Spoetzel Brewery's Shiner 100

Yeah, I know, this is a fairly lame beer to post about, but what the hell, I'm drinking it.

Shiner 100 is probably the worst of their anniversary series. Dopplebock? Hell, it's lighter in color than their standard bock. Pours a clear copper with a light tan head and good carbonation. Slightly bready, smells like a lighter, less malty version of Shiner Bock. Many of their beers taste like a variant of their mainstay, and this is no different. Although I would have expected a dopplebock to be maltier, some would even say twice as malty, the truth is that it doesn't look or smell like it will be.

I will say that it's heavier in the feel than their bock is, so that's good. It just tastes like a Shiner beer though. It's slightly more malty, with more twang than bitterness. Slight orangey citrus hiding under the Shiner yeast taste, and the slightly bigger malt that somehow still lets some alcohol sneak through. At under 7% ABV, that means it's pretty weak for any alcohol to creep out at all. The higher malt adds more body than anything else, it doesn't really contribute to the flavor as much as you'd expect.

Meh. OK beer. Nothing offensive, I just don't think they're ever going to beat their bock, a Texas institution that someone has to grow up with to truly understand. If you haven't had Shiner Bock while floating in an inner tube down some central Texas river, you're missing out. As for this one, you're not missing much.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Lobotomy Bock

I was pacing the floor at Spec's looking for something different, and this label stuck right out at me, like the cover art for Anatomy of a Murder.

Pours a bit weak-looking for a dopplebock, but I was giving it a tall pour to see if it would get a head unlike many dopplebocks so maybe that stretched it a bit thin. Even on a hard pour the head was kind of thin, but it was kind of pillowy and stayed due to decent carbonation that you could see at the rim. It's a solid brownish mahogany, but not as opaque as a beer with this much alcohol would indicate because it would have to have a huge amount of malt to support it.

Smells great. Solid malt with a dark bread feel to it. Alcohol is imperceptible, almost, which is amazing for 10.5% ABV.

Tastes right on type too, but the feel follows the lighter than expected appearance. It just seems like it should be a bigger beer, but feels like a Shiner Bock in body. Which is OK, I'm a Shiner fan, but this is a dopplebock so it should be heavier. Still, great taste and again the alcohol is well hidden. It shows up really only in the warming finish.

Interesting beer. Light enough to drink more of than you'd expect for the type. That may seem like a negative to some, but I like it because it's just a lager version of a high ABV beer. A good mix of big beer with a lighter feel.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian

Probably the best dopplebock ever.

Pours a deep, fairly opaque, brown with red highlights and a huge tan head for a dopplebock, a lager style that usually fizzles out fairly quickly.

It also has a much cleaner malt smell than many bocks, especially from Europe, which are often musty or slightly off smelling. This one smells a bit like dark bread.

Great roasted taste, with more dark bread behind it. About halfway into the taste is a moderate bitter hoppiness that fades into the aftertaste.

This is fairly close to a porter. Slightly vinous, moderate bitterness, and a solid, bready maltiness that is the most substantial part of this beer. Best dopplebock I've ever had, due to the absence of any clove, banana, or other off-tastes. A definite recommendation. Bocks aren't the sexiest styles out there, and are often overlooked in the US because we're such freaks for hop bombs or imperial stouts, but this one is substantial enough to satisfy just about anyone.