Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock - Dark Horse Brewing Company

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle shared by sprague11, thanks John. 12oz into a tulip.

Murky copper-brown, with a cream coloured head, sticky lace and dense retention. Nose features whole coffee beans, not ground or spent or whathaveyou. Like sticking your nose into a bag of yet-to-be-ground beans. Some caramel and nut notes, but the coffee sticks out immensely. Taste has a weird acidic sourness derived from a vast amount of roast, bitter and raw beans again. Dark breads and gentle caramel. Medium carbonation and an ok body. Coffee was quite interesting but way too raw to make for a great coffee beer in my opinion - however this 'rawness' certainly intrigues me. A curious beer, but I wouldn't actively seek this out again.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 03:36:56 | More by liamt07

NEhophead

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 fl oz brown bottle served in a pilsener glass.

Pours a slightly thin maple in color with some tea and auburn highlights. The head is an off white and built with stable foam; very good retention.

The initial creamy sweetness: molasses with a touch of vanilla, is engulfed by a rough, french roast. A very nice balance in aroma with a very distinctive roasted coffee bean profile.

Flavors are much like the aromas foreshadow: creamy malt sweetness that is overtaken for most of the sip by the freshly roasted espresso. Once the full coffee flavors subside, the vanilla and molasses sweetness seems a bit artificial; maybe just a touch heavy.

Full bodied; roasted and primarily dry; however, a touch of slickness when the sweetness shines through.

It takes a bit of time to really find the 'doppelbock' in the espresso, but very flavorful nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 23:51:39 | More by NEhophead

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

very bitter result of all this: Initial coffee taste with a bourbon like secondary. Coffee dominates, its coffee aroma and a pure coffee taste. Copper brown and a nice head. Above average mouthfeel. Hard to finish this one. An idea maybe not the best executed.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 06:54:17 | More by northyorksammy

JRdaSconnie

Wisconsin

1.4/5  rDev -62.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

P: 12oz bottle purchased from The Ale Jail in St. Paul. Chilled briefly and poured into snifter.

A: Deep, clear brown with red hues. 1/2 finger head rapidly drops to ring with small amount of lace when swirled. More brown than the red-brown I'd like to see in a doppel.

S: Strong beans. Some burnt coffee but almost smells more like raw kidney beans to me. That overwhelms all other smells to me. Hope it tastes better than it smells.

T: A blend of flavors similar to the smell hits me right away. A lot going on in here but for my pallet, none of it good. I taste something burnt, maybe some woodiness (not barrel aged though), maybe green treebranches (?) then some hot alcohol on aftertaste.

M: Too busy trying to scrape it off my tongue to get much mouthfeel. Light body, carbonation level is nice.

O: Probably one of the worst beers I've had in a while. I don't get coffee and I don't get doppelbock. Probably dumping this one after about 4 sips.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 03:06:31 | More by JRdaSconnie

secondtooth

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Ruddy, rusty red in color, with a cloudy, opacity, this bock comes out with a minimal head, and equally as minimal with the lace.

Nose is definitely coffee up front, and a hint of chocolate in there, too.

Flavor is heavy on the coffee, with an almost sweet toffee or caramel hint. A solid dopplebock, and one well worthy of purchase.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 02:47:14 | More by secondtooth

RyanLigeia

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance- 4 Caramel color with a nice looking tan head. Lets a little light through/mild clarity. Visible carbonation bubbles when held up to the light, nice lacing.

Smell- 3.5 Smells mostly just of coffee beans with a touch of alcohol.

Taste- 3.5 Coffee beans again with some slight caramel sweetness followed by a mild bitterness.

MF- 4 Smooth and heavy with a good amount of carbonation.

Overall- 4 Unique beer! I'm not getting the "doppelbock" at all, tastes more like a...coffee lager or something. Probably wont buy again but it's worth a try if you havent yet.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 16:14:18 | More by RyanLigeia

chugalug06

Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Kinda thin looking... Not too much in the way of tan soapy head. Brew is very dark brown with lots of black and deep purples.

S - I get huge coffee and chilie scents. Mildly bready

T/M - Very smooth coffee and slight chilie and chocolate without the heat. Rather thin and undefined, but still a very enjoyable brew. Perfect carbonation and no heat. A bit thin.

O - A little all over the place, but still quite an enjoyable beer. Thanks Andy for the awesome trade!

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 04:01:31 | More by chugalug06

JerseyKirk

New Jersey

2.68/5  rDev -28.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Orange toffeish. White head that cleared quickly. Slightly hazy from bottle conditioning.

S: black espresso. Extremely. Strong bitter coffee. Nuttiness.

T: really sweet with a sharp astringency followed by bitter coffee finish.

M: medium. Balance of sweet and dry.

O: not good. Coffee is too much of an after thought. Stringency is confusing as well. No good.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 20:48:02 | More by JerseyKirk

ghostwalker

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy red-brown body with thin white head.

Nose is fresh ground coffee on malt. I'm a sucker for the beans!

