477. Weihenstephaner Korbinian

Let’s start with the obvious: I love that Weihenstephaner doesn’t have the traditional “-ator” name found in most doppelbocks (like Ayinger Celebrator). Although let’s be honest—their name could well pre-date the whole “-ator” phenomenon. I’m certain there’s a story in there somewhere, but my internet skills are just too moribund to find anything that would provide appropriate justification. Plus, I might like my particular narrative a bit too much to want such a story destroyed. The truth? We’ll save that for later. Our last two beers from Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany include Hefe Weissbier and Dr. Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse, a collabo with Doemens Institute.

Korbinian pours a deep, rich, and clear chocolate; there are some nice orange and red highlights to be seen through the side of the glass, while the head is tan with some initial coverage before reducing to a thick ring around the glass. All in all, a pretty beer. I hope calling it pretty doesn’t make Korbinian feel emasculated. The nose is rich toasty malt mixed with luscious dark fruit—you can almost see the smell-lines rising up off this one (like the stink-lines coming off of Moe Syzslak). There is candy sweetness hidden away in the back as well, but it is under the main initial thrust of malt and fruit. Flavors start with a rich toasty malt before moving into dark fruit in the middle—mainly prune, raisin, grape, and fig, although there could be some craisin as well—I’ve been eating a lot of dried cranberries of late, and you’d be surprised how often that flavor shows up elsewhere. Toffee and caramel emerges in the front and middle as the beer warms, and works as a pleasant accompaniment to the fruit flavors in the middle. The finish dries out slightly; there is a touch of hop bitterness, mainly perceived as a light tackiness on the back of the tongue, and a soft gentle alcohol presence, although the malt presence is still very forward. Korbinian has a creamy, chewy mouthfeel that fits well with the medium to full body—besides being pretty looking, it is easy on the mouth. Smooth sippin’ deliciousness. But then again, they’ve had almost a millenium to perfect the whole process, so we shouldn’t be too surprised.

ABV: 7.4%

P.S. Anyone know what the bear that is carrying stuff on the label is all about? I guess that via my description, that would make it a pack-bear, but I’m pretty sure that is not a real word. Whatever. The pack-bear is awesome, and always makes me laugh. Good pack-bear.

(5/4/2011)

462. Christian Moerlein Emancipator

Our first beer from Christian Moerlein, and now that they are coming back to Cincinnati for real and cutting out the contract brewing thing, we hope to sample many many more of their beers in the upcoming future. I scored this as one of the sweet sweet rewards for judging beer at Bockfest. That’s right—free beer.

Emancipator pours a crystal clear copper with plenty of orange to it; the garnet highlights are bright and clear in the light that comes though the glass. The thin eggshell head is pretty minimal; it reduces to a slight ring almost immediately, and attempt to rouse it failed pretty miserably. In the nose, there is an interesting mix of dark fruit—grape, raisin, and fig—combined with a slight biscuit and grainy caramel candy sweetness that creates a rich and complex malt aroma. Flavors are initially dry and fruity before blossoming into sweet maltiness; the middle showcases fruit flavors with the same grape, raisin, and fig from the nose, plus some dried cherries and dark stone fruit flavors. The end has a slight spike of candy sweetness that borders on being Belgian, and some smooth lingering alcohol flavors—the finish is clean, but a bit sweet, without any discernable hops across the profile. The rich malt mouthfeel has a fair share of candy and fruit; the melanoidin characteristics, if they are there, are lost amongst fruit and sweetness. Smooth and rich but with a bit of residual sticky sweetness. There is a bit of chewy malt breadiness that develops in the mouthfeel as the beer warms. As doppelbocks go, Emancipator is good, but not outstanding—it needs a cleaner finish, and more of a German malt flavor profile. At the same time, this is a rather enjoyable beer.

Highlights!!!!

From the bottle: “You’ve discovered Moerlein Emancipator—a robust Doppelbock brewed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Six varieties of uniquely blended malts create a smooth toasted character with a deep brown color and complex hints of caramel and toffee. Celebrate the emancipation of America’s honorable brewing tradition this season by rolling out the barrels of Moerlein Emancipator Doppelbock.”

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 27

(3/12/2011)

441. Smuttynose S’muttonator

More from Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series. And sorry, no rhymes for this dopplebock. You’ll live. Smuttynose continues to mock me with their Big Beer Series Subscription possibilities. Damn you, Smuttynose, for being so tasty. Just remember: if you make an exception for me about that whole “no shipping” rule, no one besides you and me will ever ever need to know. Well, besides Elli—I mean, I would have to explain why beer was showing up in the mail. But she already thinks I am magical, so that really wouldn’t count anyway. Our previous slavish devotion to the beers of Smuttynose include Big A IPA, Old Brown Dog Ale, Baltic Porter, Imperial Stout, Shoals Pale Ale, Finestkind IPA and Farmhouse Ale. That Baltic Porter vertical I’m secretly compiling is gonna be the bee’s knees.

