Butthead Doppelbock - Tommyknocker Brewery

keith_wayne

Ohio

4.29/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Medium to dark amber color with a 1 finger head that leaves pretty quick

S: Caramel malts , a little alcohol and hints of dark fruits

T: Caramel malts dominate. A little sweet as expected. Getting hints of tea and nuts. Alcohol is well hidden for 8.2%

M: Full bodied. Clean finish. Has the right amount of carbonation.

O: Very drinkable. I will easily keep this in my rotation.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 22:51:04 | More by keith_wayne

superspak

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 4/15/2013. Pours lightly hazy ruby red color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of pear, apple, golden raisin, caramel, toast, molasses, brown bread, floral, light chocolate, toasted earthiness, and yeast ester fruitiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of malt and fruity ester notes. Taste of apple, pear, raisin, caramel, toast, chocolate, molasses, brown bread, floral, toasted earthiness, light nuttiness, and yeast ester fruitiness. Slightly tart fruitiness on the finish; with lingering notes of light fruits, caramel, toast, molasses, chocolate, brown bread, floral, light nuttiness, and toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice complexity of dark malt and fruity esters; with a solid malt/fruity flavor balance; and zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and lightly syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a nice doppelbock. A little too fruity, but has good malt complexity; and is very smooth to sip on. A nicely enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 04:03:27 | More by superspak

Mojo

Alabama

3.43/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle -> Seidel mug

This beer pours up a deep deep amber with a thin head after a vigorous pour. Retention is poor and there is no lacing to speak of. The smell is kind of grassy, fresh, and boozy. Taste is very malt forward with sweet caramel and toffee notes. Finish is dry and boozy. Mouthfeel is flat and unappealing. Not my cup of tea (or beer) at all.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 03:33:30 | More by Mojo

UCLABrewN84

California

3.1/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to drewone for sharing this one at his place.

Best by 2/4/13.

Pours a slightly hazy dark orange with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and some fruity aromas. Taste is much the same with fruit-flavored medicinal quality on the finish. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat mouthfeel. Overall, this is an average beer with a pretty good smell but the taste is somewhat odd.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 01:49:13 | More by UCLABrewN84

jucifer1818

Florida

2.4/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

A: very light, almost nonexistent head that quickly disappates, most likely from the bozzyness of this brew. Dark, murky amber color, with a high carbonation that slicks onto the glass
4/5

S: Dark Prickley smell. It sort of smells like a vinegary, pickled black olives. In addition to that strong smell it has a odd, off surgery sickeningly sweet aroma.
No hop scent
2.5/5

t: Their is a very light smokiness to this beer that is very detectable in the after taste. Strong sweet malty taste that bite into your tongue in a almost abrasive way. You can taste the boozyness of the this one, tho it is not nearly as bad as I've had in some bad barley-wines, but it is still VERY noticeable despite not being a true deal breaker. what does make it a dealbreaker is how unballanced its smokyness and sweetness is compared to its bitterness, which needs to be heavier
overall, I am not impressed. Hell, I straight up do NOT like it
2/5

Body: thick, malty, and syrupy. My kind of style. A bit too much on the prickly side for the carbonation, but this aids you if your eating food with this beer, as it quickly cleanses the pallet and enhances the meal quite a bit.
Overall, quite nice
4/5

Overall: I don't know about you, but I was looking forward to this one. I liked the last beer I had room this brewery, and have been waiting almost 8 days to drink this beer (post surgery), and I am not impressed.

Its a very surgery, unbalanced beer that uses smoked malt when it had no business being their, and its unbalanced nature and off malt flavors take away greatly from this brew that could had been so much better
a sad, sorry, 2/5

but for the price, if your looking for something that will get your really hammered, you could EASILY do worse
but you could also easily do better

cheers

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 00:25:48 | More by jucifer1818

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

3.53/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: cloudy mahogany. Nice messy off white swath of head and lacing.
Smell: malt and raisin. Roast and dark fruit.
Taste: just like the nose. Tasty and balanced.
Overall: good, not great doppel. Doesn't not the socks off but I'll have this again.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 01:13:17 | More by cindyjeffsmith

KajII

North Carolina

3.1/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

[Suggested Glassware: Dimpled Mug]

The pour was a clear medium brown with some reddish highlights and an average (1-2 finger) light tan creamy head that was mostly diminishing, down to a thin film and medium collar with poor runny lacing.

The aroma was of a lightly toasted sweet grain malt and an earthy yeast with notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate and a mild fruity ester.

The taste was lightly sweet and rather malty with a hint of caramel and just a touch of chocolate form the start, then changed slightly into a bitter sweet taste with a light fruity presence and a mild alcohol finish. The flavor was short lived with just a light lingering alcohol taste left behind.

