very dark brown, small head. Sweet and very roasty with caramel and chocolate. The malt profile is however clean and hard. Salty finish.

RB# 1400: 50 cL bottle. Pours dark brown with a lacing light brown head. Malty nose with a minor but distinct apple/citrus fruitiness. Heavy flavour of roasted malt and a slight herbal note, clearly lifted by alcohol without becoming dominant at all. Bitter and still malty in the finish.

Date: 05/04/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

dark amber, thin head, dry smokey malt aroma, rich malt flavor, nice sweetness tries to break through, hint of tartness in the finish,
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Date: 06/07/2006
Source: tasting
Score: ii to iii

nice lace, rich chocolate flavor, nice smokey character, sweet but balanced with nice earthy bitterness, hint of smoke
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Date: 05/03/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: aa
Score: 3.5 to 3.7

ditto, rich smoked milk chocolate flavor

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Beer # 7500, that’s 3/4 of the way to Eternal Ticking Glory, ladies and gentlemen. I decided to toast this momentous occasion with one of the most well-respected lagers in America today, the Liberator Doppelbock from Thomas Hooker. This was a 2006 bottle and the result was, well, interesting. Thankfully I can say that I’ve had few, if any, beers quite like this particular bottle, which makes it a fitting beer to have on the occasion.

Dark brown colour. Chewy, smokey, plummy aroma shows some oxidation. Deep plums on the palate, again the product of oxidation, but I don’t mind it at all. There’s a light smokiness, some pear, and some burnt sugars. To me, this has developed well, although I’m sure this much oxidation and fruitiness in a doppelbock would turn just as many people off as on. Sweet and tart finish, an eclectic product of age, rendered upon a beer that may not handle such things as well as it should. But it works anyway, and that’s the fun of trying different beers.

Dark brown color. Some sweet caramel aroma and flavor; good body strength; too much alcoholic, too simple.

(1L bottle) Biggest gusher I have ever had, but no sign of infection. Clear garnet with beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, cherry, some caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, cherry, some caramel, chocolate. Medium body, fairly clean -- no stickiness.