Oaked Butt Head Bock - Tommyknocker Brewery

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from BeerAdvocate magazine Vol. III Issue I:

We could split hairs all day long about barrel aging and aging beer on wood chips, but that's an argument for the wine industry, not for beer. All that matters is the end product, right?

A clear tawny brew, ample suds to wrap some lacing around the glass. Just a thin shell of wood character around the malty nose. Smooth and a little creamy within the full body. Toasty, sweet maltiness blankets the palate; mild hopping with the clean alcohol giving a hand to balance. Some oak buds from the toasty character, which adds a pleasant drying tone. Very clean, with a deep bready and dried grass graininess that pushes far into the aftertaste.

A little too drinkable for its size--not a bad thing, as the oak really does work. A solid rendition of a bock.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2010 19:42:01 | More by BeerAdvocate

SFC21

New York

4/5  rDev +16.3%

05-25-2013 22:36:24 | More by SFC21

JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Yet another beer that I picked up recently at Top Hops. I hadn't had a Dopplebock in quite a while and I was hoping that the oak aged aspect of this was more than gimmick. Turned out that was the case as the ashen and woody notes really came through in the flavor, but as other reviewers have pointed out, this still had quite an artificial taste to it. Toss in a more-than-fair amount of booze in the mouthfeel and the result was a beer that was complex enough to savor but too strong to rate terribly highly at the same time.

The pour to this was a vibrant ruddy brown with a moderate head that quickly faded with virtually no accompanying lacing. There was a lot of brown sugar and molasses in the nose, with the oak heading up the rear. This was repeated in the taste to go along with a thin mouthfeel. I wish there had been more caramel in this, as I could taste a bit of it without having any stickiness lingering in my mouth. This almost felt like the Flying Fish Octoberfish, or any similar Fall/Octoberfest lager, since this could have been more full, was roasted in tone, and light in hops and carbonation. It felt like being outside on a crisp fall day, and even though I had this in the Spring, it captured the essence of the Autumn season even during this time of the year.

Yes, this was strong and I could feel it from the first sip. If the alcohol was a bit more subdued and this had some burnt chocolate or licorice to it, it could have been a great beer. Instead, this was quite pedestrian and a sightly different take on a strong style that's not commonly found. Although it was a bit thin, the oak and sweetness are enough here to chew on, if only in a figurative sense.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 12:58:48 | More by JerzDevl2000

AltBock

Ohio

3.26/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

12oz. bottle with a plain Jane chestnut colored label of an old ripped scroll with the word "Oaked" in big print in the middle. Behind "Oaked" is a stock of barley and a barrel. Below that are the words "Lager aged with Oak." "Aged with oak" doesn't mean barrel aging. Just below that is the ABV%. The back label has a description of the beer, the Government warning, barcode, and a best before date (?) notching system along the side. Nothing was notched so it doesn't matter what the notched system was.

When poured into a Paulaner Salvator Pilsner glass, "Oaked" was actually oak in color with quite a few burgundy highlights. I think I even saw a small glimmer of orange at the bottom. The initial head of foam was pretty nice. It was about 3/4 of an inch in height and off white in color. It was more of a dirty vanilla white color. It had great retention that left behind a skim of dirty vanilla colored foam and a streak or two of lace. This small skim of foam decided to stick around until the last drop of beer was gone.

Wow! What a unique aroma. Unique doesn't always necessarily mean good. It has a very potent aroma. Your nose doesn't have to be too far from the glass for you pick up on the aroma. The first aroma that came to me was the sweet scent of vanilla. Following the strong scent of vanilla was a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. Is this a Doppelbock or some kind of Christmas Ale? I caught a faint whiff and I mean faint of Doppelbock in the far reaches of the aroma. I found a faint whiff of charred oak and roasted malt. How I love the scent of Christmas....I mean Doppelbock.

Again with the Christmas Ale qualities. Shall I say that it tasted like I smelled? The taste of this beer was like eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The strong taste of vanilla was the first flavor to show up. Following the taste of vanilla was some cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Right after the taste got the Christmas flavors out of the way, in comes a few Doppelbock flavors. There wasn't much. I picked up a little charred oak, roasted malt, and dark chocolate. The only things separating the taste from the aroma was the tiny speck of dark chocolate and that there was more oak in the taste. A weird Doppelbock!

