Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

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

Bottle thanks to jjpm74. Pours a dark brown with small brown head. nose had heavy roasted malt. Flavor is light coffee, roasted malt and bitter sweet chocolate. Texture is as smooth and creamy with chocolate, I know I said it had that already, but it rocks. This is the downright prime example of this style if there was one.

9/8/04. Poured out of hand-bottled 12 oz. bottle, obtained in trade with TAR on RateBeer 9/7/04. Pours with an insanely huge, dark tan-brown, beady, fluffy, and sudsy head. Fizzles and fades rather quickly because of the large size of the bubbles, but it’s incredibly active nonetheless. I can’t believe how carbonated this bottle is. A bit too much, if you ask me. It’s kind of annoying, however impressive. Dark, inky jet black with a thin dark brown outline. This is a doppelbock?? Wow. Very good head retention after it gets down a bit, like a rootbeer float. Lacing is blotchy and lumpy and hardly there at all because of the suds. Nose is incredibly malty and vicious. Just about had me convinced that this was actually an imperial stout and Jeff had mislabelled the damn bottle. Huge dark malts, very roasty, acidic, and rich. Subtly sweet and woody, with traces of nutmeg. Initial taste is big wood and huge alcohol burn, almost like a wood-aged stout. What the hell is this stuff?!? I approve. There’s a familiar tingly sensation and brightness like other doppelbocks, but this gives off such sick, almost sour wood and mulchy flavors it’s just crazy. Chocolate and almost stinging peaty acidity. I almost have to choke it down, but then I can’t stay away from the next taste. It’s like a glass full of that burned skin hanging from the top of your mouth when you eat a piece of scalding hot pizza, in liquid form. Finish is very long and tries mightily to battle a bold dead-and-wet-leaves acidity on the roof of the mouth. Other flavors poke through-- unsweetened chocolate and some hoppy old coffee. Like burnt acidity without any of the charcoal taste. And yeah, there's a hint of sweetness there too, but it's like some asshole was going to give you a spoonfull of sugar to help the medicine go down and decided to torch the sugar and turn it into a black, tarry liquid first. Overall dry and numbing sensation, but incredibly mouth-watering still. This will sit you up straight in your chair and bitchslap you with its malt backhand. Mouthfeel is all over the place-- starts with big and bright carbonation, letting you barely even feel the liquid at all; finishes with sticky dry residue; somewhere in the middle the beer uncovers itself to medium-thin and slightly oily, but by the time you can get through that far your mouth is almost numbed from the fizziness and the acid burn. I may have had this beer too warm. All of the other comments about its "smoothness" and "drinkability" simply do not apply. I mean, I’m a sucker for huge and flavorful beers, so I can definitely dig it, but to call this stuff a doppelbock is pretty ridiculous. It’s not in the same class of beer (for better AND for worse) as Celebrator and Andechser Dunkel. Makes me want to cry. But I’ll still love her in the morning. . . Many thanks, Jeff. You've ruined my palate forever.

Latest 03/05 Batch. Very dark and roasty. A bit like a porter or brown ale, and yes, slightly ale-like. Maybe a bit rushed. Still very tasty, but not to syle. Nice malt character and mouth feel.

After NJ fest 04. Bottle courtessy of a BA. I need to get a bunch of this next time it comes out. Nice big malt aroma. Flavor is big and malty as will with chocolate undertones. Clean and well made. Needs ratings, for I am certain it will do well.

Sampled both the 2004 and 2005 thanks to DYCSoccer. The numbers reflect the 2004. Pours a very dark brown color, almost black from a distance with a tan head. Rich aroma of chocolate malt, plum, tobacco, and some toasted nuts. Flavor is of chocolate and dark fruits. The year or so in the bottle has taken some of the sharp edges off of the beer leaving you with with a doppelbock that shows remarkable restraint. This is excellent. The 2005 would get 7/4/7/4/14. The aromas and flavors of the ’05 are brash and do not hold back as much and I feel it detracts from the beer overall. Still, quite a nice doppelbock.

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

2006 Bottle: I very ,uch enjoyed this brew. It had a deep dark red color, wth a brown stiff head. Agree that the aroma was of grampes/wine. The flavor was a bit raisiny, brown sugar, molasas, red fruits, etc. A very smooth beer, I really liked it.

I’ve traded this bad boy enough times, I figured I’d finally try it. The bottle was a gusher... it got all over my face, my clothes, and my kitchen. Err... I won’t hold it against the beer, though.

Poured black with a creamy light tan head. Beautiful aroma of dark fruits, molasses, and cinnamon. Taste is surprisingly dry, with emphasis on dark fruits, cinnamon, grapes... a touch of syrupyness. The hops have a much more dominant presence here than I would expect from a doppelbock. They bite the tongue and add to the dryness to create a long bitter finish. This actually seems to work for the drinkablitly of the beer, since some doppelbocks I’ve had have been too cloying. Despite the dryness, there’s not much alcohol character to this. Nicely crafted... could go well with food or on its own.

Nice deep brown in color, some scarlet accents when held up directly in front of a light. Head is persistent and foamy - almost looks like a sponge that was specially cut out and placed on top of my dimpled mug for this very purpose. Aroma is chocolate and roasted malts, some molasses, a little rye, and toffee. Flavor is damn chocolaty. Very rich. Rye malts and toasted almonds provide an unexpected, yet appreciated, surprise in the flavor. Aggressively composed body and conservatively hopped. Moderately high carbonation initially, and then a transition to the chewy, thick malts. Some alcohol warming on the throat with a simple, dry and tobacco-laden finish. This one is dangerously drinkable. One minute the top went "pop!" and shortly later, all I had left was lacing. Thanks to tpkenned for sending this New England hooker my way.