Stoudts Smooth Hoperator

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Doppelbock
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle: Poured an amber color with not much head. The aroma was citrus, hops, and roasted malts. The flavor was malty, flowers, grapefruits, and a touch of hops. Overall, a tasty brew.

Medium gold color - medium creamy head. Aroma is perfumy and green, with notes of some roastiness. Flavor is sweet and pertty hoppy for the style - still, has a nice hoppy ring with a malty base to give it a lift. Creamy mouthfeel and smooth finish. Good stuff.

Carmel pour with decent foamy head. Piney hops to smell with a touch of toasted caramel that makes itself more apparent on the flavor. I think that this is a nice take on the style. I am totally digging the up front woody hopness with the malty backdrop hanging out behind it. This one is a lip smacker. The ram on the label certainly is a smooth cat as well.

12 oz bottle into a Dimpled Mug. Thanks to Colin for this one!! Pours a clear copper golden color with a retentive light tan head that sits right on top of the brew. The aroma is mainly sweet of caramely malts and a very straightforward sweet hop note. Flavor is all sweet malts up front with a very creamy body that go into a soft bitter hop finish. Light, light citrus is detectable. Fairly simple with not much to it, but overall an enjoyable brew.

I had no idea this was a doppelbock. Crisp, medium bodied, and medium carbonation. Hoppy, citrus taste with a lightly bitter, piney finish. Very smooth and drinkable. Caramel malt flavors in the background. A little different.

Stoudts Brewing out of Adamstown, PA has many year-long beers, and quite a few seasonal to flesh them out. One in particular is the Smooth Hoperator. As her name implies, she aims to take one down the smooth side of doppelbock-hood, emphasizing a more congenial relationship between hops and malts.

She poured a deep amber, polished and clear as day, a sure sign that I am dealing with a heartily doppelbock. A small collar tries to keep her reigned in, but fails most miserably. I can’t complain though when the nose that rushes out to great me is ripe with crushed pine needles, sticky and sappy, caramelized sugars melting in the summer sun, sliced grapefruit and lemon, and crunchy sugar granules sprinkled on top for a final crunchy, sweet finish. Pinching my nose, I take a deep breath and dive in, all inhibitions tossed to the winds. Sweet, hoppy, sappy, grassy, and malty all at the same time. The sweetness of her malty side greets me first with cool cooked sugars, brown sugar, and whole wheat sweet rolls. The bittering hops come in second, hitting the top of my tongue with grapefruit and lemon rinds, their dry bitterness lingering after each quaff. Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg pepper my breath, warming her palate just enough for the next onslaught to begin. Not an overly complex doppelbock, but playfully balanced between malty and hoppy, a conflict of interests which works very well for the Smooth Hoperator.

A very sessionable doppelbock, I would definitely enjoy going back for another round with this hoppy malt-bomb. Not as robust as many doppelbocks, but well-balanced and still replete with flavor.

Pours a ruby amber colour with a medium offwhite frothy head. Aroma has very minimal hops, caramel malts, and some dark fruits. Initial taste is bitter/piney hops, cherry, and caramel malts. Finishing with a strong bitter hop with a touch of sweet malts. Nice lacing of the glass and great head retention. Long lasting palate.

Nice crisp clean hop aroma, with some grassy notes in it. Pours a clear reddish-amber, with a cap of tight off-white head. Slight caramel flavor to start with, then a huge hop flavor coming in and adding bitterness. Long bitter finish. A great beer, but I wouldn’t call it a Doppelbock... it’s far more in the IPA category in my opinion.