Mouthfeel was just above light in body and dry in texture with a somewhat lively carbonation.

Overall this was a decent Bock beer with a really good taste and a smooth drinkability...

http://www.facebook.com/KAJIIsBeerReviews

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 17:23:58 | More by KajII

Baguio

2.73/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5

ST: Bottle in LG Merlot Glass
A: Hazzy Brown (for me good for PA or IPA but not appreciative in Bock)
S: Horrid brown sugar glad I don't have diabetes, worst aspect of this beer IMO
T: Good, not as sweet as the smell but unfortunately the brwon sugar/molasses sweetness lingers.
M: Very nice thickness and coating, makes you feel your money was not watered away
O: I'm left confused, I will buy again, it packs a bit of a punch (which I respect) but I think the sugars are way high! I feel like this is a beer lollipop!

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 22:19:35 | More by Baguio

brewskifan55

Mississippi

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter

A: A rich copper amber. Not much head with a bubble ring. Slight lacing

S: Bring on the malts. Leather, smokey, cherries.

T: Cherries enter with a strong bourbon base. Caramel malts. A bit smokey. Some cinnamon and chocolate in the mix. Slight hop bitterness near the end, but not overt. Robust, rich.

M: Medium with medium carbonation. Creamy but a bit oily.

O: A great sipper. A good companion to their Imperial Nut Brown. I'll be enjoying this Butthead again. "Are you threatening me?" "Shut, up, dillweed!"

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 17:24:33 | More by brewskifan55

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

3.7/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint glass.

The beer is a dark ruby red or mahogany color. A foamy, creamy head slowly recedes to a wisp. Lacing is decent.

The beer smells malty, sweet caramelish, and not that alcoholic.

The taste is really heavily malted. There's a slight burnt malt taste with a faint hop finish.

Mouthfeel is somewhat dry.

Overall, a bit too heavy for my taste. But decent malty, nutty notes.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 03:14:28 | More by JuicesFlowing

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into plastic cup (hotel room).
Bottle says best by May 12, 2012; so its "expired" but with an ABV over 8%, im sure its fine.

Pours a deep brown with a good amount of head. Caramel malt and slightly nutty aromas. Nice and mild, but full of character. Taste is nice caramel malts blended nicely with earthy/woody flavors. Very subtle low alpha hops mix nice with the caramel malty flavors.
Overall, a nice brew. Not amazing, but very good brew for the style. Even better, I bought it on sale for $0.99 at a local liquor store!

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 00:38:27 | More by DrinkSlurm

mwilbur

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +20%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12 oz bottle into shaker pint glass. Bottle dated Jan. 3, 2011 (this one has held up well...see below).
A: Pours a fairly dark and muddy brown with a fair amount of sediment. Murky. Essentially no head...too low on the carbonation.
S: Quite nice and strong roasted caramel malt notes. Hints of candi sugar, black pepper, toffee, and sweet alcohol.
T: Strong and fresh roasted caramel malt up front. Sweet banana-caramel and toffee notes back that up. Hints of spice and pepper. Mild hop element lingers in the background.
M: Smooth with slightly oily and sticky sweet feel. Medium body, but surprisingly rich and full presence. Very mild hop bitterness to balance a bit.
D: This brew was a pleasant surprise and very nice, especially for style. Definitely seek this one out! Good session brew; ABV is very well hidden (but will eventually catch up with you!).
Thanks to my father-in-law for picking this one up!

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 04:40:31 | More by mwilbur

metter98

New York

3.58/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is very hazy amber brown in color and has some clumps of yeast visible near the bottom of the glass. It poured with a thin beige head that quickly faded away, leaving some lacing on the surface and a thin collar of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderately strong aromas of prunes and raisins in the nose along with notes of brown sugar and caramel.
T: The flavors are similar to the smell and also have some hints of alcohol, although this doesn’t detract from the taste. There are also some hints of malty sweetness.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied and a bit chewy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a bit of warming from the alcohol.
O: This beer isn’t phenomenal, but it grows on you and makes for a pleasant beer to sip.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2012 12:19:14 | More by metter98

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from session notes.