Flavor is sweet, but slightly astringent. Coffee mostly shows up as bitterness. The lovely aromatics present in the nose don't seem to make the crossover to flavor as much as I would have liked.

Mouthfeel is thin, with fizzy carbonation. Not as rich as I expected.

Overall is pretty good. I'm enjoying it, but have found that the intensity of flavor is light and the ABV is not really apparent, it drinks like a smaller beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 23:01:51 | More by ghostwalker

Jammies

Illinois

2.73/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Aged for 12 months

A- pours a medium dark brown with a thin layer of foam that lingers

S- coffee all day. smells like there are grounds in the beer

T- similar to the 2011. Thin on flavor with heavy coffee on the finish

M- very thin and watery

O- I just tried the 2011 and not much has changed from 2010. i think aging this one only made it worse.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 17:10:41 | More by Jammies

tykees88

Indiana

2.33/5  rDev -37.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

A- This is crystal clear. Caramel crystal colored light cream soda colored. It however, also has a soda pop type carbonation. Coca cola head that fizzles and fades.

S- Smells like sweet fruity malt and a little hint of coffee.

T-Taste is pretty bad. The presence of the dark fruit raisiny dopplebock is there. But the coffee flavor... oh my. It is like when you have chewed up a coffee bean and it gives you that astringent coffee bean dry mouth and oily feeling all at the same time. It is disgusting with beer.

M-Soda pop. enough said.

O-Major letdown from these guys. I've had some pretty good offerings from them, but this one really let me down in a major way. I was really excited to try this too

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 00:32:49 | More by tykees88

blackcompg

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from their 12oz bottle...

Appearance - Poured about 3 fingers of lite tan head, down to a solid cap in a minute, color of the beeer is a cloudy medium brown. Fairly decent lacing is left after an aggressive pour.

Smell - Fresh ground coffee, char, touch of dark fruits, touch of soy sauce.

Taste - Started with a roasted grains, coffee and faint dark fruit peels i/e plums and cherries, this quickly dries to coffee grounds and a sour sort of astringency aftertaste that you get after a sip of strong black coffee. This flavor lingers long and strong. There is a faint malty sweetness in the background for the entire sip.

Mouthfeel - Lite to medium, almost medium carb, this is a pretty easy drinker.

Overall - If you really like lightly sweetened black coffee then you will likely enjoy this. I would have liked this more if this were thicker, and had a more substantial mouthfeel. I'm pretty green when it comes to this style but it seems this should have been a bit more full and substantial. Try it if you can make ur own 6pak ;o)

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 05:43:25 | More by blackcompg

stealth

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark murky brown with a tightly carbonated white, but rapidly dissipating head. Sediment is settling at the bottom of the glass right away. Smell is pretty subtle - not very strong at all - smells like an old coffee filter. Coffee taste is very prominent in the first few drinks, accompanied by a strong bitter-coffee finish that hangs around a bit. Working through the glass the coffee becomes less prominent/noticeable and tastes like a semi-sweet roast. Smooth mouthfeel, with some dryness. This is an interesting beer, aside from the nose, which I don't care for, it has a decent flavor profile and drinks pretty easily in small doses.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 08:29:11 | More by stealth

DannyDan

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a mahogany hue with a thin tan head that quickly disappears with no lacing or retention, but does have moderate carbonation. The aroma is strong with roasted coffee with hints of caramel, and molasses. The taste starts out with a roasted coffee taste that sticks til the finish. There is also some caramel, molasses, sweet malts and hint of bitter chocolate in the back. The coffee taste remains in the aftertaste. Overall this soft sticky mouthfeel beer seems to be a rather nice beer for coffee lovers, but just not my kind of beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2012 02:52:40 | More by DannyDan

JackieTH

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured mahogany with a half-finger of foam that dissipated quickly and leaves no lacing. Smell is coffee, light roasted caramelly malts. Taste is similar, good medium coffee, light bitterness, caramel and roasted malt, some biscuit, and light sweetness. Coffee flavor carries through from smell to taste and finish. Medium body. Light carbonation. Hits the right notes when you're in the mood for a coffee-forward beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 05:22:20 | More by JackieTH

deebo

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A-Dense white head. Clear with dark reddish brown color.

S-Sweet dark roasted coffee (slightly burnt) malt bomb.

T-Heavy on the coffee. Slightly bitter. Quick finish. Coffee flavor takes away from the beer-ness.

M-Smooth with a bit of coffee bitter astringency.

D-ok

O-A pretty nice beer, only complaint is a little heavy on the coffee bitter astringent bite. If you like coffee- this is your beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-08-2012 01:31:29 | More by deebo

JohnnyHopps

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Perkulator was poured from the bottle into a pilsner glass. In appearance, the beer poured a reddish brown color with a healthy lacing of foam. A very pleasant aroma followed which included a hints of oak with a strong coffee scent. The initial taste was dark coffee with hints of smooth sweetness. The tastebuds were reminded of expresso beans covered in dark chocolate. The coffee flavor grows stronger in the aftertaste. While the aftertaste was tart, it was also very pleasant. I would the pleasantness would be strongest among those of us that still drink coffee black. The smooth mouthfeel makes this an easy drinker, though it is surprisingly thin.

