Matilda Bay Dogbolter - Matilda Bay Brewing Co.

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Dark copper/ruby. Thick tan head, nice and creamy.
Toasty malt dominated aroma, almost roasted. Quite sweet though, there's definitely some toffee and caramel. It's all quite subtle though.
Flavour is mostly roasted malt. Again, its quite sweet. No bitterness, very little hops.
Good creamy carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2009 13:35:50 | More by CrazyDavros

LittleCreature

Australia

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - 4.0
An impressive chocolate milkshake head sits over a body that is very dark brown, but when held to the light looks ruby red.

Smell - 4.0
Very smooth and very, very chocolatey with cocoa, carob and chocolate syrup aromas, slightly medicinal.

Taste - 4.0
A lovely rich dark beer with roasted malt, caramel, cocoa and toffee flavour. It is well balanced with moderate to assertive bitterness from the hops. Surprisingly refreshing and crisp for such a dark beer.

Mouthfeel - 4.0
Quite light in the mouth with fine, almost creamy carbonation.

Drinkability - 4.0
A surprisingly easy drinker, either for sessioning or as a one-off treat.

OVERALL - 4
Another very good beer from Matilda Bay. I would rate this slightly behind Alpha Pale Ale, therefore their second best beer. Overpriced (as is everything from Matlida Bay these days) but definitely worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2009 07:27:48 | More by LittleCreature

Todd

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a rich dark brown, near opaque, and topped with a spotty beige head that settles to a thin lace.

Deep, clean, caramel nose with some toasted cereal grains.

Light-bodied, fizzy and creamy on the palate, with slightly sharp edge of roasted astringency followed by some oily and light citrus (lime) hop flavors. Hint of salt and mineral. Husky wheat, roasted malt, some dry and bitter chocolate, and a soft caramel edge. Finish dries up, cleans up, and leaves some graininess in the linger.

Light, easy to drink, but also flavorful. Overall, a pretty good dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2008 03:12:28 | More by Todd

WHROO

Australia

2.98/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

For such an expensive local brew this didn't live up to the price sadly.
Full creamy beige head
Aromas included mild dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans all in only mild doses
All of the above in taste, although don't expect full lip smacking flavours, found this too a little tame
Mouthfeel was just too airy & carbonated. The flavours were indispersed with air bubbles that danced too much on the palate - left a watered down feel.
This was not that bad, but for the price I will definately go for other darker roasty ales & lagers before this.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2008 08:43:50 | More by WHROO

vancurly

Australia

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tried at the Australian Beer Festival.

A popular drink among my tasting companions, with descriptions varying from chewy, chocolatey, charry... "a good steak beer". Some funky sulfur notes on the nose, but all up a good drop and enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

10-27-2008 01:08:41 | More by vancurly

rjimlad

Australia

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've been putting off buying this because it's so expensive. However...
On pouring, I got a nice creamy tan head that persisted with some lacing. Aromas were roasty, dark chocolate and a bit of coffee. Maybe some faint dark cherry. All these were certainly in the flavour but in abundance. Mouthfeel was lip-smacking and creamy with a bit of stickiness. There's was some rauchy smokiness that put me off the first glass but I soon picked up a taste for it and ended a 6 pack with a good appreciation. I like this but not at the price.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2008 06:51:00 | More by rjimlad

brendan13

Australia

3.35/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown in colour with red tinges when held up to light. A few centimetres of head that falls away to a thin whisp pretty quickly. Lacing left down the glass.
Some chocolate and dark fruit on the nose at first with some smokiness in the background.
Wow. The smokey flavours come through in the taste. Almost too much so, almost like a rauch. Malts flavours are there too.
Medium mouthfeel, moderate carbonation.
Pretty complex beer that is quite tasty. A bit too smokey to be a session beer as that would get over bearing but still good for drinking every now and then.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2007 11:39:56 | More by brendan13

willjansen

Colorado

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance: Very dark brown with ruby/mahogony highlights against the light. Average head on hard pour subduing to a nice sticky lace.

Smell: Malty sweetness, with hints of sweet toffee and cocoa. Smell isn't very strong, so it's not giving too much away. Candied dark fruits lightly present, growing stronger as beer warms. Very enticing... now to actually taste.

Taste: The first thought that comes to mind is: excellent taste. This is quite a complex beer with a few dimensions to try and pin down. Strangely reminiscent of some belgian abbey ales. Raisins, roasted wood. Distinct malty backbone with caramel and toffee coming through ever stronger with each sip, with a hop presence cowering weakly in the shadows. Amazing and complex brew from start to aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Certainly a barrage of bubbles to deal with, but nothing unpleasant. Fairly dry finish.

