Bock, Bock, Bock...Gone!

Trying to stay in the saddle now that I've got a rhythm going. So, here we again. Another 'trip beer' courtesy of Lace's Cobb travels to Kentucky. Perks of the job I guess. She leaves me for 3-10 days, returns with an appeasement gift of quality brew. The way to a man's heart IS through his liver after after all...

Review #29
Double Smoked Doppelbock  ABV 10.2%
Fort Collins Brewery  Fort Collins, CO  650 ml bottle poured into tall pilsner

A - The pour is an amber brown, with gorgeous orange edges playing in the light. A small, cream colored head disappears quickly leaving very little bubbled lacing.

S - Initial aroma is ripe fruit with fig, date, and cherry flavors. A warmed molasses, smooth caramel secondary smell lingers after the fruity notes pass. Dark malts, with a certain smoke note, but nowhere near as overwhelming as I feared it might be

T - Darker fruit immediately again, this time with some raisin and plum mixed in. Its a seamless transition from the sweet fruit front end to the smoky secondary presence. The smoke starts faint, and grows with a caramel balance to keep it at bay. The finish is reminiscent of slightly burned bacon, the lingering smell in the air of the grease still cooking. Some maple syrup sweetness just before the finish, which is all smoke, wood, and bacon. Little to no hop, but I wasn't expecting much anyhow.

M - A medium level mouth feel, smoothed out caramel textures

O - While there is no question that I am a 'Hop Head' the lack here does nothing to upset me. There are so many different flavors and complexities created here with mostly malt, that I almost don't even miss the hops. Almost. The 'double smoked' description had me a bit scared, but  it is so mellowed by the dark, ripe fruits and sweet toffee, the smoke, though powerful, never gets OVER whelming. A very nice beer, and Lace scores again.

Cheers,
Chris