Doppelbock - Pump House (Moncton) 9% in cask / 10% in bottle

Doppelbock - Pump House (Moncton) 9% in cask / 10% in bottle

Cask:

Reddish brown, very dark in a glass. Nice head. Hard to get much of an aroma out of a pint glass: sweet, a bit stout-like, nearly chocolate/coffee and smoke, but faint.

Lots of dark fruit, nearly syrupy sweet black currant. Very little alcohol flavour just a bit in the finish with those same stout chocolate/coffee and smoke flavours from the aroma. Slightly tangy due to its strength and a slightly acrid finish. A touch of something lager-like and a bit of maple. Hops are clearly there as there is a bit of a green touch and by implication since the sweetness of Pump House's Doppelbock is being balanced nicely by something.


Bottle:

Their look is same in cask and bottle while the aroma is better from the bottle because I'm pouring it into a snifter instead of drinking it out of a pint glass: malty, roasty and a little sticky with dark fruit along with lots of dark malt touches of chocolate.

The taste is just awesome, powerfully malty with that faint lager yeast touch, a split between roasty, sticky malt flavours like I'd expect from a red and chocolate and wood tones I'd expect from a dark beer. Lots of dark fruit tones likes prunes and raisins. Barley candy with an acrid bitter smoky finish that still manages to be tasty. Some alcohol notes but not much considering it is 10%. I don't pick up the light touch of hops that I did from the cask but the beer is still nicely balanced.

I strongly suggest picking up a 6-pack or two of this fine seasonal offering ASAP. Also, because it's 10%, not to mention so rich and complex, I'm going to keep a 6-pack in my cellar for a few months and see how the flavour changes. Plus at $12.98 a 6-pack (tax and deposit included) the price just can't be beat.