This was a medium bodied "Doppelbock" with an aftertaste that you can find in either a Christmas Ale or a Pumpkin Ale. In the mouthfeel is where you'll find more vanilla, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, and charred oak. The cinnamon and nutmeg were the only two flavors that stuck around for a little bit.

Drinkability would be quite high if I was drinking an "aged with oak" Christmas Ale or Pumpkin Ale. But this is supposed to be a Doppelbock. It looks like a Doppelbock, but it certainly doesn't smell or taste like one. As for drinking another one, no thanks. This one bottle will do.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 23:02:12 | More by AltBock

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +23.5%

03-03-2013 16:01:54 | More by t0rin0

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

3.88/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Smell: mostly dopplebock, only a hint of oak and vanilla.
Taste: very nice. All doppel up front, and a strong oak and vanilla finish. Vanilla tasted fine to me, not at all the artificial vanilla extract I'm seeing in many reviews.
Overall: not a primo example of oaked or doppel but I a good beer nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 14:38:35 | More by cindyjeffsmith

jmbraxton

Alabama

4/5  rDev +16.3%

04-03-2012 03:10:28 | More by jmbraxton

ChanceK

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -5.5%

03-11-2012 05:56:08 | More by ChanceK

JGooden

Alabama

3/5  rDev -12.8%

03-08-2012 11:32:10 | More by JGooden

Huffaroma

Montana

5/5  rDev +45.3%

01-16-2012 05:02:44 | More by Huffaroma

bbadger

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +1.7%

01-08-2012 04:38:17 | More by bbadger

rudolphjacksonm

Virginia

3.45/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Deep red ale kind of color with an off-white head. Little bit of lacing but not much carbonation or head retention. 3.5

S - Really, really malty smell mixed with molasses and gingerbread. 4.0

T - Huh? What is this beer? Strong alcoholic flavor mixed with malty sweetness that disintegrates into a wine-grape ethanol mix. I don't really know what to make of it. I think it's a well-intentioned beer...but again, what? What is going on here? 3.5

M - Medium-bodied and flat. While this is something Doppelbocks normally adhere by, mixed with the flavor it feels especially flat. 3.0

O - Eh...I'm curious to see what else Tommyknocker makes but this beer I wouldn't recommend to anyone else. It's definitely not a flop, but it's not worth anything above an everage score. 3.0

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 06:57:08 | More by rudolphjacksonm

DBIII

Colorado

2/5  rDev -41.9%

12-27-2011 07:45:12 | More by DBIII

JohnK17

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -12.8%

12-24-2011 19:02:01 | More by JohnK17

dhutton44

Tennessee

4/5  rDev +16.3%

12-02-2011 23:58:49 | More by dhutton44

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.35/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle. $2.75 from Pints O'Plenty. The date on the bottle is Jan 2009, interestingly.

Appearance: Well, I thought maybe the date was a mistake, but it pours with the gross chill haziness of an aged beer. Looks like pondwater.

Smell: Super sweet and very caramelly. Some rich raisiny notes. Vanilla. Bready. I like it.

Taste: So yeah, sweet, caramelly, and raisiny with a bit of toast. Some alcohol bitterness. Sweet and one sided without much complexity, despite a bit of oaky notes.

Mouthfeel: Thin, thin, thin. Weird how thin it is.

Overall: I don't know. Its OK. Its not bad, but not good either. I looked on the brewery's website, and I can't tell if they even brew this anymore. They probably shouldn't.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 02:08:40 | More by rapidsequence

Donutos

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +16.3%

11-17-2011 13:57:37 | More by Donutos

Rhettroactive

Virginia

1.65/5  rDev -52%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

From 12oz bottle to Bruges hybrid glass on 8/16/11
*From notes

A: Used fast food greasy-amber. A decent pour yields a .75 finger head and zero lacing.

S: You know you're in for trouble when the nose reeks of medicinal Robotussin. It's amazing....ly bad.

T: Like sawdust off the much-treadded floor of your local Home Depot. Acidic and utterly disgusting. None of the enjoyable characteristics of a doppelbock reveal themselves here. Instead, it's borderline micro-pig piss.

M: Underwhelming. It's like drinking cold, liquid butter.

O: Tommyknocker's Oaked Butt Head tastes like it got shat out of one. This is a massive dissapointment not only for the Doppelbock style, but for beer in general.

And...fail.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 22:27:01 | More by Rhettroactive

mummbearsfan

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Overall, this beer is a great dessert beer to have.

The beer its self is very dark in appearance giving you the sense that it's made for dessert. When pouring it in a cup you can get the aged smokiness right off the bat.

