Sly Fox Instigator Doppelbock

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

As I half expected, the beer is overly carbonated and starts to foam up and gush out of the bottle as soon as I pop the cap. It was not so bad that I was not able to get all of the beer and foam into my glass. I ended up with about three fingers of concentrated, burnt amber colored brew underneath five-fingers of lightly browned, tan froth. When held up to the light the beer shows an almost brilliantly clear, deep, ruby color. Quite malty smelling with an enticing mix of richly caramelized notes and a whole grain bread character. Concentrated fruit notes of dried figs and prunes as well as a touch of roast grain notes seem to round out the aromatic notes. As the beer warms, rich, concentrated malt notes start to become noticeable; these evoke a richness akin to umami.

The beer foams up a bit as it hits my tongue. The body is a bit lighter than one would expect from a Doppelbock, but is consistent with the excessive carbonation. Some focused rousing of the beer releases a bunch of the carbonation and makes this easier to drink. Despite the lower body, mouth feel and sweetness, this beer is still quite rich and malty. Flavors of prunes mix with a rich, caramelized sweetness and a toasty malt character. The finish is somehow a little sharp, though I am not sure from what.

Well at least this beer was not noticeably infected / off in the flavor department, the excessive carbonation was a bit much, and I am sure it affected / reduced the body and mouth feel of this beer. Having said all that, this was still a pretty tasty beer, one which I would certainly jump at the opportunity to try a fresh sample of. As the beer warms hints of flavors and aromas start to suggest that something other than you standard beer yeast was involved in the bottle conditioning of this brew, though it never becomes more than a subtle backdrop.

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

Dark brown pour, tannish head. Aroma was molasses and brown sugar. Flavor was dominated by these two as well, with some dark fruitiness in there as well. Really sweet. Alcohol was warming. I might not have liked this as much if I didn't have another high alc brew before one, but I was thinking this was okay by the end.

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

Pour was a medium brown small head. Aroma was of chocolate and caramel and little grassy. Flavor was of chocolate caramel grass and citrus hinding in there as well. Finish was a little sweet and hot.

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

Not the best doppelbock I've had, despite SF normally turning out good stuff. The pour was chocolate brown, thin tan head, ok lacing. The aroma was grass, light chocolate and dark malts, caramel, and some of the green bottled European semi-skunkness initially. The flavor settled a little bit, but was a mediocre quality caramel, chocolate, dark malt, some fruitiness, and grassy combination. A little too sweet, alcohol was also too noticeable. Mouthfeel was normal for the style, nothing notable there.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Pours with a deep amber brown body topped by a thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s sweet and malty with a note of toffee and an underlying grainy note. Full bodied, smooth and a touch warming.

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

I enjoyed this dobbelbock from sly fox. It poured a nice brown body with a slight whitesh head. It had a slighly sweet taste to it, and was rather smooth. This was a very enjoyable beer, not quite a session beer but I could drink a few of these in one sitting.

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

A brown appearance with a ruby tint to it. A malty caramel and grape aroma, the flavor is chocolate, caramel, and grapes with the alcohol sneaking through. A nice example here.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Nice, dark reddish-brown color with a little head. Malty sweet, but not hard to drink at all. A little roasty, full of rich flavors like fruit and chocolate. I could drink this one for hours.

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

Almost black in color with a roasted malt aroma. Sweet barley taste, like roasted Cheerios. Thick, rich bodied with minimal carbonation. Nice lacing almost all the way through the glass. Sweet and candy like. Big alcohol taste in there also.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

I really wish I lived closer to this brewpub. Everything I've sampled from Sly Fox has been excellent. Pours a very rich dark reddish brown, with a tan head topping it off. The aroma is very rich, full of chocolate, sweet caramel, lightly roasty aromas, some dark fruits, and a grassy hop aroma. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth. Flavors start with a plum like fruitiness, a load of chocolate, lightly roasty flavors, and finishes out with a roasted dryness, and a bitter floral hop flavor. This is very nice, complex, and just so damned tasty.