Coney Island Human Blockhead - Shmaltz Brewing Company

Bear1964

Nebraska

3.65/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 22oz bottle to a Pint glass, cloudy tea colored with a nice head and some fair lacing. Hops and pit fruit hits the nose, sweetness and some citrus comes through. Taste has a nice hit of hops on the tongue followed by pit fruit in the peach area, some honey sweetness rolling around there as well. Mouthfeel was spicy, sweet,warm and prickly with hops and pit fruit fighting back and forth. This was on my want list for a while and I'm so glad I found it, a really great beer in all the right places and I feel Shmaltz took the Double Bock and rocked it as a Imperial American Bock. I would grab a bomber of this again anytime to have on hand, very tasty and at 10% ABV it has a nice balance and is very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 21:07:39 | More by Bear1964

mtboozeaddict41

Montana

3.73/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark blood orange, dark. A beige to tan head, very thick indeed. Small uniform bubbles and traces of lacing left on the glass
S: ooo, Sweet caramel malt with alot of toffee also. Almost a bit woody with some lingering spices mixed in. Aroma is huge. Alot of rye aromas and alittle bit of dark fruit. A trace of herbal hops
T: Alot of Toffee and caramel, pretty much thats all I initially tasted. Wow, it huge and bold. Sweet malt and alittle hop bitterness on the backend. Alcohol really comes through mid palate also. Rye spice is detectable and mixes in quite well. This beer means business.
M: Sharp carbonation cuts through your mouth like a chainsaw. Oily texture left behind and finishes quite dry, surprisingly.
O: This beer is like a primal scream. Alot of complexity through malt and hop structure. Its definitely not my thing but I respect it for what it is. Schmaltz definitely new what they were doing when they brewed this. Those Jews mean business, huh I feel like i've said that before. cheers

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 01:53:13 | More by mtboozeaddict41

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.71/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours dark orange with a beige head. Reduces to a skim. Some lace.

Alcohol, wood, and cherry toasted malt for the nose.

A nice version of the style, but plenty of bumps in the road here. Alcohol and sweet malt forward, with bitter bread crust mingling with some cherry-like fruit, and sweet maltiness. Alcohol cuts this, for good or for bad, and here comes some clean bitter. Long bitter finish and some light sweet-ish lingering malt toward the end. Alcohol is a bit harsh. Would like to lay this one down for a while to see if it takes a bit of the edge off. My biggest off point. You get a chemical flavor that does not work well with the other well-crafted flavors.

Fuller bodied, some tingle and even a little burn.

Overall, decent version of the style. A bit harsh, with the chemical and the bitter. A bomber of this is proving to be a bit much, and as much as it is fairly palatable, I won't finish it. Price is right. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 04:49:08 | More by OtherShoe2

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.3/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Coney Island Human Blockhead has a thick, creamy, cascading, tan head, a clear, copper appearance, and some lacing left on the glass. The head really sticks around with this one. The aroma is faint, but one detects sweet beer and brown bread. Taste is of a strong piney hop aroma, which is not picked up in the barrel-aged version of this brew. The drinker also gets brown bread, sweetness, rye spice, and a bit of alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium, and Coney Island Human Blockhead finishes mostly dry, refreshing, and quite drinkable for an imperial bock. Overall, this is a most excellent beer, and I highly recommend it.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 13:30:45 | More by RonaldTheriot

superspak

Michigan

3.48/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear reddish copper color with a nice 2 finger dense light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of caramel, raisin, prune, molasses, toast, nuttiness, biscuit, toffee, earth, herbal, and slight esters. Nice aromas with good strength, balance, and complexity. Taste of caramel, molasses, raisin, prune, toast, nuttiness, biscuit, earth, herbal spiciness, and some yeast esters. Lingering notes of caramel, molasses, raisin, toast, nuttiness, bread, toffee, herbal, and light esters on the finish for a good bit of time. Good balance and robustness of flavors; a bit too estery at times; some mild cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a creamy and slick mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is decently well hidden with only a moderate warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a solid imperial doppelbock. Some nice flavor robustness and balance; and fairly smooth to sip on. A bit estery at times, but still quite enjoyable; though definitely a slow sipper. This improved a lot as it warmed up to room temperature.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 04:55:57 | More by superspak

pkalix

California

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

havent had a samiclause in probably 25 years, but that's the first thing to come to mind.
pours a dark ruby (is fig a color?) translucent brown. no head
smells of wild dark fruits (agai with the fig, and others), but very nice.
taste is rich and dark-fruit-y, get lots of alcohol off the top.
definitely a medium to thicker feel, but heavy on the tongue.
overall, i like my laty brews, but whe it gets this malty it leans in the other direction. still a decent one, and like i said, it reminds me of a samiclause. i like the 10% abv, but ya definitely taste all of it.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 01:27:11 | More by pkalix

Blackwolf

3.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber into a pint glass.

