Stone Brewing Company - Double Bastard Ale

Brewed In: Escondido, CA
Serving Type: 650 mL bottle, poured into a snifter

The Double Bastard Ale isn't exactly a double up on the Arrogant Bastard Ale, but this American Strong Ale comes in a step up from its little brother at 10.5% ABV. The beer pours a cloudy, muddied brown body with a cherry-infused glow. The head, in this case, poured a paper thin tan foam with minimal retention and very minor lace-like spotting on the glass. The nose is oaky, but not oaked, and bready. Hops are very tight with a punch of pine. The beer stands out as clearly big and clearly alcoholic with a sticky sweetness.

Sweet molasses notes up front play off distinct woody notes. The beer is hulking and robust, but smooth and massively enjoyable. Sticky, resinous pine hops are potent, but do not overwhelm the layered maltiness. Sweet sugary malts carry deep woodiness and a candied dark fruit component. A spritz of subtle citrus rind adds another tone of the depth of flavor. The finish is dry and slightly vegetal. Throughout and lasting past the finish, the beer has a coarse maltiness with defined biscuity tones. An excellent beer that must be enjoyed and shared.

Final Verdict: A

Thomas Hooker Brewing Company - Liberator Dopplebock

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug


Liberator is, local (to me) favorite, Hooker's take on the German double bock style. The beer pours a deep rich mahogany with a frothy and creamy light tan head. Sporting solid retention, the foam fades slowly leaving dispersed lacing as it receeds. Chocolate malts show prominently on the nose and play nicely minor coffee notes for a deep and rich aroma. A tinge of grassy hops push through, giving the beer a bit of a sharp edge.

The beer has a smooth and even mouthfeel, brought to life by satiny carbonation. Lagery malts are buttressed by earthy tones. A bit of the unmistakable base malt employed by Hooker shows through, but their specialty roasted malts add character with hints of dark chocolate and coffee. The beer packs plenty of body to match its depth of flavors, making it a very tasty and enjoyable brew.


Final Verdict: B

Paulaner - Salvator Double Bock

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 330ml bottle, poured into a flute glass


The Salvator Double Bock, reportedly the world's first double bock, pours a light chestnut brown with amber highlights. The beer has a still appearance, but is topped by an airy head of light tan foam. The head retention is mild and leaves almost no lace behind as it hastily departs. The nose is light and malty with hints of candied fruits. The mildly sugary aroma contains hints of caramel and slightly earthy aromas.

The beer's flavor profile exhibits a damp woodiness with a mild acidity and earthy undertones. Vague caramel sweetness creeps in on the mid-palate, but the emphasis is clearly on the decaying funk of rain soaked wood. The beer is enjoyable, but very light, almost inconsequential. Mild alcohol heat tinges on the finish.


Final Verdict: B-

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat - Maredsous 8 Dubbel

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 330 mL bottle, poured into a goblet

This Belgian double pours a deep mocha brown with floating specks of yeast from the beer's bottle refermentation. The moderate frothy tan head is also speckled with yeast and has impressive retention for the style and strength of the beer. The nose is strong and semi-alcoholic. Dark fruits are prominent with a slightly musty back end. Minor coffee notes bring up the low end as well.

A great example of a traditional Belgian Strong Dark Ale, the beer features broken down malts and a mild candied edge to the beer's distinguished Winter fruits. Figs and dried plums add sweetness tempered slightly by earthy undertones. The beer has a slight Port wine-like character and a dry, cellary essence. The finish is dry with a mild lingering damp woody sweetness.

Final Verdict: A-

Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG - Maximator

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Pokal glass

Maximator is a a doppelbock, customarily named, from Augustiner-Bräu in Munich, Germany. The beer pours a moderate chestnut with a mild chilly haze. The head is medium-sized with a light tan hue. The retention is about average and the foam soon recedes to a thin layer on top of the beer. The nose is very nutty with a prominent caramel sweetness and a slight woody component.

The toasted malts produce a clear earthy component, accented by a sweet edge of nutty flavor. The beer seems chocolatey and rich, but there is very little emphasis placed on the cocoa-esque elements. There's a depth of flavor that briefly plays up dark fruits with an edge of caramelization and molasses sweetness. The beer is silky smooth on the finish with hints of mocha.

Final Verdict: A-

Samuel Adams - Imperial White (Imperial Series)

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

Samuel Adams' Imperial White pours a diffuse amber body with lots of free floating yeast. The beer is significantly darker than I was expecting. The thick foam head is lightly creamy with a yeast-speckled complexion on a yellowy tan base. The head retention is moderate, as is the lacing. Massive orange notes dominate the nose. There's a mild astringency to the citrus, which seems like it could be artificial. The wheat malts are sweet and there's a slight spiciness underpinning the aroma.

Sweet up front, the beer has a clear and dominating alcohol character. At 10.5% ABV it's not surprising, but it isn't tempered as one might hope. The orange comes through with an oily extract edge. Moderate coriander spice attempts to round the beer, but seems to call a bit short. Full-bodied wheat malts add some depth and define the sweetness of the beer. The finish is very warm and quite boozy. For the strength of the beer, the alcoholic edge isn't unwarranted, but there's a lack of balance.

Final Verdict: C+

Samuel Adams - Double Bock (Imperial Series)

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Pokal glass

Coming from the Boston Beer Company's Imperial Series, the Double Bock weighs in at 9.5% ABV. The beer pours a rich mahogany with a light auburn glow. The healthy light tan head has a creamy consistency with excellent retention and moderate lacing. Light caramel paired with toasted malts on the nose give the beer a mildly lagery aroma. A slight spiciness rounds off the nose with a hint of alcohol.

The beer is very bold and strong up front. It shows off the impact that a double can bring and does it will seemingly little effort. There's a light port character with nectarous hints of cherries. The sweet toasted malts are dominant with very light hop personality. The beer is fairly boozy overall. The alcoholic tinge is there throughout, but not exactly hot. It's a bit biting and not hidden as well as other doubles and strong ales. The finish is dry with moderate alcohol.

Final Verdict: B

Long Trail Brewing Co. - Double Bag

Purchased From: Sonoma Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Collins glass posing as a Stange

Like Long Trail's Long Trail Ale, Double Bag is an altbier, but as the name suggests its a 'double altbier.' Not exactly a real style, but does it bring double alcohol and double flavor? The brew is a full-bodied amber with very low active carbonation and a creamy off-white foam head. The head is of modest size with solid retention and thin, but elegant lacing.

The nose is malty and lightly spicy with hints of molasses sugars and a very mild honey. The lightly toasted malts provide a nice caramelized sweetness to the beer. The hopping is moderate, but the malts are center stage. There's a bit of an floral spiciness to the beer, and it hides its 7.2% ABV well. The mouthfeel is velvety and beer produces a long-lasting toasted finish.

Final Verdict: B+

Weihenstephaner - Korbinian

Purchased From: Canal's of Hamilton
Serving Type: 500 mL bottle, poured into a Pokal glass

Korbinian is a doppelbock from Weihenstephaner and it pours a clear, dark brown body with a mild wine-like glow. The head is a generous size with an airy foam and good retention. The beer is light on lacing, overall, though. The nose is sweet with caramel, backed up by earthy undertones. There are also slight alcoholic fumes rising from the beer.

The crisp carbonation produces an airy mouthfeel to go along with light hopping. The earthy body contains toasted malts that yield to a roasted coffee ground finish. The bitter hops fade nicely and produce a dry finish with a lingering hazelnut. The beer is clean and handles its alcohol well.

As it warms a bit some of the alcohol shows through with a bit of heat. The beer develops a mild Port wine character with a sweetness of dried dark fruits like plums.

Final Verdict: A-

Southampton Publick House - Double White

Southampton Publick House - Double White

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

The yeast sediment turns Southampton’s take on a witbier from a medium straw to a radiant hazy yellow, with an orangey glow. The medium, creamy white head has great retention and lacing. The nose carries a bready wheat, huge coriander, big citrus, and a mild astringency. Southampton mentions the use of additional unmalted wheat in their brew process. The bready nose was especially noticeable, but I haven’t had enough opportunity to realize all of the differences that this process may add to a beer.

The malts and wheat is big, but sticky citrus seems to go right for the tongue with a biting dry touch. It isn’t surprising that the citrus factor here is significant, given the addition of both orange and lemon rind to the brew process. Alcohol comes rushing in in the middle and adds a considerable sweetness.

The big coriander from the nose seems to get a bit lost in the mix as far as taste goes. The finish is grainy and comes with some heat in the chest. Southampton’s stated mission with the Double White was to make a ‘big’ witbier. It certainly seems that they doubled up on wheat, citrus, and alcohol.

The Double Wheat goes for big, hits it, but doesn’t own it.

Final Verdict: B-

Ommegang - Abbey Ale

Ommegang - Abbey Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a goblet

This ‘Abbey Ale’ is a Belgian-styled dubbel ale, brewed in New York. No abbeys involved, but don’t let that deter you. Ommegang pulls out all the stops to deliver American-brewed, Belgian-inspired beers, worth checking out. In case you’re not convinced, they’re now owned by Belgian brewer Duvel.

The ale pours a deep brown color with a slight ruby glow. It packs significant carbonation, but the thin head dissipates quickly out of 12 oz. bottle. There’s some honey and caramelized sugar as well as spice on the nose. Hints of clove abound. A floral bouquet is also clearly present.

This dubbel packs a punch at 8.5% ABC, but the alcohol remains subdued with only a slight heat after the finish. The strong spiciness of the beer helps to contain any effects of the relatively high alcohol content, typical of this style.

Smuttynose Brewing Company - Big A IPA

Smuttynose Brewing Company - Big A IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a tulip glass

Robust and powerful IPA with a thick foamy head that has great retention and lacing. Very hoppy, but doesn’t overpower the citrus maltiness. The hops profile is floral and piney and provides a nice balance for the alcoholic sweetness that stays well subdued in this 9.6% monster.