Goose Island Aviator Doppelbock

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company (Brewpubs)
Style: Doppelbock
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Stein, Stem glass

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Draught at Goose Island Clybourn, Chiciago. Clear dark brown - offwhite head. Chocolate, roasted malts, berries, ok sweetness, cocoa, light bitterness, fruity, coffee notes.

Draft… DLD’08… Sits mostly black in my glass (clear, crimson/orange when held up to bright light) with a small, creamy, off-white head. Fruity, malty aroma with notes of dark fruit and berries. Ester of medium sherry with low acidity. Full-bodied and creamy with dancing carbonation. Good chocolate malt and fruity sweetness with light acidity and decent mineral bitterness. Bittersweet, mineral finish.

Tap at Rattle N Hum. Deep amber pour with a thin white head. The nose has a bit of soft sweet caramel and a touch of soft raisiny character. Sweet but not cloying. A nice light chocolate flavour and a fairly prominent hoppy spiciness as well. Warming and sweet.

Draught at Wriggleyville. Pours dark brown with an average creamy off-white head, somewhat lasting, fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, caramel), average hops (perfume), average yeast (sweat) with notes of cola. Medium bodied, alcoholic texture, average carbonation and a bitter finish. Average duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness; salty.

Draft @ Wrigleyville. Poured a deep burgundy with little appreciable head. Caramel, toffee, and tubs of deep, dark fruit sugars in the nose. Very sweet flavor with red grapes, plums, a decent caramel base, and a progressively stronger alcohol bite at the edges as this warmed. Astringency levels rose as the brew warmed. Fruity sugars were held in check by a nice floral bitterness. Solid doppel.. but just too sweet for me to drink another.

In short: Standard Doppelbock
How: Tap at brewpub (Clybourn location)
The look: Clear dark amber body with a small beige head
In long: Dark fruits dipped in molasses. The fruity notes do cover a lot of ground (raisins, figs, cherries, dates and even some bananas and litchis. Tickling carbonation. The beer falls short with a somewhat apparent alcohol and a low-profile hopping. Nothing memorable but this is a beer I can easily get drunk on. How ironic to call such a drinkable strong beer Aviator after all the scandals of drunk pilots (and even astronauts) these past few years. Next to a new “Republican condom” I cannot think of a more ironic product name.

Draft. Pours a dark brune body with a thin off white head. Sweet candied malt tones, sweet esters, and a huge abundance of etoh warming. Chocolate and coco notes. Lightly bitter with a fruity and strong warming finish. Hot!

On tap at Clybourn, listed as 7.6% ABV on the board: Deep brown hue with a purple highlight, topped by a small creamy head and good lace. The nose detected plum, fig, blueberry, caramelized and toasted malts, mocha, grassy hops, and a dusty yeast ester. The taste was sweet and fruity with a lot of carmel and chocolate notes. The finish displayed a touch of smoke and some nutty qualities, very subdued bitters. The feel was quite lush and sliky smooth, the alcohol was very well hidden. Oh so yummy once it warms up (served too cold at first). A must try for warming up on those cold Chicago days.

UPDATED: JUL 26, 2005 A tight creamy tan head crowned this mild tasting doppelbock. It looks nice, good lacing, too, when it’s drunk, but the aroma is a light caramel with hints of dark fruits. The mouthfeel is awfully watery and the taste isn’t very strong. It’s hard to believe the advertised abv (7.6%, not 7.5%, as listed on this page), it swallows so smoothly. It does warm when it hits bottom, but I’d like more of a beer experience afore that happens.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Island Beer Company - Clybourn, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

Tap at RNH. Pours a woody amber with a thin lasting head and nice lace. Aroma is big biscuit and toasted malts, sweet Munich and caramunich - earthy tones. Flavor is toasty, malty moderate sweet, some brown sugar, honey sweet, light fruity, big toast, caramel and big munich malts- clean smooth finish- well made. One of the best at the GI promo event.