Baron Rumpelstiltskin Rauch Doppelbock

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Pours a dark brown, with a decent fizzy head, like coco cola .. . light tar, and 5 day old bbq pit, light ... . Horrid tart kick! some light chewy smokiness, a bastard of a doppelbock, yikes! .. . what happened here Baron? i had your regular smoked and was in heaven, but this has to be infected! ..a new low for my personal favourite style, a black spot... does hide the abv well, and is drinkable but some metal notes with the tartness is not what was intended .. . i drank it all though .. . I had some frito lay Hot Peanuts with this beer, made this beer better! ..

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

2008 Bottling; Sampled December 2008
A vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a tightly beaded, initially three-finger thick, well browned, tan colored head. The beer is an almost black, dark brown color that shows a brilliantly clear, deep ruby / plum color when held up to the light. The aroma brings a smile to my face as it has a nice beechwood smokiness to it. This smokiness is dominant, but is not as noticeable as it could be; in fact the beer could use a bit more malt richness to carry the smoke as it comes off as a bit thin and phenolic at times. The aroma is best if you don't spend any time lingering over it (something I usually like to do with good Rauchbiers), as you don't notice the flaws this way.

The beer has a light, but complex sweetness to it up front that is coupled with a malt, somewhat rich body and viscous texture. Notes of raisins up front are then backed by a touch of toasted, almost roasted character that contributes a touch of acidity and then of course a smoky flavor that also contributes to the perceived tartness as well as contributing a soft richness to this beer. The smokiness also helps to dry out the finish quite a bit, though I would never describe this beer as sweet (rich, yes but definitely not on the sweet side). This actually ends up light bodied / drinking quite easily for a beer of this strength. The light, smoky tartness couples with the malt to produce a flavor somewhat similar to prunes.

Not quite rich enough to stand up to the smoke character, at least it is missing that rich depth that I want to see in a Doppelbock. It could use a bit more body as well as the smoked malt seems to thin things out a bit.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions