Style: Doppelbock

ABV: 7.5 IBU: 30.0

98/100

Aroma:	12
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	18
Mouthfeel:	4

Wolf's Ridge Brewing Sustinator

What the brewers say

Traditional recipe using 85 percent Munich malts and a three-hour boil.

What our panel thought

Clear copper color; good head with excellent retention. Nose offers a swirl of caramel, toasted nuts, browned biscuits, light cherry, and floral hop. Malt builds in the flavor—dates, chocolate, toast, caramel, tobacco, fig, currant, brown sugar, along with a spicy alcoholic warmth. Additional flavors emerge with each sip. Touch of sweetness lingers into the finish, with a light toffee topper. Smooth, fairly creamy. Excellent doppelbock.

What our editors thought

Hold my calls, we’re going to be a while. Slightly burnt almond-croissant nose mixes abject pleasure with slight trepidation. In the sip, malt drives deep with layers of everything from roasted nuts to toasted bread and even cinnamon. Rich and hearty, it steers clear of acrid roast or other elements that might confuse it with porter. Deliciously complex and engaging.

Review printed in: The Rebirth of Cool: Inside the Lager Evolution (June-July 2021) (View All Issues)

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How We Review

REVIEWS FOR YOU >

Dock Street Brewery Illuminator

“Unassuming nose, but a fantastic malt profile—layers of toasted coconut, dried fruit leather, and toast, yet not particularly sweet or heavy. Bread crust and cooked sugar. Clean, balanced bitterness on the finish with some sneaky smooth alcoholic heat. Full-bodied, but transitions to a lingering, lightly bitter finish.”

Wolf's Ridge Brewing Buchenrauch

First sniff like cherry branches on the smoker while sipping a malty dunkel—dark toffee, a bit of harsh smoke. Flavor blasts rich malt with dried plum and date, wrapped in melanoidin and chocolate malts. Hops plus smoke leave a heavy-handed impression. Smoke is rich but smooth and pleasant.

Wise Man Brewing Living a Double Life

“Aroma is fairly light with notes of dark fruit and light toasty malt. Deeply mahogany with good clarity and a small but persistent head. Flavor is smooth and rich, with deep maltiness and strong dark fruit and cherry notes. Bitterness is low and balanced, keeping the finish from being overly sweet. Hops are minimal throughout. Very pleasant to drink.”

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