A fellow drinker noted that this is the first "coffee beer" he has had that actually tastes like coffee.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 19:50:42 | More by JohnnyHopps

robwestcott

Indiana

4.1/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

cold from jerod's tap at the uptown a deep cola black / brown to an imperial bells pint with a full finger tan head

aroma of sweetened black coffee

great big sweet coffee forward, molasses, graham cracker.

medium bodied, super sweet, medium carbonation.

overall: great example of a coffee beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-06-2012 23:36:41 | More by robwestcott

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another bottle shared by Lunch What time is it?

The beer is dark copper to ruby hued with a quarter inch of light tan head that leaves random lacing on the glass. The aroma offers coffee, chocolate, malt. Nice smelling beer. The flavor brings milk chocolate, lager malt. Really nice. Lots of chocolate milk flavors. Pretty straightforward. Decent beer. I would have this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2012 10:33:31 | More by Huhzubendah

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Just the slightest of off-white head which quickly fizzes away leaving a completely laceless offering with only a very slight collar... The color is a murky mix of brown and red... A slight bit of mixed paced carbonation can be seen rising along the sides of the glass...

S - As the name would imply this one is coffee forward and then some... There is also a good bit a tobacco mixed in... Perhaps some light cedar notes... Some very subtle fruity notes - perhaps the slightest touch of strawberry and/or raspberry...

T - The nose was perfectly representative of what presents itself on the palette... The french pressed coffee notes are first and foremost... A very pleasant inviting tobacco character emerges next... Just a touch of sweetness that reminds me of molasses... Very good flavor and complexity...

M - Medium bodied... Very lightly carbonated... Slightly syrupy... Smooth... Even and consistent...

D - A very interesting and well executed offering from the fine folks at Dark Horse... Quite unique and slightly different from almost anything else that I've experienced... A must try for true beer lovers and something that I'll gladly invest in another 40pack in the future...

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 02:30:35 | More by philbe311

metter98

New York

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is cloudy amber in color and poured with a thin off white head.
S: There are aromas of coffee grounds in the nose.
T: Bitter flavors of burnt, over-percolated coffee grounds in the taste along with hints of pepper and the underlying malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. The body is definitely a lot lighter compared to other beers in the style.
O: The beer is an interesting take on the style but the coffee taste somewhat resembles convenience store coffee that has been lingering for several hours.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 02:47:24 | More by metter98

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: 1 inch head, moderate-high carbonation, orange-brown brown, hazy

Smell: coffee and faint pale malt

Taste: coffee and nut at the beginning and the end, sweet toasted malt in the body

Mouthfeel: medium bodied, medium carbonation, sweet

Overall: My biggest fear when drinking coffee beers is that it will feel like I am drinking a coffee with alcohol instead of tasting some beer. I am very pleased to say that Dark Horse does it right. Here the coffee accentuates the beer and gives the dopplebock style a different flair. The dopplebock side is very solid. The coffee is far from overpowering and it really works well here. This shoots up to be one of my favorite beers from the brewery because of that. Kudos to Dark Horse to a job well done. I will be picking more of this up.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 14:46:39 | More by tigg924

elgiacomo

Georgia

3.85/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle, unknown date. Served at cellar temperature.

Pours clear red/copper with a small light beige head that leaves a few spots of lacing and recedes to a light cap.

Aroma is coffee, dark fruit, caramel & toffee, a little molasses and bread. Very good strength.

Flavor is caramel, toffee, brown sugar, coffee, some dark fruit, fair sweetness but not cloying like some other doppelbocks can be. Minimal alcohol, very smooth.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, somewhat creamy, good carbonation.

Very good Doppelbock. This one is very well balanced, not too sweet, very drinkable, and the coffee adds a nice layer of complexity.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 00:02:42 | More by elgiacomo

phlegon

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I enjoy a good cup of coffee and a good brew so I thought I'd give this a try. This brew poured smooth and had an excellent appearance. I really liked the smell but the taste was simply too much coffee for me. The coffee taste overpowered the dopplebock. It's very unique. This was like drinking cold coffee infused with beer. I don't know if this has any caffeine in it or not. If you're a coffee lover give it a try!

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2011 18:34:32 | More by phlegon

Hibernator

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock
12 oz brown bottle
Served in a 20 oz tulip glass

Pours a dark tannish brown with a creamy head on top. Interesting trails of sticky lacings cling to the side glass.

Strong whiffs of coffee grinds and chocolate.

Chewy chocolate malt base, caramel sweetness with intense flavors of roasted coffee. Perhaps a touch of brown sugar. Heavy malt flavors with moderate carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2011 18:57:53 | More by Hibernator