A- Poured a copper body, with a khaki head. Little retention and lacing. There is an incredible amount of wild carbonation that made this beer look very interesting.

S- A big kick to the nose, lots of roasted caramalt, nut aromas and toffee/dark sugar. You can definitely pick up the alcohol content off the nose too... Seems aggressive based off the smell alone.

T- Lots of follow up on the palate behind the nose, you get your roasted nutty malt, caramel/toffee, brown sugar, some dry hop and a subtle alcohol bite as the beer opens up. Very bold.

MF- Thick/creamy heavy bodied, slick/smooth texture, the carbonation is medium sharp on this one. Lots of warming "ethanol" on the finish to compliment the dry hop.

O- Very intense. This is not an ordinary beer at all, but I guess this is what Shmaltz is going for!? This takes a huge toll on the nose and palate, so be prepared for an aggressive dopplebock. For the price though, well done. And a nice kick with ABV if you are into that.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 12:09:20 | More by Blackwolf

blackjack000

Kansas

3.93/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark orange-red color, with light caramel creamy head. Smell is sweet--molasses with a bit of biscuit. Taste of light syrup, carbonation with the alcohol gives it almost spicy finish. The body leaves a sweet coating on the tongue. Alcohol content is apparent but goes well with bock flavor.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 22:50:47 | More by blackjack000

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a nice clean burgundy pour, 2 fingers of head which turned to 1/2" quickly. nice retention. smells kinda funky like a weird bologna smell.. caramel, chocolate, wheat? interesting.

the taste is booze heavy with a weird grain flavor.. tastes like a mix between rye and wheat. very sweet in the bacbone, weird copper like aftertaste.

medium body, slightly creamy, medium carbonation. heavy booze warmth.. almost a pain.. yikes haha.

i've had this too many times but never bothered pouring it. way better experience poured, worth a try, the bomber is usually about $5.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2012 03:07:19 | More by facundoCNB

ElCommodoro

Texas

2.43/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a hazy, translucent orange-red with a head you would expect from a hazy red-orange beer (they all seem to look the same when the beer is that colour). The smell is grainy and metallic, not good at all.
The taste is much better than the smell, but far from amazing. It's bitter. It seems that hops is probably where that astringent metallic smell came from. Too much hops. That's really my only problem with this beer. It's a problem I have with a lot of American crafts. They want to pour lots and lots of hops and types of beers that shouldn't have them. This is one of them. Keep your large hop quantities out of my doppelbock. It's supposed to be a sweet beer. I like my sweet beers, that's why I buy them. There's is no need to make this into a bitter beer. The hops are masking what otherwise could be interesting complexity. I think I'm detecting some earthy, malty, sweetness under there somewhere, but it's hard to detect through the hops. So, I'm missing out on half the fun of this beer. Some people mentioned that this beer was boozy and it's got some booziness, but I was honestly hoping for more at 10%. That's getting masked by the bitterness too, and I am disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 02:25:16 | More by ElCommodoro

UCLABrewN84

California

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at The Surly Goat in West Hollywood, CA.

Pours a clear dark brown with a tan head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus zest, and alcohol. Taste is of malt, brown sugar, citrus zest, and an alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is easy to drink but nothing all that special in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

06-10-2012 05:02:16 | More by UCLABrewN84

LampertLand

British Columbia (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Coney Island's "Human Blockhead" Doppelbock @ 10% found a 650 ml bottle at Liquor+ Royal Oak recently
A-poured into a stein a deep copper/brown with off white head that leaves medium lacing on the glass
S-strong boozy spice smell after opening followed by a very hoppy citrus aroma also
T-a strong boozy , sugary/sweet raisiny malty flavor almost too much booze...almost
MF-full bodied , there is that slight bitter after taste with a boozy warmth to it
Ov-a one beer sipper tasting , should last a while , you can feel the 10% , I kinda like that

cheers LampertLand

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 18:20:07 | More by LampertLand

Flounder57

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bottle was poured into a pilsner glass. Got this from volunteering at the EBF a few months back.

Appearance: The beer poured a on e finger head that had reduced to a thin layer. It is an amber crimson color with good visibility and signs of carbonation. Spotty lacing as the beer was drank

Smell: vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, which are all produced by the big quantiities of malted barley. Really boozy on the nose too.

Taste: alcohol, butterscotch, bready, and toffee malts, vanilla, molasses, and more alcohol.

Mouthfeel: full bodied, silky, creamy, smooth, really boozy, and somewhat tough to drink.

