Spaten Optimator - Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

K270

California

4.7/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I'm not one to drink a dark beer. When I poured the beer into a clear glass the head was bountiful. Nice thick white head about 3 fingers thick. It stuck around a while then went away. A had a very nice smell, almost a mild spiced smell is the best way I can describe it. I might have to change my position on dark beers. I picked this up because it looked intresting and it's a very interesting beer. I'll definatly buy this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2008 05:22:04 | More by K270

ComfortablyBum

North Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12 oz bottle poured into DFH glass

A - dark dark brown with a thin head. Head faded into lacing around the glass.

S - Sweet caramel

T - roasty malt with chocolate and woody flavors. Smooth and delicious.

M - Its heavy and carbonated. Over 7% ABV, so it warms nicely on the way down.

D - Excellent. Great beer for having a couple of. Doppelbock is quickly becoming my new favorite style.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2010 01:44:42 | More by ComfortablyBum

BuddyP87

Florida

4.7/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

My dad was in the Air Force and spent time in Germany and had this beer back in the 1960's, he said I had to try some, I am glad I did. This is a full body beer that will put you to sleep. If you are used to American beers be warned, this beer will put you to sleep.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2011 23:50:56 | More by BuddyP87

TheBierBand

Ohio

4.68/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

OK... I've previously reviewd this as served on tap. But I recently purchased a case to have on hand at home.

The 12 oz green bottle poured into a pint glass seemed so small when compared to the normal serving I enjoy at Mecklenburg Gardens in Cincinnati (1 Big ol' Litre!). But it poured nicely producing a 1" head of frothy beige foam. The color was dark brown... very dark.

I sniffed the edge of the glass to catch the aroma of chocolate sweetness with some fruity character... perhaps spiced prunish. It seemed more hoppy than as served on tap and also a bit more carbonated, but not overly so. Actually very well balanced.

The mouthfeel was smooth. Very nice without a hoppy bite. The aftertaste leaves a sweetness in your mouth for a long time!

Drinkability is excellent with this strong Dopplebock. This is and probably will remain as my preferred Bock. I might be in the minority, but I prefer this one over Celebrator... although, I've never had Celebrator on tap.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2007 16:57:28 | More by TheBierBand

logansboat15

Wisconsin

4.68/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Spaten Optimator has always been one of my favorite versions of the Doppelbock style. Pours a beautiful dark copper with decent head and faint lacing. Aroma comes forth as a peaty, meaty, full-bodied whiff of malty deliciousness. Tastes like a sweet caramel apple on steroids. Sweet going down, going to light dry to the finish. Heavy, chewy mouthfeel makes this an exceptional brew, both in bottles and on tap. So smooth that extra care must be taken if consumed in a party atmosphere. Goes great with a hearty chicken mole or greasy enchiladas.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2007 18:47:29 | More by logansboat15

fitzy84

Massachusetts

4.68/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had at Moan and Dove. Dark but clear appearance with some amber hints through light. Immediate lacing. Very rich in malts, grains and nuts in aroma: very enticing and thick smells. Really incredible taste: rich but not too heavy, malty and hoppy. Medium body balances out its delicious dimensions from getting too extreme. Overall, an awesome drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2008 23:02:21 | More by fitzy84

BBMuffins

Oklahoma

4.68/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is a fairly exceptional beer. For a doppelbock, it is a good standard, and as a standard, it sets the bar fairly high. I drink this beer with pleasure, and I always have a few available. Goes pretty good with a meal, but the combination can make you a tad sleepy (7.2% ABV is the culprit here.)

Appearance - It's a pretty beer, very little head involved as it's not the most carbonated of beers available. Typically there's just a ring around the outside of that occasionally manages to lace around the edges of the glass. It is a dark brown-red color in the light, and a very deep red (almost black) otherwise.

Smells - Very faintly like bitter raisins, almost nutty in character, but the smell is hardly the best part.

Taste - 7.2% ABV provides a bit of spiciness, though it's hardly noticeable. A massive variety of flavors attack the tongue, in seemingly random order each time you taste. It's a complex tasting beer, that is for sure. Typically a bitter flavor followed by a bit of spiciness, followed by a burnt caramel raisin, followed by more bitterness, and sticking around the mouth for quite some time. A distant aftertaste of a more grassy bitter flavor. I find this beer to be absolutely delicious.

