JosephsBrau Winterfest

Brewed by Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Palo Alto, California USA

Better then expected. Caramel - chocolate aroma. Clear mahogony color, not much head. Deep roasted (near burnt) flavor, caramel. Palate coats nicely and stays around witha slight bitter edge to offset the other sweet notes. Excellent for the price.

a clear dark ruby brown under a small beige head. malty aroma of chocolate and raisins. flavors of dark chocolate, fudge, riasin, caramel. chewy palate. smooth medium bodied. malty.

Poured with zero head. Gorgeous deep red color when held to light though! Due to the lack of carbonation, my winterfest just flows right down my throat... a nice tasty easy drink. Not enough spices, herbs, or just warmth to be called a "winterfest" though. Gotta love cheap beer!

Bottled. Poured a clear, deep reddish-orange with a well-retained creamy cap of beige head. Aroma picked up a very nice array of toasted, lightly-smoked caramel and toffee.. sweet overall with a hint of warmth as it approached room temperature. The flavor was a touch hot from the alcohol, distracting from the enjoyable sweet, smoky maltage.. caramel, lighter chocolate, and a mild woody bitterness in there. The was a touch slick on the palate from the alcohol.. heavier malts pushed back a little bit.. long, warm, and sweet finish was quite nice. Tasty brew!

Good introduction for those making the leap from macro to specific styles. Plus, the best part of this is that it costs next to nothing at 91 cents. Is it a world beater selection of a doppelbock.....absolutely not. Is it better than other cheap versions such as huber, Leine’s, et al? Absolutely. Decent malt character in line with what a bock should be and well balanced with a light smattering of hops. The only thing holding this back is a lack of "oomph" as other raters have put it. The body is on the thin side and they did skimp on the malt. However, for just a few cents what do you expect? The price alone makes this worth a try.

Bottle; Roasty, grainy, caramel nose; deep clear brown with a medium, long-lasting tan head; flavor of caramel, chocolate, and hop bitterness. Very good for a beer that cost me $.84!

From a 12oz Bottle. Mostly transparent, cedar bark colored brown with a thin layer of creamy tan head. Malty aromas of Christmas fruitcake, figs, and plums. Very fruity, but all malt-derived. Clean. Medium bodied, light-moderate carbonation with a somewhat effervescent texture. Richly malty, but well attenuated and lacks any cloying residual sugars. A little bit too heavy on the dark malt flavors, although it certainly has the definitive melanoidin-rich base. Notes of charred prune, tobacco, and even a hint of pale chocolate. Certainly smack dab in the middle of the "toasty" domain and starting to head into the "roasty" territory. I’d like it better with a little bit more raisiny richness and a little less toast. Overall, a unique take on the style that executes clean malt flavors without an over-the-top gravity. A little bit less toast would enhance the drinkability.

Bottle. Pours amber/ruby with a large foamy brown head. Aroma is caramel, bread, and generally sweet malt. Flavor is somewhat sweet and heavily roasted malt, with toasted bread and bitter-for-the-style finish. Interesting on the whole, especially for the price. Doesn’t have the rich malt complexity of better doppelbocks (little dark fruit character, for example), but the roasty bitterness is an interesting way of offsetting the bock sweetness.