Mahogany in color with a surprisingly yellowish-white foam head that presents with two fingers for about a minute and a half before pulling back to a collar with minimal lacing left behind. Smells and tastes toasty and delicious, but also sweet and somewhat boozey at times, but also has a raisin bread-like quality lurking around the edges at all times. Body is only medium thick and carbonation is rather slow at times, but other than these points of deviation it is a rather by-the-book old-school doppelbock.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 17:41:50 | More by WastingFreetime

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

more like a barleywine to me. this beer pours a clear and surprisingly light shade of orange, crystal clear, with a lazy tan head. smells like german malts, caramel, and booze. there is some more hops in the flavor, and im surprised that this isnt over the top malty. there are notes of honey and oak in the flavor as well. feel is a little thin on the body for this style, it feels a tad watered down and the carbonation is too mellow to bring it back to life at all. its not bad, and is in fact rather drinkable, but it could be bolstered by a fuller body. aftertaste is nice too, and lasts awhile. overall a solid big bock, and worth a try at the brewpub.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2012 17:09:59 | More by StonedTrippin

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

well it's still quite fresh being May 23rd 2012 expired

A - Unexpectedly fizzy for a dopplebock with a 1/4 inch of mocha head quickly turning to a lace ring. Color is a deep amber brown, clear but still dark.

S - Smells good with mild lager yeasts, some dark fruits and well hidden ABV. Smells fruity.

T - Definitely tastes German since it has a fruity yeast aspect. Well hidden ABV and a caramel finish. Not that great could use more body.

M - Medium and fizzy kind of boring.

Overall I have had better examples of this style and it's definelty too fizzy, hoppy, and thin to be great.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 05:21:42 | More by DrDemento456

ksimons

New York

3.38/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A-a dark ruby brown with a small amount of light tan head that leaves a ring around the top

S-lots of rich malt in this one! Also a bit of raisin, caramel, and alcohol.

T-Rich malt, raisins, caramel and toffee, and bit of roastedness comes out. Not bad, but not as rich and big as other dopplebocks I have tried.

M-medium body, wish there was a little more carbonation in this one, tastes like it is going flat. Checked the best by date, June 2012 so it hasn't gone bad.

Overall I was a little disappointed. I wish the body had been fuller and the carbonation a bit stronger.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 22:53:25 | More by ksimons

StoneTSR

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

APPEARANCE: Deep, dark brown and completely transparent with a slight red tint all underneath a fluffy, off-white head. The robust pour out of my growler led to a reasonably thick head with moderate retention. The lacing was outstanding.

SMELL: When the growler was first popped the aroma was quite strong, but it faded over time. Nuttiness with a mild milk chocolate backbone dominates and a slight grassy, hoppy aroma lingers behind it along with a touch of caramel.

TASTE: The caramel from the nose moved from the background to the main stage in the taste. There was also a ton of malt here which provided a sweet (and ever so slightly smoky) raison and fig flavor. Nuts and fruits also danced around and helped to mute the little hop flavor that tried to push through.

MOUTHFEEL: The Butt Head was creamy and smooth with a nice sweet feel. It dried as it went down, but the sweetness dominated. Rich and luxurious, but not as full-bodied as might be expected from the sweet, sugary richness.

OVERALL: Prior to our trip to the Tommyknocker Brewpub last night my experience with them had been limited. The bar I work at served their Cocoa Porter (which I liked quite a bit) and the Amber Lager (which was fine, but nothing terribly special). I didn’t really know what to expect when we sat down, but Sean, our bartender, was very friendly and informative. The flight he poured also impressed me. They did a lot of styles very well that I don’t normally love (like the Maple Nut Brown and Imperial Brown) and they had some styles not seen as often in the American Craft seen (like a Rye Porter and the Doppelbock) that were done very well. It isn’t easy to find a great Doppelbock in the U.S. and this was an impressively strong example. After sampling 14 different beers this was what we chose to bring home.

Serving type: growler

04-02-2012 05:34:33 | More by StoneTSR

NuclearDolphin

Minnesota

3.3/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Pilsner Glass

Appearance - Cloudy Brown color that turns orange when held up to the light. There isn't really much of a head here though, and whatever is quickly disappears

Smell - Sweet Caramel, toffee, peated malts and yeasty notes. Kind of reminds me of a scotch ale almost!

Taste - Sweet Caramel & yeasty flavors followed by a strong peated malty backbone. That scotch ale taste is less prevalent here. The barley used is also more noticeable in the flavor as well. Flavor is not as power as the smell is unfortunately.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied but it's incredibly thick, even for a doppelbock! Luckily, the carbonation is regulated quite well and the thickness gives it a creamy sort of feel.