Overall: I like where this beer was going, but the high alcohol made it tough to drink. The beer was tough to finish given how full bodied it was and the up front alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 19:53:32 | More by Flounder57

SpeedwayJim

New York

2.98/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz bottle courtesy of EBF 2012 into a Fullsteam pilsner glass.

Pours a light brown head with little retention. Beer is reddish copper. Minimal lacing but oily legs. Decent.

Nutty, brown sugar, some caramel. Subtle. Barely detectable. Not bad though.

Opens sweet. Brown sugar graininess. Nut shells. Toasted caramel. Toffee. Sweet finish and aftertaste. Pretty singular but very robust.

Medium to full bodied. Low carbonation. Oily and slick in the mouth. Goes down abrasive, bubbly. Lingering aftertaste. A bit too heavy for the style.

Decent beer but I don't need my doppelbock to be imperial in any way. Score takes a hit for the full body leading to a filling beer that is way to robust for the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 23:44:05 | More by SpeedwayJim

GregSVT

Texas

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber into a tulip

A: Pours a light brown with a nice light tan head that fades to a ring and leaves some lacing on the glass.

S: The nose is full of rich toffee, brown sugar, bready malt, and vanilla.

T: The taste has big notes of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and bready malt. There's also a touch of hops on the finish.

M: The feel is medium bodied and silky.

O: It's a decent beer but not the best I've had. A little on the boozy side but if you like Doppelbocks I'd give it a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 04:22:35 | More by GregSVT

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I'm pretty sure I've had this before, but don't see a review up, and don't remember it. I did really enjoy the Barrel Aged version, so hopefully this is good too since it's much cheaper.

Pours a fizzy 1/2 finger off white head that fades semi slowly with decent lacing, over semi clear dark cranberry ruby red colored beer.

Nose has plenty of malts, pretty big, almost barley/wheat wine like, with plenty of wheat, a grassy almost hay like wheat aromas, with plenty of bock aromas, some German yeast aromas with hints of fruity and nutty like aromas, bringing more of the bock like aromas, and hints of fruity esters as well as touch of raisin. Then plenty sweeteners, lots of caramel, toffee, molasses, and light brown sugar. There is a hint of grassy hops.

Taste brings a smooth creamy malt base, malty, again with the sweetener malts, caramel, toffee, molasses, brown sugar, etc. Then more bock flavors, lots of wheat with a grainy hay like wheat, and the yeast brings plenty more with a sweet fruity ester, raisins, figs, nuts, and even a slight bananas foster flavor... actually the more I have it the more a caramelized banana bread like flavor comes out. Slight bready toasty malt flavor but very little, trails the malt profile and leads into the hops that come later on the palate as the malts start to fade. The hops bring some earthy slight grassy flavors, but a nice big bitter bite as well, almost spicy hops but not quite. Some warming booze is present throughout, but it starts to get a little tingly and hot a it finishes. The finish also comes a bit drier but still fairly sweet, with a sticky residue, lingering bananas foster, brown sugar, caramel, molasses, plenty of brown malts and some wheat wine flavors, and more spicy bittering hops.

Mouth is fuller bodied, a bit creamy and rich, fairly sweet and syrupy, decent carb, and some warming booze that turns a bit tingly and hot at the end.

Overall a pretty good beer, great doppelbock flavors, nice fruits, esters, malts, wheat, and the banana flavors really add an interesting touch. The booze starts very low and drinkable but heats up as it goes to almost too much but then finishes so never steps over the line, and the hops are fairly nice and balance. A nice beer to have now and then but not too much, finishing this 22oz by myself will probably be tough. I think I like the barrel aged version better, as I love bourbon and that really stood out, but this can stand on it's own pretty well.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 23:26:10 | More by jlindros

DoubleSimcoe

New York

3.28/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Blockhead on cask at Pony Bar, with Simcoe hops.

Appearance: Served in a 14-oz pint glass, comes with about one finger of classic cask head, carbonated and bubbly. Great retention (head never goes away) but non-existent lacing. Reddish-tinted cherrywood color.

Smell: Nothing here. Blueberry, raspberry. Grape juice, cheap cranberry cocktail in a plane. Sweetness.

Taste: Again, this is like drinking berry juice, plus some chestnut gnocchi at the end. Booze, wood, sweetness galore! Crusty, slighty-burnt chocolate chip cookies. Raisin, mosto, musty Pedro Ximenez.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, full sweet flavor, boozy body. This needs the carbonation of a regular tap. Sweetness is too much.

Overall: Love the barreled version, but this is not right. It's like spiked grape juice. Will not revisit.