Mouth feel - initially mildly thick, though it's not as thick as it looks like it would be. Easily glides down the gullet. Leaves a wake of carbonation tingle, though not a lot.

Drinkability - Insanely easy to drink. I typically can drink three or four of these in a session (of course the 7.2% alcohol level reminds me that I probably shouldn't do this.) I could never get sick of the taste of this beer. I know I've tasted better, but for the price, the quality of this beer puts it at an A+. Everybody should taste a Spaten Optimator. It's what turned me on to darker beers, doppelbocks, and full flavored beers. It's excellent.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2010 02:36:46 | More by BBMuffins

ski271

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Everybody knows that beer tastes better on tap that out of a bottle, and I couldn’t think of a better example than the Optimator. I also had this beer at Schnitzel’s Tavern in Bellefonte, PA, a German restaurant that knows how to pour a beer.

This doppelbock is a very dark, slightly-reddish brown beer with a small to medium sized off-white head that mostly diminished except for a thin layer that lingered for most of the way down and left a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is heavy of roasted malts and a caramel sweetness, which I’m a sucker for, but it was also slightly fruity. Taste follows suit, being dominated by the sweetness of the roasted malts, but there was also a light hops presence and a hint of grape or currant. The finish is wonderful and lingering with a nice hops kick and a little alcohol. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy with low to average carbonation. I adore this beer and think there almost needs to be separate ratings for bottle and draught. I'd give it a 5 for taste if only it tasted consistently as good as it does at Schnitzel's.

Serving type: on-tap

01-27-2005 22:28:51 | More by ski271

highwaychile82

Wisconsin

4.65/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This happens to be one of my all time favorite beers. It has a distinct earth tone color and a great but not overpowering taste. This is the "dark" beer I give to my friends to prove to them that dark isnt always bitter or "a meal in a can." Optimator is one of those rare exceptional beers where taste, body, and color come together delicously and quite often in... my stomach!

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2005 01:31:59 | More by highwaychile82

86MonteSS

Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sure, why the hell not.

It's a deep brownish coloration with just the right head.

A sweet, full-bodied aroma made my heart cry for joy... seriously.

The taste is thick and malty, but just hoppy enough to keep the kids from loving it.

The finish says "hey, you just had one hell of a beer, ya fat, lazy bastard."

And I say, Spaten Optimator must be the best German beer I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2003 08:52:23 | More by 86MonteSS

brdc

Wisconsin

4.63/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Small capped bottle poured into a tulip.

Nice brownish color with crimson highlights, topped by an average sized tan head with good retention and lacing. Aroma is malty as expected, toffeeish and caramelized, with some unexpected fruity hints.
Clean taste on an almost full body, with layer upon layer of malts, sweetish, toffeish and caramelized, but well balanced by an underlying bitterness.
A very good doppelbock.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 02:00:13 | More by brdc

navinsula

Indiana

4.63/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

beer came in a small 10oz stien. the color was a nice dark red that was almost not transparent, with a thick white head.

the smell is very nice with some rich chocolaty notes and small amount of roast.

the tast is great with rich chocolat and toffey, but not overtaking.

mouthfeel is very smooth and full body

one of my favorit beers of all time when its on tap, and is still pretty great out of a bottle

Serving type: on-tap

08-09-2011 03:28:28 | More by navinsula

francisweizen

Australia

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

An excellent doppel that is fit for year-round consumption if you ask me. The doppelbock pours a rich, dark reddish/brown colour with an ample beige head. The aromas are all malt, and plenty of it! The taste is malty as hell, with a nice alcoholic, spicy kick to it. The mouthfeel is thick and rich, but not over-the-top and the drinkability is excellent for a doppel.

High marks!