The taste was both smokey and sweet at the same time, along with the hint of vanilla tones. Mouthfeel was very dessert like in the sense that you didn't want to have anything else after that.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2011 21:36:14 | More by mummbearsfan

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

deep dark brown with a good two inches of off white tan colored head. This faded and nestled own leaving a thin film and some side glass lace. The smell was nce and smoky with a bit of an earthy grain mixed in. A touch of some caramel and sweetness as well. The flavor was very tight. Crisp clean and efficent flavor, lots of malt, nice smoky flavors with a touch of caramel. A great smooth feel with no sense of the alcohol at all. I could have easily had another of these.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 01:34:37 | More by mikesgroove

pzrhsau

District of Columbia

3.9/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Cloudy brown color with a slight head that leaves a good amount of residue on the glass.
S: Rich chocolate and the oak adds some sweetness and gives the beer an almost cappuccino sweetness on the nose.:
T: Rich chocolate and light toasted coffee. The oak adds some nice depth of flavor and brings out the roastiness.
M/O: Very good use of aging and the beer really has some nice flavors coming from the oak. Great balance of sweetness and flavor with the alcohol. Funny name.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 23:08:49 | More by pzrhsau

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.58/5  rDev -25%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Pours out a clear, deeply-hued, mahogany body with a thinnish, whitish head.

Smell: Sweet-scented nose with some notable alcoholic wafts and piercing notes of vanilla and green raisins. Personally, it's not too terribly appealing.

Taste: Sweet maltiness, with some light caramel, but more than a fair share of sticky sugariness and marked by some traces of smoke. Garnished with a few green raisins. Lessened hints of brown sugar and vanilla. All in all, it's a bit boozy throughout. Not too much in the way of hop character or bitterness. Finishes warming, semi-dry and with a lingering mixture of vanilla and smoke.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-low carbonation. There's a slight, smooth stickiness to the mouthfeel.

Drinkability: I didn't particularly care for the standard-issue Butt Head Bock, but had hoped a bit of oak would really make it come alive for me, though, sadly, this didn't happen. Fair enough for an oak-aged American-made doppelbock. Let's just leave it at that.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2011 15:52:00 | More by ChainGangGuy

hangh

Alabama

3.53/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark brown color. Pretty clear, a little hazy with mild carbonation. It leaves very little head or lacing. Both are gone very quickly. Smell is rich in some malty tones and smokey tones. Some caramel and vanilla and some smoked flavor presumably from the Oak. Taste is very much like the Butt Head Bock but well balanced with the oak and smokey flavors imparted to the beer. It's pretty creamy and smooth. Starts off with the butt head bock flavor and ends with a quick hit of smokey finish. I like it but perfer the original. Medium bodied and lightly carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2011 04:44:32 | More by hangh

JayS2629

Alabama

3.8/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Deep mahogany with thick creamy lacing and sea foam lacing.

S- Whiskey and oak overpowers it all. This is a nice smell. Not one you expect from beer, but if you like whiskey then you'll like the smell. It was inviting. In the background their was smoke, spice, and a hint of vanilla.

T- Woody, oak, strong! Whiskey stands up front with a sweet aftertaste with notes of vanilla.

M- Medium, thick with a good burn. High alcohol makes this a sipper.

D- If you like whiskey then you'll like this take on a dopplebock.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2010 22:00:11 | More by JayS2629

SFLpunk

Vermont

3.98/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to forgetfu for this one! 12oz brown glass pry-top bottle. Back label ticked off 0 8 on the left side and D 09 on the bottom. Not sure if those are production or best buy dates.

Appearance is pretty hazy orange brown with very little head.

Nose is quite inviting. Lots of silky smooth (not spicy) whiskey notes and vanilla, caramel and toffee leading the aromas.

Palate is full bodied with some sweetness, but not as much as I was expecting given the style. Vanilla bean, caramel, white vanilla (think cheap vanilla ice cream), and this peculiar flavor that I've finally decided reminds me of a botrytis dessert wine - kind of honeyed with some orange blossom/orange-essence notes and a little spicy and a little strange. Finish is clean and not cloying.

Only the second oaked lager I've had, but ties for first place with Trapp Bourbon Barrel Bock. Re-read the label to discover that this one is merely "oaked" and not bourbon aged - might explain why it's so well integrated and not sharp or boozy. Better than I expected.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2010 03:23:53 | More by SFLpunk