Wagner Valley Sled Dog Trippelbock

Brewed by Wagner Valley Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Lodi, New York USA

Name: Sled Dog Tripple Bock
Date: 10/10/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Logan Pre-GABF

clear dark amber, fine beige head, bits of lace, rich aged dark caramel aroma with a touch of fruity sweetness, rich malt flavor, dark caramel candy sweetness, touch of tart comes in to add some balance to the sweet,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

I admit I'm not huge on the Sled Dog Doppelbock, but this I really got into, evidently much more than those who've had it before me. Dark brown with little head. Aroma is of sugary, mapley malts, earth, and hints of molasses. Yes, the palate is sweet but when it says "tripplebock" you have to expect that. The malts here are quite well-developed, with molasses, demerara, and wood. I find the big shot of alcohol that lies just underneath the malt is quite appropriate - this is a stiff brew to be consumed by the snifter. Ultra smooth body, silky texture. Decadent and long.

Minimal beige head that quickly dissipates to reveal a clear red-black body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, raisin, prune, toffee. Taste is very sweet, raisin, prune, caramel, toffee, some grape, port, medium alcohol warming. Uncarbonated full body, sticky.

Dark ruby brown hue. Off-white ring. Aroma proposes deep dark malts, salty and chocolatey, but mostly fruity (dates, grapes, banana, prune), making for a sweet and vinous or scotch-like flavour balance. It keeps on when touching the tongue, though underwhelmed by strong vegetal and mineral notes that fits only so well with the dark earthy malts. In the end, there’s plenty of bitterness, but it doesn’t leave on a good impression. Thin-medium bodied, small bubbles feel alive. I don’t know what to make of this one, it certainly smells better than it tastes to me, but I guess it’s ultimately too mineral.

On tap at Brewtopia 2004... Crystal clear, brand-spanking-new- penny-copper-colored lager with a small, creamy, off-white head. The nose is of milk chocolate and light perfume. The flavor is of more chocolate and then warm, soothing alcohol. Full-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Lengthy, semi-sweet finish. Damn fine lager!

Pours a transparent dark copper mahogany with a spotty-lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet dark caramely malts with some bready German yeast and fruity esters. Body starts rich and sweet with some good caramel flavor, dark fruits and brown sugar complexity. Finishes slightly thinner with some alcoholic warmth and chewy caramel. A true to style and fairly complex doppelbock.

Young bottle:
A sweet brown rum flambé in which a bit too much caramel was dropped...Abstemious crushed cherries remain on the oily soil...Reminiscent of EKU 28, which is not that much of a good thing...6/2/7/3 11/20

Older bottle, aged maybe a year or so:
A plethora of raisins, dates and figs lying on flexible, comfortable earth...Candy shows through the well-hidden alcohol...Maturity is well within reach...7/3/8/3 15/20

Pours reddish brown with a thin tan head. Smells of alcohol, raisins, fruit, dough, some bread. Tastes of sweet sugary malt, some oak, cherries and spicy hints. Mouthfeel is full with a sweet woody finish. This bottle’s mellowed out some in the 2 years since I last tried it.