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2003 22:10:02 | More by francisweizen

Dmann

California

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Now this is some good shit! I have heard a lot about this beer and other Doppelbocks but since I'm such a hop-head, I usualy pass them up when it comes time to go to the store. I will pass them no more. This poured a great brownish color with great head that settled on top till the last drop. The smell was filled with toffee and carmel. The flavor was out of this world with a great carmel taste and just a touch of hops in the end to round it all out. For an import macro, this is about as good as it gets.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2003 06:31:59 | More by Dmann

RootedFool

California

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Large tan head on the pour, over an inch tall, dense and frothy. Body is opaque, blackish brown, and bright crimson when held to the light. Smell: prune juice, toasted sour dough bread, raisins; thick and rich. Taste: opens with a bitter-shelled blast of prune-like tartness all over my palate, followed by a raspy bitterness that takes center-stage, flanked brilliantly by the bright fruitiness. The finish is a thin, mildly puckering citrus rind bitterness, with the fading sweetness of dark fruits in the background. Middling carbonation. Mouthfeel like whole milk, really perfect. I picked this up on the cheap and I'm very impressed.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2004 06:23:34 | More by RootedFool

heath1agnew

Texas

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

appearance- pours a deep red brown with a two finger head that slowly goes down to thin head. lacing is visible.

smell- great malty smell, hints of bread and banana.

taste and mouthfeel- wow. tastes of malt, with a sweet bready aftertaste with a warm finish of alcohol. and even though the alcohol is for sure present it is NOT overpowering at all. mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.

drinkability- very easy to drink.

this beer is everything i hoped it would be, can't recommend it enough.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2008 13:32:55 | More by heath1agnew

alfistheman

Florida

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Being a recent fan of the hefe's, the more citrus sweet wheat variations, this has been the beer to change my mind and mix it up.

A- Deep oak red color transparent enough to see shapes through. THe head is carmel thick, and laces beautifuly.

S- Carmel and Brown Sugar Malts, some hops and sweet chocolate in there, very apealing

T- Smooth brown sugar, toffee and carmel flavor to the malt... after I taste grassy, rather earthy hops, very well balance of bitter and sweet.

M- Mid Body, smooth and great carbination, not too much or too little. I don't get the oily after taste I get in many thick dark styles of beer like some porters, very smooth.

D- Even with the high ABV i find myself wanting to chug these. Once the ABV sets in a bit I am able to slow down. Might be best to alternate with a less ABV's if you like to pound beers like myself.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2009 03:42:02 | More by alfistheman

DLReeves

New York

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is the 3rd Spaten product I have purchased,others were Octoberfest and Dunkel. All 3 have been quite enjoyable. Since I am not strongly into the technicalities of beer, but rather the concept would I buy it again,the answer is yes to all 3. Cudos to the Consumer beverage stores in Western New York for all the fine wide range of selections they present..only 173 to go.
Tech stuff I guess: Solid pour head, typical dark beer/ale flavors, probably would be a favorite in the real beer drinker country of Germany

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2010 03:47:55 | More by DLReeves

gc4hokies

Virginia

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Maybe because this was my first doppelbock I tried about 10+ years ago, but this one is on my list of all time favorite beers. There's something about the aroma and flavor that makes me think of oompa bands and alpine hats.

As I sit here writing this review, I have a glass of Ayinger along side the Optimator. And I realize the Ayinger is a higher "ranked" beer and it might be a more "refined" beer, but to my untrained palate, the Optimator just tastes better.

Ok, on with the review...

It pours a very dark brown with cherry highlights (very similar to the Ayinger - can't tell the difference). Nice frothy white head.

Aroma is wonderful. Dark caramel malt aromas and sweetness. Taste is dark fruits, raisin, with roasting caramel notes. Sweet malt is predominant with very slight hop bitterness. At 7.6 abv this packs a punch but alcohol is faint.

Overall, this is my standard for what a double bock should be. Delicious

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2012 00:51:11 | More by gc4hokies

1234Jack

4.6/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On sale at my neighborhood QFC at $2.81 per pint.

500 ml bottle. Gold wrap around the cap and neck. Double-spade front icon, medieval "Optimator" on front.

"7.6% Alc/Vol". Label also says "Malt Liquor".

Smell out of bottle is a flood of maltiness. Later smells in glass add apple. Even later are aromas of licorice.

