Monteiths Doppelbock Winter Ale

Brewed by Monteiths Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
Greymouth, New Zealand

(Bottle 33 cl) Clear, dark, orangey brown with a small, rough, beige head. Aroma of roasted malts and some alcohol - a fairly authentic "German" aroma.. Solid body with a fine base of roasted malt, caramel and some nuts - a lightly burned accents also. The finish is dry with both some bitterness and some alcohol. In spite of the confusion about the contradictionary name "Doppelbock Ale", this clearly is a Doppelbock - even a good one. 200208

Pours a clear brown with a beige foamy head. Sweet with a little bitter dryness. Lots of caramelaromas with a hint of molasses and toasted malts. Medium to full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. High cqrbonation. Dry slightly metqllic finish. Gave me saltkringle burps.

Bottle: Poured a clear brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention but no lacing. Aroma contains loads of caramel malt. Taste is also dominated by some caramel malt with some subtle notes of toffee but none of the banana or cloves notes usually contained in the style and that I usually appreciate. Medium creamy body with some good carbonation.

Dark brown/black. Normal size head (white). Long aftertaste with licorice and cofee.

Malty, chocolatey, with a decent backbone and balance, but fairly straight forward and lacking great depth. Still very drinkable.

I’ve had this one in New Zealand on my honeymoon.
Very nice doppelbock. Well balanced bitterness.

Bottle (shared in the fine company of yalnikim), poured a clear deep brown colour with a large bubbly off white head. The aroma carried an unfortunate metallic hoppiness. Quite an effervescent palate, a chocolate malt flavour with a tangy hoppiness.

Tasted 30/12/2007. 330ml bottle, leftover from BrewNZ. Pours a brilliant dark amber. Diappearing off-white head. Toasty malt dominates but there’s a little show of oxidation and too much from the alcohol. Lacks depth and complexity, while retaining a smidgen of drinkability - as long as it’s cold. Reminds me of the Baltic Porter a bit, I wonder if they watered down the leftover stuff? Doesn’t have the character you’d expect of a bock, let alone a doppelbock. Damn lies.