Overall - It isn't what I would call an outstanding beer, but it's good for what it is. If it had a much richer flavor, this would've been an outstanding doppelbock, but for what it is right now its a decent beer

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 04:13:26 | More by NuclearDolphin

bigkingken

Virginia

2.98/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours deep amber, almost brown, with little to no head despite a pretty robust pour. Smells of malt apparent from the get go. Maple, sassafras and toast aromas with a hint of floral hops, perhaps a tad oakey. Medium mouth feel – perfect for a lager. Very interesting flavor profile. Almost a root beer flavor to it. Single notes without much depth or complexity, even in the finish. Tastes a tad like cough syrup. What it comes down to is too much alcohol (8.2%) to really enjoy the bock flavors. Overall, not impressed.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 20:05:17 | More by bigkingken

TippySelenoid

Missouri

3.95/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a pilsner.

Clear, brown color. White head without much retention.

Sweet caramel smell. Bready odors as well.

Big roasted malt flavors. Sweet molassesy notes. Doesn't hide it's alcohol too well, but this gives it a pleasant warming sensation.

It's light bodied and appropriately carbonated.

This is a pretty good beer. It seems like Tommyknocker should stick to beers with a high ABV.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 01:52:11 | More by TippySelenoid

tbern007

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a reddish brown, clear, few bubbles, little heaqd, no lace.
Scent is almost nonexistent. Slightly malty. That's about it.
Taste is malty, slightly roasty, caramel, bready. The hop balance is nice. It's not sweet, not bitter. Nice balance overall. There's a bit of floral finish. The alcohol warmth is apparent but not strong.
Overall decent. The appearance and scent are lacking, which makes for a poorer score than needs be.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 23:54:16 | More by tbern007

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.2/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Brown pour, thin mostly white head. Nice nutty, bitter chocolate type of sweet aroma going on, enjoyable, hid the alcohol well.

Taste, more sweetness, the alcohol pops up finally, tad of smoke, light touch with the fig, raisin and prune type of fruit flavor. Substantial enough malt contribution to allow it to hold up underneath the alcohol and slight metallic bitter finish. Maybe more malt would have been even better. A precipient amount of toffee flavor. Oily.

Decent enough stuff from Tommyknocker, if you like doppels, I'd recommend this.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 22:29:58 | More by Beerandraiderfan

happy4hoppybeer

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A beautiful cloudy dark red amber/brown with a nice creamy one-third finger head, nice delicate lacing. Head is greatly reduced after first sip to barley there.Lacing stays thick all around the glass long after.

Nice malty 4th sense of chocolate, malts, malts, and alcohol. Not much hop here, but a nice smell, you can tell this is a malt-emphasized brew. Maybe not as potent on the nose as it could be, but pretty good.

My 5th sense is pleased but not overly excited. Good creaminess going on, very smooth and and the good ol' malty side. Body medium, probably light for a doppelbock. A fairly medium amount of carbonation, not too high.

A good doppelbock, nice and malty, but fairly light and could offer more. But a good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 22:26:44 | More by happy4hoppybeer

rickyleepotts

Arizona

3/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

We miss too many nights. When we started this project, we were going to do one beer a night. It doesn’t take a ton of time to write one of these, but we get busy. Oh well… tonight we are doing two. We are trying to empty the fridge because the researching and buying of the bottles is just as fun! Anyway, tonight we sip a butthead.

In the Glass: In the glass, it’s thick with a syrupy texture… Sheryl said it best; looks like a barleywine. It’s bright and amber, and has a subtle head with tiny bubbles that you expect from a glass of champagne.

Nose: It doesn’t smell like a barleywine. It smells like caramel. It’s got a punch of booze on the nose too, and it has a very sweet aroma. I like a sweet beer. I prefer my wines sweet, but I will take a sweet beer. After a second sniff, I can get a hint of barleywine in there.

Flavor: Whoa… VERY sweet and punches you in the back of the throat with something. Not sure what it was… but I like it. The beer is classified as a doppelbock, but should be a barleywine. The more I think of that and the more I sit here and smell/taste this beer, the more it reminds me of one. I am not a huge fan of barleywines, but the older I get the more I get into them.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel kicks in toward the back of the palate, and on the back of the tongue as and after you swallow. The front half of your mouth doesn’t really feel anything. But that’s okay, because there are a few bubbles toward the front of the palate and you don’t want that going down with a beer this sweet. It’s almost too sweet. Oh wait… here comes the aftertaste.

Aftertaste: Gross. What is that? The aftertaste is like stale bread. It’s horrible. It only lasts for a few minutes, but when it’s there… don’t breathe. It’s horrid. But the burp helps as it brings some of the heat off this big beer back to the surface. The aftertaste isn’t enough to keep me from digging on this beer.

The beer has a cool name. I mean… butthead. Who names a beer butthead? These guys and I like it! I hope to visit their brewpub one day. It would be fun to drink a Butthead from the source. Bottoms up people!

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 04:58:37 | More by rickyleepotts