S’muttonator is a lightly hazy rich caramel toffee and has an ivory head that starts strong but quickly reduces to a ring with a small island. There is still decent carbonation action after the head dissipates—the color helps foreground the small tight white bubbles adding to the edges of the ring around the glass. In addition, there are orange and ruby highlights that accentuate the rich caramel color. The nose starts with a creamy caramel maltiness, followed by toasty, melanoidin, and raisin aromas; the dark fruit and raisin mix well with the toasty caramel malt—the nose is especially well balanced. Rich malt and caramel are the initial flavors at the front of the beer, with the dark fruit flavor—mainly raisin, plum, and fig—coming out in the middle. There is a light creaminess in the turn to the finish, and a return of malt sweetness along with some alcohol warmth that lingers past the clean finish. S’muttonator has a medium to heavy body with even, smooth mouthfeel; the beer is lightly chewy along with the warmth provided by the alcohol, and the lightly creamy carbonation helps round the beer as a whole. Melanoidin flavors increase with warmth, and a light, almost cocoa-like flavor lingers with the alcohol on the back of the throat. An enjoyable and well-crafted beer; I might age it a bit longer to allow the alcohol flavors to tone themselves down just a touch in the finish, but I did like the balance between malt and fruit in this beer, which was yummy. And yes, that is one of the descriptors that the next revision of the BJCP will be adding to good ol’ category 5C: yumminess. Remember, you heard it here first.

From the bottle: “S’muttonator is a tasty mixture of German ingredients & good ol’ fashioned New England tenaciousness. Our brewers take 30 hours to brew a single batch of this traditional Double Bock. Take your time & enjoy its rich malty & deceptively smooth flavor.”

From the Smuttynose website: “As the name implies, a doppelbock (double bock) is a very malty German lager beer. Typically quite sweet with some roasted malt undertones, doppelbocks range in color from deep amber to nearly black and are normally associated with the winter season. Traditionally, German brewers have used the suffix ‘-ator’ in naming their doppelbock beers; we have, too.”

ABV: 9.5%

Bee’s knees? Puh-lease.

(12/18/2010)

407. Jeffrey McElfresh The McElfreshinator Dopplebock

My first official proclamation of year 2 of what we’re drinking: I am naming this beer The McElfreshinator. So it is written, so it shall be. The McElfreshinator pours a creamy toffee chocolate, and has an ivory tan head that reduces to a ring after about 45 seconds. Aromas include a maltiness, melanoidins, and dark fruit—specifically plum and raisin. Flavors start malty, with melanoidin, warm bread crust, and a rich caramel toffee framing the front. Fruit flavors and dark sugars emerge from the middle—plum and raisin mixed with brown sugar and molasses. The finish features a return of sweetness and some slight alcohol warmth, although very subtle, and more of the malty fruitiness, ending rather clean with only light lingering brown sugar and raisin sweetness. The McElfreshinator has a smooth, rich mouthfeel—the body is medium to heavy, and the carbonation is low to medium. I would like it to be a bit chewier in the mouthfeel; the flavors are good, but a bit more creamy chewiness to thicken out the mouthfeel would help push the “liquid bread” elements of the beer. Nonetheless, a delicious beer that is finally starting to come into its own—it tastes much better than the last time I tried it. That last bottle I’ve got is getting tossed in the basement to try again later. If you’re nice, I might let you try it. But probably not.

(9/1/2010)

387. The Duck Rabbit Duck-Rabbator Dopplebock

The Duck-Rabbit is back in the house.
If you drink enough, you’ll get soused
by that 8.5% ABV—look, you’ll see.

It’s made in the state of North Caroline-e.
We’ve tried Wee Heavy, Brown Ale, and Milk Stout:
drinking Duck-Rabbit is what it’s all about.

The nose is malty, fruity, toasty and rich.
Pouring an orange-ish brown, it’s clear which
direction this review is headed:
it is to my rhymes I am indebted.
The front is malty sweet with melanoidin.
The middle is chewy like an oatmeal raisin
cookie, along with some of that fruit.
My rhymes are weak, my observations cute.
The end is smooth with a dry clean finish,
we’ve got good attenuation that can’t diminish
the slight alcohol warming on the throat.
This Duck-Rabbit label has the horns of a goat.
This beer is good, and should get better;
the last two bottles I’m saving for winter.
So keep Duck-Rabbator Dopplebock in stock;
to my experience this one you’ll chalk.
Drinking it down you’ll be the toast of the town—
ignore my words and you’ll be seen as a clown.

(7/22/2010)