Drinkability: Very drinkable brew, no doubt in part to its average alcohol content. This is one that I could settle on for a few pints at the pub with friends and I don't think my pallette would ever numb to its complexity. Great beer Matilda Bay... keep up the great work.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2007 11:48:31 | More by willjansen

joecast

Australia

3.98/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

345ml brown bottle. 5.2%abv. best before 05/07

dark day outside which gives it a darker brown appearance, but holding to light does show some redder highlights. head formed about two cm, but settled quickly to a bit of lace. low carbonation.

sweet, slightly bready malt aroma. some chocolate manages to join the party. most of what comes through is pretty well weighted towards the sweet side of things. not much hop presence in the aroma, but that fits the style.
seems a pretty safe way to go about things as it lacks any strong characteristics. somewhat like i remember youngs double chocolate stout. not bad, just safe.

malty and smooth are all you need to know. some chocolate overtones with a cleansing finish. sweet, but not cloying or too heavy. full mouth feel. again, little hop presence.

i had pretty high expectations for this, and maybe it did fall just a little short. still very nice, but not as complex as i was hoping.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2006 07:07:21 | More by joecast

ohitsbrad

Australia

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

5 October 2006, Best Before Jan 07

Black colour with a red mahogany hue. Medium sized tan coloured head left a good cap and some lacing. Aroma of chocolatey and toffee malt, sweet caramel and some leafy hop. Smokey, chocolatey, chewy caramel and roasted malt flavour with a slight sweetness. Medium bodied and mouth filling. A caramelley, malty dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2006 15:00:18 | More by ohitsbrad

laituegonflable

Australia

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark chocolatey colour, very good head - unusual for a dark beer, at least one brewed outside Belgium. Quite nice-looking.

Very sour aroma, unripe cherries is the major element here. Slight darkish ale smell (coffee sort of thing) too.

Taste - wow, that's actually very interesting. This palatte is a bit of a journey. It starts off sour and light-ish and finishes rich and chocolatey, but not too bitter or too strong. It's complex enough to be respected and yet light enough to drink. All I can really say is it raises the standard of Matilda Bay beers a little. Not too bad.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2006 10:04:19 | More by laituegonflable

bovrilburger

Australia

4.93/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I was lucky enough to have a few pints of this just recently and was amazed at what a fantastic brew it was. Heavy and creamy, smells absolutely divine. The smell reminds me of Cottee's chocolate sauce for ice-cream, and tastes similar too. Very strong chocolate notes, and a little bit of subtle coffee floating about. Top notch beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2005 02:57:03 | More by bovrilburger

diablo14

Australia

3/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

i begrudgingly rate this a 3 as its still an ok beer the old dogbolter, but since CUB got their grubby mitts on it, its nothing like the classic of old. where as now its pretty much a dark ale, it used to be a classic old ale in the tradition of some of the U.K's best.

pours the color of brown coal, and has a full beady head thats a lightish brown in hue. smell of burnt malts, some dried fruits, chocolate and some hoppiness poking its head in. good roasted flavor, chocolately, traces of raisins, treacle and some zesty tones. firm hop bitterness that hangs for some time and finishes quite dryly. a fair bit of bubble action happening there, its surprisingly clean. alas, lacks body, and thats where it used to be great. its also nowhere near as flavorsome and complex as it once was.

still as good an example as youll get of the style here in aus, my mind can only wander back and be reminded of not just when this was one of australias best, but the worlds (and im not kidding). thanks again must go to my favorite brewery, CUB, for doing what they do best.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2003 10:34:20 | More by diablo14

koolk

Australia

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep brown bordering on black in colour. Nice off cream coloured head, low carbonation.

Rich and deep aromas of toffee, burnt coffee and slight greeness from the hops.

The flavours on the palate are broad and enjoyable. Alcohol-soaked dark cherries, choc, coffee, maple syrup and other dried red fruits in what is slightly bitter, slighty dry and really tasty!

Super beer from a brewer I have little knowledge of besides Redback. Here in Melbourne I have hardly seen this about, but I will track down some more!

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2003 06:06:40 | More by koolk

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A very handy little dark lager, nice roasty coffee malt flavours, with a decently bitter finish, very good beer, if only more aussie brewers made good dark lagers like this.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2002 20:18:48 | More by rastaman