Paper City Denogginator

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

A vigorous pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a two-finger thick, lightly cocoa stained tan colored head. The beer is a very dark, burnt, concentrated amber color and shows a brilliantly clear, cranberry hue when held up to the light. The aroma is thick, sweet and chewy. It has quite a bit of fruitiness to it actually with notes of berries and brandy soaked raisins. Noticeable alcohol adds a bit of warmth / heat in my nose, but can be fairly subtle at times. Underneath the fruitiness is a rich malt character that provides notes of caramelized bread crust, toasty grain, sweet concentrated amber malts, something a bit like cola and some light toasted malt notes towards the finish.

Rich and chewy up front, but seems to thin out a bit pretty quickly in the first sip. The second and subsequent sips have a bit more palate coating chewiness to them though. Sweet tasting, almost a bit too sweet, which makes it seem a bit like non-alcoholic malzbier. Concentrated malt notes produce flavors of toffee, caramelized bread crust, raisins, . A light bitterness in the finish seems to be as much a product of the darker malts as of hop bitterness; it adds a hint of astringency as well. As the beer warms up quite a bit it loses some of the sticky sweetness, or at least this gets balanced a bit better by the richer malt flavors. A touch of alcohol adds a bit of warmth to the flavor.

The aroma can seem a little too sweet at times; a Doppelbock should have some sweetness, but it should be a rich, complex sweetness that this one doesn't quite achieve. Not a bad beer, enjoyable enough, but it could certainly be a bit more complex.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Pours a dark mahogany brown with red edges, topped with a big creamy three finger khaki head even with a careful pour, leaves webs of lacing. Rich malty aroma, molasses, floral, cream and spicy hops. Molasses taste, floral, raisins, robust maltiness, touch of dark chocolate in the aftertaste. Not overly sweet like a lot of dopplebocks, but the alcohol isn't strong either. Full bodied, very smooth with great drinkability.