Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

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

Thx to springlicker for this one. Pours an oqape dark broak w/ a cocoa powder colored head. nice slightly sweeet taste. It opens up nicely as it warms to a nice flavor

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.

Very malty and quite powerful. A little smoked. However, it is nothing compared to the real Doppelbocks from southern Germany.

Appearance is terminaly opaque, fully black, much more impressive than your everyday doppelbock, with a large, lush head, with resilient, creamy froth, very appealing, setting standards high from this auspicious image. Aroma is fresh, full of yeast, malt, doughy, even, cookie-dough, can we say? Bread, ginger, and other spices, but still light, airy, creamy, very eggnoggy, and very, very nice. Taste is complex and delicious, a wonderful blend, with an excellent presence in the mouth, a masterful marriage of beery parts, perfectly blended, nothing lacks or wants, nothing weighs heavy, either. Chocolate and dark fruit dominate the palate, with palpable malt on the mouthfeel, a sturdy, even tenacious presence occurs on the tongue and parts of the senses. Starts to feel a touch like brandy, even port wine, with nutty, cocoa flavors never far behind, getting even a bit candyish, with a hint of licorice. I’ve had several dopelbocks in my day,each a bit of it’s own, some good, some great, and I even had the Andescher before this sample, and you know what? I have to say, TH knocks the socks off the competition, anyway, anywhere, anyhow! It’s just got so much more, and then some! Best doppelbock I’ve ever had, when all is told, just a great sum of it’s parts!

Fromt Immy’s Tasting. Been wanting to try this for a long time, delighted to have the chance. Very dark brown appearance, good head. Slight chocolate aroma. Good, rich chocolate flavor, and just a touch smoky. This was really nice, particularly for a style I usually don’t care for. Pleasant surprise.

From the bottle at Vermont Brewers Fest. 3 oz sample. Raisin, toffee, licorice hints in the nose. A touch of smoke in there too. Grogeous moderatly hazy mahogany color with an off-white head. Very smooth taste. Slightly sweet malty start turning to a little ethanol bitter sensation then finishing with some sweet smokiness. Very very smooth and drinkable. The gem of the brewfest!------ now that I’m in CT...Had this stuff in the bottle and this is easily one of the top 3 or 4 enjoyable beers I have had to date. This has lots of sweetness to it--almost like a sweet stout, but not cloying. This stuff is just amazing.----2005 Version-----The new version is much maltier and not as sweet. New recipe is poor compared to the old one. The 3rd bottle I’ve had was infected of the 2005. Quality has gone down dramatically. Find yourself an 04 if at all possible.

08.06.05 1L brown swingtop. Medium brown with beige head. Nice oatmeal nose with raisins and bananas and cream. Soft bodied and lithe on the palate, more eff than expected from a doppelbock. Nutty. Yum--whole grain banana bread. Finishes very dry and a bit yeasty/doughy. Thanks to someone, I think Joe or Jim, for this treat.

GABF 2004 and many subsequent samplings. Pretty dark caramel brown body and light tan head. Fruity elements of dark fruits including plums and raisins plus chocolate tones and some nice smokiness too. Big, full-flavor in a medium-full palate. Dark and malty, almost like a porter. Great beer. I immediately fell in love with this beer at GABF and could not get enough despite repeated samples. Later encounters with a big one litre bottle toned down my initial impression slightly, but still a great beer in my book.