Augustiner Bräu Maximator - Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

$2.69 for the under 12oz bottle. Poured into a pint glass

A - A nice ruby red brown color with a inch of deep tanish colored head. Lacing is excellent.
S - Bready malts, Brown Sugar goodness. mild dark fruits, and a dose of molasses.
T - It's very easy to drink with strong bread malts, molasses, some plum goodness, and a pinch of sweet brown sugar.
M - Best part of the beer it's not as heavy as other takes on the style. More medium bodied somewhat chewy.

Overall not as drinkable as the Helles lager but still a very well crafted german creation. Worth picking up.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 05:38:55 | More by DrDemento456

UCLABrewN84

California

3.69/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a clear dark copper with a foamy tan head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, dried dark fruit, brown sugar, and molasses. Taste is much the same with lots of burnt sugar and molasses flavors on the finish. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some very sweet flavors that make this one a slow sipper.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 02:10:27 | More by UCLABrewN84

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.28/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Augustiner Maximator has a thick, beige head, a clear, bubbly, copper appearance, and minimal lacing left behind on the glass. The aroma is faint, but one can detect a distinct fruitiness and a bit of sweet, brown bread. Taste is of sweet, brown bread, sugar, Japanese plum, and a mellow hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium and slick, and Augustiner Maximator finishes mostly dry, crisp, refreshing, and quite drinkable. Although there is an underlying alcohol presence, I would not guess it is at 7.5% by just tasting it. Overall, this is an excellent beer.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 12:58:48 | More by RonaldTheriot

woemad

Washington

3.59/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

11.2oz bottle purchased at Total Wine in Spokane for $2.29. No freshness date. Poured a dark, cola-ish that becomes much more ruby-ish in color when held up to light. A thick finger of light tan foam drops down quickly to a foam collar. Sparse, spotty lace.
Brown sugar and toffee are what stands out in the aroma department. There’s a faint whiff of dark fruits as well, but it’s way in the background.
The taste is pretty much like the smell, but with a little bit of toasted nuttiness. Sweet and malty with just a hint of added complexity.
Medium bodied, with a slightly watery mouthfeel for the style.
An okay doppelbock, it’s not what I’d call a great one. It’s not nearly as complex as my favorites of the style. I’d save this one for purchasing when it’s on sale, perhaps.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 20:49:08 | More by woemad

IronLover

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Deep ruby red in color with excellent clarity. Poured with a short beige foam that quickly reduced to a rich cap. Toasted and caramel malt aromas with mellow sweet ripe fruit. Medium bodied with a delicate, rich, velvety smoothness. Caramel malt and ripe fruit sweetness up front. Floral hops through the middle and toward the end. Finished with a sugary, sticky sweet malty finish with a hint of dark fruit and floral hops.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 13:16:50 | More by IronLover

hackmann

Michigan

3.39/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: clear mahogany body with a little beige head and no lacing

Aroma: rich sweet malty tones

Flavors: rich malty notes, caramel, lightly toasted toffee, dark sugar, dark fruits,

Mouthfeel: moderate carbonation, semi-thick feel, the rich malty notes cling to the palate,

To the Point: I can only drink one of these. Too rich and the dark sugary profile makes it a one and done for me. It is an okay to midland as far as Doppelbocks go.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 02:16:22 | More by hackmann

mattsdenney

Tennessee

3.95/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 12 ounce bottle into a NB globe glass.

Pours thick and cloudy; dark amber brown in color. A thin light brown head appears but recedes pretty quickly to nearly nothing. The beer smells boozy, like burnt caramel, dried fruit, and licorice. It's definitely got that euro yeasty essence; looking forward to the first sip.

A great tasting doppelbock here, tastes of salty caramel, dark berries, with a nice warming alcohol level. The mouthfeel is light, and thin, not overbearing or heavy. Overall a nice tasting beer that makes me want to branch out a little more with beers from outside of the states.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 04:29:04 | More by mattsdenney

ikantspel

California

3.6/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

11.2 oz bottle into a chalice

pours a chestnut brown with a small beady head that leaves almost no lacing

roasty malts, toffee, lemon peel, and vanilla

sweet and malty to start off, then nutty and dark druits, finishes kinda dry

overall a very good beer and a good value ($3.49)

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 05:18:55 | More by ikantspel

colts9016

Idaho

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer has been in my cellar for a while and I think I am going to drink it tonight. Poured into a plisner glass at 45 degree.

