Missing Elf - Rinkuškiai Alaus Darykloje

mmmbeer

Massachusetts

2.55/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

From a .5 L brown bottle with a batch code. The website says all of their beers are all-malt and "naturally fermented," and this one isn't even listed - wonder if it's a US-only release. Pours a chill-hazed golden, with low carbonation and a thin whitish head that leaves a few bits of lacing. Smells of sweet malt, lagery yeast, floral alcohol and a bit of hops. Tastes fairly similar, with light ethyl acetate and a mild bitterness. I thought it would get too full and sweet when warming, but thankfully it doesn't. It has a medium to full body, with medium yet tingly carbonation and a lightish finish. I knew from the color when I bought this that it wasn't really a dopplebock, and I was actually expecting much worse. It is hard to judge this one as it is labeled as a double bock but it's really more of a simple European malt liquor. And while it fails at the former, it excels at the latter, and is quite enjoyable (I'm actually craving another) and well-worth the $.99 I paid for this one. I rated it according to the label, but if it were called "malt liquor," the score would have been: A-4, S-3, T-4, M-4, O-4.5; Overall - 3.9. Definitely worth a try if you see it, but don't expect anything close to a dopplebock.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 20:04:22 | More by mmmbeer

MacStinson

Michigan

2/5  rDev -24.2%

04-04-2013 00:29:17 | More by MacStinson

AltBock

Ohio

2.16/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25

16.9 oz. bottle with a rather disturbing label. The label depicts a very jolly St. Nick posting a missing elf poster to a tree. What little does Santa know is that his missing elf is stuck in his butt crack. How Santa does not know that a little man with a pointy hat and pointy shoes is up his butt is beyond me. We won't go there. I'm not even going to talk about the creepy elf with the deer in the headlight look on his face that appears on the neck label. The back label has a paragraph about the brewery, the US mandatory info, a bottle code, and numbers and Roman numerals on the side. Nothing was notched so I don't know what those numbers mean. 

I poured this so called Doppelbock into a Pilsner glass. This has to be one of the palest Doppelbock that I've ever seen. I'm talking sick as a dog pale skin color. It was a pale and clear lemon yellow. Nothing special about the color at all. At least the head of foam was nice. It was about 1/2 an inch in height, nice and fluffy, and pearl white in color. Great retention that left behind a long lasting fluffy skim of foam. They spent more money on the head of foam then the color of the beer. Looks like a European Pale Lager.

The aroma was very faint. It takes a lot of swirling to get any kind of aroma to come out. I got some sweet grainy malt, a pinch of lemon, a drop of caramel, and a subtle whiff of grassy hops. Nice European Pale Lager aroma.

The taste was a little too sweet and grainy. The taste of stale grassy hops comes in to try to wash away the sweet grains. Long story short. It doesn't achieve that. In between the sweet grains and the stale grassy hops was a little lemon and caramel. There wasn't much going on in the taste. Decent European Pale Lager taste.

Despite the high alcohol ABV%, it was medium bodied. The sweet grainy and grassy hop aftertaste masked the high ABV%. I couldn't tell it was almost a 10% ABV beer. Looks like a pale Lager, smells like a pale Lager, tastes like a pale Lager, but it's a Doppelbock? Huh? What? How did that happen?

If you can get it cheap enough, go ahead and try it for yourself.I'm talking 50% off bottom shelf cheap. In case you don't like it, it has a high proof ABV% you can get drunk off of.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 22:08:55 | More by AltBock

CraftBeerGuild

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -62.1%

12-21-2012 15:12:40 | More by CraftBeerGuild

Pecan

California

1.25/5  rDev -52.7%

12-20-2012 16:57:33 | More by Pecan

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.15/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From the 25 fl. oz. bottle. Sampled on December 17, 2012.

The pour is orange amber and on the murky side. The white fizzy heads erupts then disappears quickly.

The aroma is malty with a hint of banana and black licorice but more of a hard liquor character.

The body is smooth and around medium.

The taste is also malty at first but it has a lingering, acidic bitterness at the end that is kind of off-putting. I don't think this would be high on my annual selection of Christmas ales.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 23:53:03 | More by puboflyons

mattparsons

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev +42%

12-13-2012 23:32:52 | More by mattparsons

kangarooAdam59

Maine

3.05/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

While I was looking for other beers off my "wants" list, I noticed this and the price ($1.99) at Whole Foods in Portland, ME and thought, hey, let's try this, here goes:

Into my pilsener:

A: light golden orange colored body with a two finger white foamy head. Slowly rising carbonation is seen rising.

S: malts up front backed up with banannas and cherries. It comes across as extremely sweet.

T: sweet with the same flavorings.

M: medium with nothing harsh on the tongue. Though the ABV is fairly high, I would say this is fairly drinkable.

