Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock - Thomas Hooker Brewing Company

Boilermaker88

California

4.9/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

First, huge thanks to pbrian for the special BIF 6 brew! This d-bock arrived in a one-liter swing-top capped bottle with a thin strip of tape across the top stating it was bottled in 2004.
The appearance of Liberator belied its nature. It had an impenetrable dark chocolate brown color topped by a diminutive, creamy mocha-hued head that sputtered down to a thin ring and left no lace. Tipping the glass and quickly righting it resulted in lots of fine carbonation being released to slowly crawl up the walls to briefly form a head.
The nose was a complex bouquet of roasted earthy malt, molasses, hints of chocolate, and a noticeable herbal hoppiness. Some nuts and a light wafting of alcohol also were evident. Liberator definitely has a blend of aromas designed to lure one in!
The taste is the coup de grace - very well-tailored with all the flavors complementing each other. Lots of sweet molasses and some plum notes overlying a huge yeasty malt base. Chocolate and raisin bread flavors in there, too. This doppelbock is big in all manners of taste, including its use of hops. There's a real herbal hops build-up as each taste rolls to the back of the palate, leaving a wonderful counterpoint to all the hearty roasted malt flavor. The feel was full, creamy, and seductively smooth with a dry finish. Liberator doesn't possess the syrupy sweet, cloying feel that any number of other doppelbocks seem burdened with.
The exquisite taste and nose, the silky feel and somewhat foreboding appearance made Liberator amazingly drinkable. Add that the 8% alcohol content is very well masked and it gets downright dangerous. All in all, Liberator struck me not so much as being a doppelbock as being a doppelbock borne of a barleywine, such was its complexity and breadth of hops character. Easily the finest doppelbock I've had and worth picking up on sight or working out a trade for.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2004 04:10:45 | More by Boilermaker88

cretemixer

Indiana

4.85/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

They don't look any better than this one. Firey auburn in color with a thick, dense tan head. Retention is solid and what does recede, leaves a sticky lace in its wake.
Toasty aromas with a hint of cookie dough and a nutty, earthiness to it.
Huge malts make up the flavor profile on this one. Bittersweet and complex, but oh so drinkable. There is just the right amount of a hoppy bite to this beer and the slightest hint of the alcohol lurking there. Smooth and creamy with prickly carbonation. The biggest fault to this beer is that the liter sized bottle just isn't enough! How about a 2 liter next time?

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2004 02:04:04 | More by cretemixer

rabidawg

Georgia

4.97/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Deep, glowing ruby that makes me think of fire in a glass. Viscous and syrupy, with a moderate tan head. Sticky, lacquered spots and lines of lacing. This beer screams high carbs . . . hell yeah!

Smell: An incredible blend of hops and malt. One doesn't so much fade away and turn into the other so much as both constantly vie for your attention. The base malts are luxuriously sweet and toasty without being overpowering, the dark malts hint at acidity, and the noble hops add perfect spice to the bouquet. Killer nose on this one.

Taste: Initial prickling on the tongue from the carbonation, and then a huge rush of malt flavor. Sweet yet toasty, and absolutely creamy in the mouth. Not cloying at any time, but when the hops kick in after the swallow the genius of this beer truly shines; you'll know the meaning of a drinkable doppelbock. Finish is heavily dominated by a taste strikingly similar to chewing the skin of a nearly-ripe plum. Alcohol is absolutely hidden from the palate, showing up only in a gentle warming of the face.

Notes: Absolutely outstanding in every respect, and a credit to the style. This is a doppel for lovers of malt and hops alike, and is certainly one of the driest of the style I've sampled. You know a beer geek who claims not to enjoy lagers? Let him taste this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2004 01:11:40 | More by rabidawg

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.9/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

First off. What a magnificient fucking bottle. A big 1 Liter shaft of glass sporting a tough ass looking Goat. And a flip-top to cap it off. I wish more breweries had the balls to put their special offerings in Huge-Ass bottles like this.

Boy, this beer is almost black. It's a deep russet brown that seems impenetrable to UV. A nice crop of bubbly light brown foam recedes ever so slowly to a nice, thick bubbly coating with a thick collar. The lacing comes in spots and patches. And it is quite full. Very sound nose. Wood and smoke. Rum and molasses. Bread and yeast. Cocoa. A little roasted malt. The mouthfeel is perfect. Just the right amount of prickly carbonation (fairly low) and a big, round body. Almost as viscous as some of the bigger bodied Imperial Stouts I've had. The taste is nirvana in a bottle. Just perfect. Sweet molasses and brown sugar blend with a Munich like breadiness and a Vienna malt derived graininess. Some slight fruity sensations blend with rummy and very subtle smokey notes. And chocolate. Yes, chocolate adds that final touch. And there's just a hint of a lingering alcohol-derived bitterness. Not a lot of alcohol noted otherwise though.

This stuff is killer. Easily the best Dopplebock my tongue has ever been blessed with.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2004 04:15:28 | More by Bighuge

mikeys01

Colorado

4.83/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I have been Liberated!...and hope to be many more times in the furture, Paul Davis has done another great one. Served from an amply sized 1L brown bottle, beautiful glossy label graphics. Pours from the bottle a very chocolatey opaque brown, capped with just enough tan head to appreciate before it sinks into the murky depths. Aroma is full of toasty and roasty malt, caramel sweetness, and perfect spicy hop notes as an accent. Taste is wonderfully full of complexity, leaving you at first wading through the roasty malt flavors, then basking in a myriad mix of fermenting fruit, crisp and spicy hops, and fresh roasted hazelnuts, among others. Full bodied but exceptionally smooth, alcohol is very well concealed and only became apparent to me in the finish once I was halfway through the glass. Excellent local offering, those who can't get it should be jealous!

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2004 18:08:40 | More by mikeys01

Boto

Connecticut

4.68/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

1 Liter Swing-top Bomber: First off, the bottle is superb. When you pour this one it is an opaque brown color. There is a bit of a tan head. Decent lacing. The first thing that hits the nose is some roastiness: I didn't expect this much in a doppelbock. There is sweetness in the nose also. Caramel, fruits, and maybe a hint of smokiness? The flavor is rich and full. The roastiness is there, but there is a ton of other flavors in here. Complex and extremely tasty. Their beers just keep on getting better with each release.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2004 14:01:33 | More by Boto