Ritterbock
König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg

RitterbockRitterbock
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From:
König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg
 
Germany
Style:
Doppelbock
ABV:
9%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 11.78%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
14
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 30, 2018
Added:
Feb 07, 2004
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by IchLiebeBier:
Photo of IchLiebeBier
Reviewed by IchLiebeBier from Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Chestnut body; small head that dissipates quickly

Aroma: Malty; sweet; dried fruit

Taste: Malty; sweet; creamy; slightly bitter finish; pretty well balanced; not bad overall

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; disregard those scores
Jun 15, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by Hayley_86 from Netherlands

Dec 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.53 by Yoann from France

Oct 06, 2016
Photo of jonb5
Reviewed by jonb5 from England

3.58/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
330ml bottle, poured into LaChouffe chalice.

A: Bronze, mahogany, ruby, clear, small tanned head
which faded quickly without leaving much lacing.

S: Initial cherry and cough mixture was replaced
by strong diacetyl and chocolate which was
reminiscent of Cadbury’s milk chocolate.

T: More dark rather than milk chocolate, hints of sourness,
molasses, slightly boozy burn at the finish, but
didn’t match the depth of other Dopplebocks.

M: Oily texture, slightly thick texture, minimal
carbonation.

O: At 9% this is one to treat with
respect, but I felt it offered less than other
examples of the style.
May 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Pelicanrocks from England

Feb 23, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Ry1975 from Germany

Jan 01, 2013
Photo of NightINgale
Reviewed by NightINgale from Russian Federation

4.33/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
330ml bottle that I brought directly from Bavaria, Germany.

A - Very nice-looking clear brown body, with an even nicer-looking ruby red glow. A finger-worth of tan-coloured head. Good head retention and lacing.

S - Caramel, bread and a very nice fruity profile to the aroma. Hints of cherries, plums, and raisins.

T - A wonderful blend of caramel, toasted bread (with a hint of chocolate at the back) and some fruit notes (cherries and raisins). Some minor bitterness at the back. One of the more robust doppelbocks I've ever had.

M - Medium body. Fairly sparkling. Velvety smooth. Almost no hint of alcohol.

O - Deceptively drinkable and smooth doppelbock. Even after it had warmed up, I couldn't taste much alcohol in the taste. Very tasty and balanced.
Mar 04, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by monitorpop from Michigan

Jan 07, 2012
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

3.68/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a brown-amber color with a white head. The aroma is toffee and earthy hops. The flavor is toffee, grapes, earth and chocolate malt. For a beer that is 9 percent ABV, I don't really detect any alcohol. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not a bad doppelbock.
Jul 26, 2010
Photo of mdagnew
Reviewed by mdagnew from Northern Ireland

4.16/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
330ml swingtop bottle bought from Cornelius, Edinburgh...

Poured a good deep mahogany red colour. Tan head poured big and quite fizzy then disappeared very quickly to almost nothing... barely any carbonation bubbles... no lacing at all...

Aroma - Lots of rich dark alcohol soaked dried fruits (raisins, dates, black cherries, figs and also some apples), lots of burnt toffee and treacle sweetness, some roasted malt bitterness, tons of toasted bready (fruit loaf) malts, anise notes, roasted nuts (walnuts?), some marsala wine notes, nutmeg and allspice, some fresh vanilla...

Taste - Again lots of alcohol soaked spicy fruits (raisins, dates, plums) - the alcohol being pretty noticeable... some oaky / woody notes, burnt caramel and molasses sweetness, definite bitterness from the roasted malts, bready, some sourness (soy or balsamic), stewed black coffee notes, nutty sweetness...

Feel - Smooth and rich with some oiliness... full bodied... suprisingly drinkable although at 9% more than one might be a bit much...

Overall - A superb Doppelbock although it reminded me more more of an Eisbock - Kulmbacher Eisbock springs to mind. Definitely recommended though....
Jun 24, 2008
Photo of BarryNL
Reviewed by BarryNL from Netherlands

3.42/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
A: A very deep brown - opaque in all but the strongest lights when it shows off red highlights. There is little head and what there is disappears quickly.

S: Sweet with warm alcohols; little to no hop aroma.Perhaps hints of caramel and prunes, but largely dominated by the alcohol. Not really enough malt in the smell for the style.

T: Surprisingly well balanced considering how much the alcohol comes through in the aroma. There is a lot of coffee flavour and probably too much hop. In fact, the hop almost taste like my homebrew straight out of the boiler - like it hasn't aged and mellowed; perhaps this is because of the use of hop extract in this beer. Not a bad flavour, but too bitter and roasty for the doppelbock style. I want to taste more malt!

M: Plenty of body - could use more carbonation. Some astringency but not unpleasant.

D: To be honest, I'd only drink a lot of this stuff if there wasn't much else around.

Overall, the main criticism of this beer is that it doesn't really fit the doppelbock style. There's not enough malt character - the beer is dominated by roast coffee flavours and the hop bitterness is too strong and too astringent 'fresh hop' tasting.
Dec 09, 2007
Photo of czfreeman
Reviewed by czfreeman from California

4.35/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I actually got to drink this beer vom fass(on tap) in Weisbaden,Germany in a place called the Ratskeller. It was the best Bock bier that I had so far. The apperance is very dark, although side by side it is hard to tell the difference between konig's dunkel and the ritterbock. my first impression upon taking a wiff was carmel and pumpernickel bread. taste was awesome, fills the palate with dark grains, caramel. mouthfeel was kinda heavy very chewy and lingering, but this is a doppel!. I would happily drink several of these if I could, but at 9.5%abv, and the heaviness of the beer, I called it lunch and continued on.

as a later reflection, my glowing review is only a reflection that it was my first dopplebock and it was in Deutchland. Not the greatest having tried many more examples since, but this bier/trip was truly inspirational to discover the world of real beer,to give up my shotgunning-from-a-can-miller-lite days. This is why I rate it so highly
Oct 19, 2007
Photo of stcules
Reviewed by stcules from Italy

3/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Dark brown color. Beige head, average. Well carbonated.
Strong caramel in the smell, long, but not annoying. Somme bitter notes, rotts-like.
In the taste, after the starting caramel, and malt, again the bitterness. Pleasant.
It has 9 ABV, but the alcohol is absolutely well hidden.
In the aftertaste, after the caramel, again roots like bitterness.
May 29, 2007
Photo of mobyfann
Reviewed by mobyfann from Ohio

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Paid .85EUR + .15EUR glass deposit for a 330mL bottle.

*Reviewed on 17.07.2005

The beer pouts a smokey brown and clear base with a caramel tinted white head, medium sized, solid retention and some thick lacing traces on the side. The smell is very sweet at first, malts kick in later.

The taste seems to be a sweeter than normal doppel, heavy in the mouth, not too malty, candy-like aftertaste, mild notes of alcohol. At the beginning when the head is there, it is a wonder in the mouth, after the head dicipates, the beer just really isn't the same, but still workable. At 9% it is in class with the Belgian ales, however it is a doppel, it just isn't as complex. Not a session beer but I would have back to backs.

Final Thought: This beer is as strong as they get when you finish, my head felt different from this beer than most (95%) others… I really don't know what this means, but it was an unusual type of euphoria. It's down the board a great beer.
Jul 19, 2005
Ritterbock from König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 14 ratings