Barely transparent dark red amber-brown in glass. Head is not super aggressive, bubbles like to remain tiny towards the lace, which isn't super sticky.

First taste is chocolaty malt. Similar to the flavor of chocolate malt milkshake.

Second taste notices a comfortable feel on the mouth, with carbonation present but not overpowering. Bubbles feel micro.

Aftertaste is pleasant. Bitterness just barely dances on sides of tongue.

Nice flavor. Perfect winter/festive/seasonal beer.

This may be one of my favorite beers. Alcohol content with flavor that isn't like drinking a mud-meal. :)

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 07:29:02 | More by 1234Jack

kvnstfrd

Missouri

4.59/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a 500 ml bottle into a 12 oz. mug.
Dark copper color when held to the light with a tan head that dissipates quickly into a sticky lace. Smells of caramel, toasted malt and some spicy alcohol fumes. Big, viscous body with light carbonation. Taste of toasted, bready malt, caramel and a grainy, cereal-like flavor. A light dose of alcohol and hop flavor in the finish. Not as sweet as a Paulaner Salvator and not as hoppy as Ayinger Celebrator; somewhere in between. One of the better doppelbocks I’ve tried, and one of the lesser expensive ones.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 18:02:53 | More by kvnstfrd

steelreign

New York

4.58/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Jeez, if the bar I had this at didn't have about 60 more comparable beers like this, I would have drank this all night! What a fantastic display of the style....rich, dark brown in color with tons of sweet malty goodness balanced nicely by the hop level. Smooth, luxurious mouthfeel, with some spicy notes along with the roasted malty complexity. Very much recommended, especially if you typcially like big beers in this mold (Celebrator, etc...)

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2003 14:49:15 | More by steelreign

mzwolinski

California

4.58/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Deep ruby in color, with a torrent of carbonation. Topped by a massive, creamy light tan head. This is quite persistent and lends a nice creaminess to the whole drink.

Rich, slightly toasty toffee-like malt aroma.

Flavor starts with a hint of tang, but quickly settles down to a smooth, rich, caramel malt. Something of a one-note beer, but what a note it is! Medium-bodied. Incredibly smooth, and not a bit cloying. This is amazingly drinkable for something this sweet. A classic.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2004 04:06:08 | More by mzwolinski

dfried

Minnesota

4.58/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very dark brown, not quite see through, with a reddish tint to it. Large bubbly, perfect head. Quite tart, yeasty and malty smell, very deep with a lot going on. The first note I wrote down was "So fruity it's outrageous," and it was. There is a noticable fresh, toasted grain malt flavor, but the taste is dominated by fresh fruit, mainly rasberries and other brambles at first, but the finish reveals even more flavors, apple, plum, dark grapes, and I don't even know what else. This was sweet and fruity almost even to the extent of a fruit lambic, but there was much more of a toasted malt character to set it apart from a lambic. It has a dry, slightly chewy mouthfeel. This beer is about as drinkable as a doppelbock can be. It's a little heavy, but it tastes so good you don't stop wanting more.

Serving type: on-tap

06-22-2006 14:52:58 | More by dfried

adamette

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Live review. Served on tap at Winking Lizard in Mentor. This is the glass of the month and so it is served in a great looking 0.5L Spaten Optimator stein.

A Great looking light brown head over a dark caramel brown translucent body with carbonation visible rising up.

S Great malt and barley smell without any hops bitterness. True to the style and really great.

T Ahhh...that great malt and barley of a classic dopplebock. Spaten Optimator has long been one of my favorite beers and it is a beer that led me away from BMC 10 years ago. Just a great molasses type taste with a bit of syrupy stickiness to it. It finishes light though and there is a great taste left of medium to dark malt.

M Carbonation dances accross the tongue along with the feel of sweetness. Again, right on target for the style.

D Good for a beer with a modeastly elevated ABV. I easily finished the 22 oz. stein.

Notes: Again I am partial to Optimator since it was one of the beers that got me off of BMC. It challenged me to consider higher quality beers and taught me that beer can have a taste worth seeking out. Prost!

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2009 22:12:03 | More by adamette