Appearance: A two finger head that is has fair retention. The head is off white, to a light tan head that is creamy and foamy. The color of the beer is a dark mahogany with some ruby highlights. The clarity of the beer is near opaque.

Nose: A rich caramel aroma that is kettle cooked with brown sugar, molasses, and toffee aromas. The malt is toasty with some grainy notes. Other aroma is alcohol, prunes and vanilla.

Taste: A very rich complex malt profile that is toasty and grainy. Caramelization notes with molasses, toffee, and vanilla, Other flavors is dark cherries, prunes, alcohol, and fruity esters.

Mouth feel of the beer is carbonated, slightly warm, and smooth.

Overall: The body of the beer medium and the finish is medium as well. This beer has a lot going for and it well made. The flavors are developed and the beer is complex. Really good beer for a dopplebock.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 01:39:07 | More by colts9016

Samp01

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy reddish brown with a medium quickly fading tan head. Aroma of caramel malt, yeast, some dark dried fruity esters, dates, raisins, black figs fill the senses. Taste is sweet caramel malt, bready yeasty notes, dark dried fruits and some sweet alcohol as well. Palate is a nicely balanced medium body with some good carbonation. Finishes with some sweet caramel malt, yeasty bready notes, some nice dark fruity flavors of raisins and black fig sweetness with some bitter notes on the end for balance.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2012 18:42:40 | More by Samp01

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.78/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

11.2oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. No date on bottle.

Appearance: On the table, dark to tarnished copper. Held up to the light, deep coppery color with plenty of bubbles coming up through the glass. Initial 1/4" tan head slowly died down to a thick edge ring and the barest of skin across the top. Occasional island of lacing noted, but these would tend to slide down the glass.

Smell: With a swirl, grapes, fruity esters, dark fruits, caramel malt sweetness. As the foam dies back down, so does the aroma.

Taste: Toffee, dark fruits + grape, caramel malt sweetness underneath it all. The flavors run together such that I cannot tell you the order I am tasting them, but they're separate enough I can pull them out. The finish is surprisingly dry and roasted bitterness, but a very mild bitterness. The flavor does not linger long.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, cleans the beer right off the palate and the teeth. Nice thickness underneath.

Overall / Drinkability: A solidly good beer in taste and mouthfeel, but not as good in the aroma and appearance compared to other doppelbocks I've had. That being said, it's a tasty beer however....it does seem to have a narrow temperature window where the flavors are optimal. Towards the end of the glass the bitterness got a tad overpowering in a bad way as it warmed up, so one is enough.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 00:01:05 | More by damndirtyape

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a relatively frothy tan head with a nice chestnut brown body

S: Aroma of sweet caramelized sugars and raisin like malt. Some crystal flavors coming through in the malt department, some sweetness from the crystal and a bit of dark fruit.

T: Relatively rich and decadent, not too much unattenuated sugar which is a plus for the style as many do doppelbocks a little too sweet IMO. A lot of caramel and toffee up front, with a rich brown loaf of bread flavor. At the end there is a slight ashy burnt flavor from a long roast time. At 7.5abv, this is a pretty powerful doppelbock from Germany and I can appreciate it just the same as the others I have had at the Augustiner tent last year in Munchen.

M: Thick and a high level of carbonation.

O: One of the things I find with some of the German beers that have been around forever is that a lot of them have such classic flavors that go under appreciated these days of hops and Imperial beers. You want a malt bomb, here you go! just a dash of hops to balance out the maltiness, but you can taste the classic in this beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 22:07:28 | More by alpinebryant

pkalix

California

3.73/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

darker, ruby red pour, minimal head; non-existent lacing.
those caramel-ly, sweet smelling malts, with a little alcohol coming through with same in the taste.
a little heavy for the type, but still traditionally sweet. the thickerness isnt a bad thing.
as i click on the brewery's website, i realize i've had their beer before in another flavor although none of them ring a bell (typical of the condition lately...).
the taste isnt bad. you can taste the alcohol in it but it's not terribly bad considering it is a 7.5% brew. not the best in its class, but very decent.
zero carbonation, kind of sits on the tongue with unremarkable qualities.
overall... not bad, again. but generic for the style. wouldnt mind trying it again at another time...
and what the heck? germany's getting into this 11.2 oz bottle thing now, also ?!? it hought that was only the belgians . . . . .