O: wow, what a malt bomb, not sure if I'd come back to this, perhaps a bit to sweet for its style and for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2012 19:14:46 | More by kangarooAdam59

rjvanston

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -62.1%

12-08-2012 03:39:44 | More by rjvanston

Nomad08

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -62.1%

11-30-2012 16:41:58 | More by Nomad08

BurgeoningBrewhead

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev +13.6%

09-08-2012 06:48:34 | More by BurgeoningBrewhead

Tron

3/5  rDev +13.6%

06-19-2012 04:08:35 | More by Tron

SaCkErZ9

Florida

2.13/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I picked this one up on a whim at a store in Knoxville, Tennessee. The beer was only $2.99 for a pint so I figured "why the hell not". As the mantra goes, "You get what you pay for". Lets see how this one turns out.

As far as doppelbocks go, this one is as pale as they come. Not a good sign. Looks like a typical lager a la Sam Adams.

A sneezing fit has beseiged me and my olfactory senses have been dulled, but I do smell sweet malts and probably some sort of adjunct.

Alls I taste is liquor in this one. Even with a couple of beers under my belt tonight, this one is barely drinkable. I cant believe the guy at the liquor store said this was an awesome beer.

The best thing about this beer is the label. I love the label. Otherwise, dont bother. I was suckered into buying two bottles of this shite; luckily they were only $2.99 each. Lithuania may be awesome at basketball, but they suck at making beer. I guess if people believe Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, then people can believe this is a doppelbock.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 01:59:58 | More by SaCkErZ9

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.08/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Malty aroma is of average strength with a fruity note and a hint of caramel. It pours a clear golden amber with a fairly thick, if not persistent, pale golden-tan head. Flavor is malty, about average, with licks of caramel and pear, nothing special but still palatable. There is an appreciable, if not strong, alcohol kick. Texture is rather fizzy, but finish is rather wan. Overall, fair to middlin' but worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 00:55:05 | More by Cyberkedi

N8DAGR8

Maine

2.75/5  rDev +4.2%

03-09-2012 05:16:48 | More by N8DAGR8

EddieJoe

3/5  rDev +13.6%

03-03-2012 18:44:16 | More by EddieJoe

chinchill

South Carolina

2.93/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

16.9 oz bottle served in a pint glass.

Pours a light, clear amber with visible carbonation. Only a small head is produced with a moderate pour, and this has poor retention.

Aroma: Sweet odor, mainly of light malt.

Taste: Taste follows the aroma, with a flavor that, to me, is mildly too sweet. Clearly, there are rather minimal, and insufficient, hops here. Another complaint is labelling: this is not a standard dopplebock. It does have fairly high ABV, like most dopplebocks. The high ABV is somewhat evident in both the aroma and, more so, the taste, but not such as I'd complain about it.

M: medium body, yet with a trace of wateryness; some alcohol warming.

O: no a bad beer. OK as a holiday gift, with the fun labelling, high ABV and all, but not a beer that

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2012 00:09:28 | More by chinchill

jsisko01

Michigan

2.73/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Pours a very hazy, light yellow-orangish color almost no head at all.

Smell - Very strong alcohol aroma, like whiskey. Maybe some butterscotch, caramel, and breadiness.

Taste - VERY strong alcohol flavor followed by roasted malts, strong toffee, coffee, caramel, bread, and a pretty bitter aftertaste..

Mouthfeel - Pretty light body with medium carbonation. It starts foaming in the mouth and begins to feel somewhat creamy.

Overall - Definitely not my style of beer.. too much like coffee.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 06:16:23 | More by jsisko01

jrohrbacher

North Carolina

2/5  rDev -24.2%

01-03-2012 02:02:15 | More by jrohrbacher

nrbw23

Ohio

1.75/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

A- Pours a slightly hazy, light golden amber color with pretty much no head. A handful of bubbles pop up and no lacing.

S- Quite a bit of sweet malts, maybe clove and a ton of alcohol.

T- Not digging this at all. Pretty sweet, a ton of bready malts, and alcohol.

M- Pretty thin in body and carbonation was above average.

O- Drain pour on this one. Not at all what I expected and those expectation were pretty low.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 21:12:16 | More by nrbw23

Josiah2729

Tennessee

2/5  rDev -24.2%

12-22-2011 03:41:57 | More by Josiah2729

bschinelli

Illinois

1.33/5  rDev -49.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Can anyone say Colt 45? I bought this because I had 2 seconds in our groceries beer dept. and thought at a glance that it was a variation of the Ridgeway Brewing Company's "elf" series. I was sadly mistaken. It poured a clear gold into the glass with an off white head that disappeared as I put the bottle down. No lacing, but some effervescent bubbling the entire time it's in the glass. The first sniff gives off banana and light clove, and some alcohol. Are there any hops in here? Taste wise, lots of malt sweetness with nothing to balance it. Banana dominates, with the boozy flavor strong in the finish. This beer is light in the mouth, no complex flavors. If you want to get there quick, this is the bus to take.

Overall, I'm unimpressed. It's not a bock, or even a good barley wine. This is alchohol served up in a palatable form.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 18:42:42 | More by bschinelli

leinie13

Ohio

2/5  rDev -24.2%

12-04-2011 22:46:31 | More by leinie13

Mario61Aler

Ohio

4/5  rDev +51.5%

12-04-2011 15:15:41 | More by Mario61Aler

bacher468

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -5.3%

12-03-2011 17:25:10 | More by bacher468