Serving type: cask

03-22-2012 05:35:45 | More by DoubleSimcoe

mactrail

California

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Orangey amber in the Leffe goblet with a nice big foaminess. Quite pleasantly creamy and carbonated in the mouth. Rich and boozy. More of a Barley Wine taste. Rather sweet, but the deep wheat malt flavors make it work. Bitter hops gently take over the aftertaste. Spicy liqueur taste with that bitterness giving it an herbal zing. Interesting nose of roast malt with a touch of honey. Hint of bitter orange peel and dark chocolate.

Found a couple 22 oz bottles at Boulevard Liquor in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 05:59:46 | More by mactrail

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served at a good temperature, with a nice sized, off white head that soon settled down to a light cover and loads of lace. Color is a clear, orange mahoganey. Aroma is malty, bourbon, yeast, malt, earth. Flavor is similar to nose with addition of a bit of carbonic tang and yeast. Body is spot on; carbonation good. Finish at first was sans alcohol, but towards the bottom of the mug as it warmed up, the booziness came out. Great beer! Bravo maestro!

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2012 06:42:47 | More by drpimento

IPAguy2009

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This bomber was around 5 bucks. Very reasonable for something that requires the volume of enough ingredients to put something at 10% abv. What would you be charged at a bar for this? $10? Totally justified in my mind.

A- rich dark copper appearance. It just looks strong and thick.

S- caramel and chocolatey banana bread! Really interesting. You can definitely smell the abv here. Great smell!

T- first some slight sweetness hits ya then a very malty backbone kicks in finishing with some nice spicy booze-like notes. Slight slight bitterness that's hangs out in the corner and doesn't show itself too much. Different no doubt. But this also might be a very generic bock taste but I'm not sure I don't know bocks well at all.

M- thick! This is a meal in a bottle here. Carbonation really hits hard at first.

O- well I had tried a sip of this once a few years ago and thought it was pretty good on a summer day of just relaxing with friends. Its different than I remember but still tasty. I wouldn't exactly say that I am fully behind this beer with a "pick some of this stuff up" mentality as I think it has to be tried with quite an open mind cause it is sure a beastly brew. But overall I like it. Can't say I love it, but I wouldn't mind drinking it again sometime. Prost!

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 02:33:11 | More by IPAguy2009

Rayek

Colorado

3.6/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a snifter, Blockhead pours a hazy toffee color. A small cream head falls quickly to a thin film and leaves no lace.

This beer is very sweet out of the gate. Brown sugar, caramel and bittersweet toffee do most of the work. Bitterness is light and peppery. Alcohol helps the balance and adds both a bite a heavy warmth going down. The body is syrupy, yet light for this much alcohol. The carbonation is very soft.

Blockhead is more Barleywine than Doppelbock in my book. I'm glad I had it, but it doesn't really fit its style.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2011 03:22:36 | More by Rayek

Redsoxnation

Wisconsin

4.63/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I am a sucker for bourbon aged beers so this had an advantage right off the bat. The color and initial sniff are very good. The taste and mouthfeel are great. The finish puts this one in another category. Just a great beer on a fall afternoon paired with a spicy chilli.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 00:51:40 | More by Redsoxnation

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Dark clear copper brown with an ample full inch of creamy off white head that recedes to a thick lace ring. Very sticky too,

S - Dark fruits, caramel, bit of banana and a touch of noticeable alchohol heat.

T - Huh its definitely got more of a hop bite than most dopplebock's I have had, but in a way that makes it more enjoyable. Dark fruits of plums and raisins with a touch of caramel this one is enjoyable!

M - This beer is big but drinks medium bodied with no noticeable heat or burn.

Overall I have been impressed with most of Hebrew's offerings and this is yet another great beer. Best part is the bottle was around 7 bucks so I would highly consider getting it again. Very nice imperial dopplebock.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 01:03:37 | More by DrDemento456

chugalug06

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Nice clean off-white foamy head. Brew is cloudy amber color. Some nice lacing, nothing exciting.

S - Some grape and banana. Vanilla too.

T - Weird... Not like most doppelbocks... Drinks a lot like a BA IPA.

M - Slightly too much carbonation... Heat is slight. Bitterness is there, but more sweet then bitter...

O - Not quite the beer I remember from GABF, but still good. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 19:41:12 | More by chugalug06

tdm168

North Carolina

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

Pours a dark brown with 1/2" of head that quickly fades to a thin lacing. Smells of sweet caramel and toffee malt. Taste is sweet malt, mostly toffee and caramel with just enough hops for balance. A little yeast and dark fruit is also noticeable. The alcohol warms this beer and cuts the sweetness making it dangerously drinkable. Mouthfeel is warm, full bodied, and very smooth.

This is probably one of the better Coney Island beers. A nice take on the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 02:17:32 | More by tdm168