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 23:14:38 | More by pkalix

superspak

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear reddish copper color with a nice 2 finger light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Slight spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of big toast, caramel, biscuit, molasses, toffee, nuttiness, raisin, and light herbal spiciness. Very nice and well balanced aromas with good strength; very pleasant. Taste of caramel, molasses, toast, biscuit, nuttiness, raisin, light pepper, and light herbal spiciness. Fairly dry on the finish; with light lingering notes of caramel, molasses, biscuit, toast, raisin, and light herbal spiciness on the finish. Nice balance of flavors with good complexity and no cloying sweetness. Medium carbonation and body; with a nice creamy and slightly slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is very well hidden with pretty much no warming noticed at all after the finish. Overall this is a very nice doppelbock. Good flavor balance, robustness, and complexity; and very smooth to sip on. Very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 04:18:25 | More by superspak

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

3.28/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had to a be a tool and buy some German beer for the German UEFA Euro game against Portugal.

Actually pretty light for a Doppelbock (color wise). Poured slightly colder than room temp, and still didnt get much head. The smell is just toffee with a hint of caramel, honestly. Touch of corn and cereal grains.

Taste is all sweetness and loads of dry burnt caramel. Reminds of me caramel corn. No real body to back all of the sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 18:29:53 | More by VncentLIFE

PorterLambic

Florida

4.48/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours chestnut brown with a small tan head. Cloudy with a little light penetration.
Smell is rich, heavily malty with a whiskey-soaked fruitcake presence that is exceedingly intoxicating. Pun intended.
Taste is a carbon copy of the smell with a faint woody note and a touch of vanilla. Molto bene.
Rich, full-bodied, light effervescence. Smooth like liquid velvet. Phenomenal, IMO.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 01:53:16 | More by PorterLambic

Ryan011235

Ohio

3.18/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into an E&J Cask & Cream glass on 4/17/12

Rust and copper in color. The head billows to two fingers but loudly fizzles away to a wispy layer and some suds around the collar. No lasting head retention or lace.

The aroma is on the toasty side as far as notions of grains and bread. Overtones of grassy hops are stifled, as is the whole aroma, to an extent, by an odd mustiness. Swirling brings out fruit and spice notes a la cinnamon apples. Over time is shifts from bread to dark fruits like plum and raisin.

Each sip finds a modest hop twinge that lingers a moment before bready flavors envelop the palate. Hints of dark fruit waft about. The hops pick back up and build on the finish. Very dry.

Somewhere between medium and full body. It has an underlying smoothness that is agitated by active carbonation making for a fussy overlay. Dusty finish.

Overall impression - Not too shabby at all, especially if you're looking for some hops to balance all the malt.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 01:32:34 | More by Ryan011235

MatthewWilde

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sample: 1 bottle 2012

A: Deep ruby red, completely translucent, pours a small bone white head that evolves into moderate lacing, decent internal carbonation

S: Mildly fragrant, notes of vanilla and cocoa at once, light hints of dried fruits, much as to be expected from a bock

T: Much akin to the nose, but more pronounced, vanilla and cherry and certainly present, quite malty, well balanced and not overly sweet, touch of alcohol on the finish

M: Very smooth and drinkable, light and sweet aftertaste, amaretto comes to mind, not too lingering, and not drying on the palate

O: A prime example of it classification, flavorful, nice to look at, and easy to drink, a bit more fragrance would be nice, but delicate and delicious

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2012 02:39:37 | More by MatthewWilde

theopholis

California

3.08/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance- Light mahogany with beautiful ruby highlights and a bubbly, two finger sized head with no head retention whatsoever. It does continually effervesce for quite some time.

Smell- Some subdued, roasted malts and very light caramel smell. Not very complex.

Taste- A subdued malt sweetness with some lightly roasted malts. Gets maltier as it warms. Hints of dark fruit. Kind of plain for a Dopplebock.

Mouthfeel- Smooth, medium body. The carbonation levels are high, but it works in this case. Quite sticky, lending it a decent aftertaste.

Overall- This was a fairly ordinary beer, certainly not worth writing home about.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 02:59:28 | More by theopholis

JayQue

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

An ok doppelbock. Pours a clear dark amber color with a big highly carbonated bubbly off white head. The head fades fast and leaves minimal lacing. Smell is pretty good. Some caramel and beady malts, toffee and dark fruit.

