Traffic Jam Hibernator

Brewed by Traffic Jam and Snug Restaurant
Style: Doppelbock
Detroit, Michigan USA

Draft sample at MBGF Summer09. Poured dark reddish brown hue with an average light brown head that lasted most of the beer and had good lacing. Medium aroma of toasted caramel malt. Medium to full body with creamy texture and soft carbonation. Medium complex sweet flavor with medium sweet finish and small alcohol bite of moderate duration.

Well actually just listed as "Doppelbock", we’ll throw it here as the abv is actually almost the same at the 7.5% listed currently. Draught pint on 4/6/07
No head, or a flash of one that is gone in an instant, perhaps. Dark cola/milk-chocolate body is nearly opaque.
But still, it manages a nice aroma, brisk and with lots of cocoa powder, the caramelization is certainly only lightly there with just a nip of thick caramel. Cola and light chocolate linger lightly with a medium to medium-low strength overall. Clean.
Notes of cola and light, light melanoidins just edge the beer in to the style. Some vinousness and light acidity round out the beer, with lots of cola-like flavors lingering. Cola-like carbonation is way too loose and produces a watery effect that is 180 degrees from where the mouthfeel should be. I’d give the beer a 2 for palate, were it not for the perfect flavor balance. But again, I love the yeast they are using. It’s incredibly clean and soft.

Chunky texture, dirty. Has a lot of yesat, cookie, caramel, wet cardboard flavors. Medium-long finish, with a good slippery type of mouthfeel.

Sampled at marinaro500’s post-Thanksgiving gathering, provided by wohlfs. Clearish copper body, thin light cream head. Kind of a honeyish, butterscotchy (I think I’m in one of those "all of a sudden I detect this in everything" phases), toasty aroma but none of the raisin or prune as is typical for this style. Flavor of Werthers candies, bready and caramely but none of those dark fruit flavors I mentioned. A tad buttery. This just doesn’t work as a doppelbock for me.

Thanks wohlfs for the Traffic Jam bottles at Joe’s Party: I don’t have a lot of notes for this...Deep amber near borwn with good lace. The aroma has notes of caramelized malts, plum, and earthy yeast esters, minimal phenols. The taste starts sweet with a fruity undertone. Dry and slightly smoky finish. Feel is average. Good brew, glad to try.

Tap. Greg the brewer is doing a fine job at this restaurant. Taps are increasing steadily and quality is improving as well. This poured a deep amber to near brown color with an off-white head. Nice malty aromas mix with notes of hop. Medium bodied. Smooth, fairly clean tasting. Roasted malts with a long hop finish make this a definite try.