Tase is similar, pretty mild but pleasant flavors. kind of sweet but under control.

Mouthfeel is crisp and a little light for a doppelbock. I am more used to the heavier, bready feel.

Not bad, a pleasant drink but nothing outstanding.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 01:05:14 | More by JayQue

BrownNut

Florida

4.29/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

I was surprised to come here and see this beer rated lower than I thought it would be. I thought it was fantastic. I love doppelbocks and this one was such a curveball. To me it smelled like beautiful honey over malt. It's a really lovely brown color. The taste was also that lovely honey malt flavor plus some buttered golden brown toast. I had it in a bar and couldn't do my usual concentration to parse out flavor notes, but I was so happy with this beer. It wasn't thick in the way some doppelbocks are thick. That's something I like, but I also liked this one's lighter feel. Really fantastic. A lot of doppelbocks would kind of all fall closely together and be tough to tell apart but this one is distinctive. It won't always be the one you're in the mood for when you want a doppelbock, but when you have it, it will be just the special treat you wanted. Fantastic.

Update: Had a second one of these at the same place a month later and didn't get as great an impression. Still really good, but didn't pop like before.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 03:38:55 | More by BrownNut

KajII

North Carolina

3.23/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

[Best served in a Dimpled Mug]

The pour was a semi-transparent medium brown with an orange hue and an average sized (1-2 finger) cream colored frothy head that dissipated quickly to a small amount of residue which produced some poor lacing.

The aroma was of a toasted light bread malt and a sweet doughy yeast with notes of toffee, caramel, dark fruit (cherries and plums) and also had a mild nuttiness to it.

The taste was lightly sweet with a note of toffee early on and then had a nice bold maltiness come on board with notes of caramel, dark fruit and an ever so mild taste of alcohol. The flavor hung around for only a short while with a sweet fruity taste that was left to fade away rather quickly.

Mouthfeel was just above light in body and had a kind of watery texture with a moderate carbonation.

Overall a brew that was quite easy to drink and had a nice malty fruity flavor...

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 23:02:55 | More by KajII

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.03/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Light mahogany with a bubbly, two finger sized head that fades to nothing fast.

Roasted malts and very light caramel smell to this one initially along with some dark fruits such as figs and sugar with some chocolate.

Roasted malts to begin with along with a rich, dark fruity taste and a lot of sweetness. There is hints of figs again and a tiny bit of chocolate with a little bitterness too.

Smooth, medium, bordering on a full body. The carbonation levels are high, it was also a very sweet tasting beer.

This was a fairly ordinary beer and not really worth a second look despite the good name of the brewery. Not one to go out of your way to try but give it a bash if you spot it in your local.

1001 Beers Blog:
http://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 01:38:11 | More by flyingpig

SLeffler27

New York

3.65/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Fills a pilsner glass with a tawny brown beer that is cloudy, with ruby highlights. Carbonation is dramatic, though only a quarter inch beige head builds, then quickly fades, leaving no lacing.

Sweet malt with molasses gives way to fresh wheat bread and a mild, roasted malt scent.

The flavor roughly follows the nose, though it emphasizes the malt and bread notes. The finish is long, drawing out the roasted bitterness. Progresses from sweet to dry in each sip.

This has a fully body with woolly texture and lively carbonation. The alcohol is present, but still a minor player, as expected.

A decent beer on its own, but probably best with flavorful sausage.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 02:37:20 | More by SLeffler27

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.1/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This is a beer I’ve wanted to try for a number of years but never found on my travels: I discovered it in ‘Aufsturz’, Berlin: it isn’t on their normal beer menu but I spied a small selection of bottles on one of the bar tops and decided to investigate the laid out presentation, this was one of the brews on offer.

500ml Bottle: dark ruby red body with a thin off-white head, the beer was clear and clean looking.

The smells were of malty molasses, caramel aromas that indicated the beer was going to be a very sweet Doppelbock indeed.

The smells didn’t lie, this is sweet and malty (in that order): almost sticky in consistency and mouthfeel. I like the sweeter, maltier brews out there, but this tested my resolve: I really enjoyed the first half of the tasting, but as the beer warmed in the glass my pleasure began to recede somewhat. A smaller bottle would have been fine: mental note to myself, only have 330ml bottles of unknown Doppelbocks in future!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 12:46:56 | More by BlackHaddock