Continued adventures in Germany...

I was feeling a little but apprehensive after my first beer in my bunch; was it going to be too much to follow? The following two beers, Ayinger's Jahrehundert Helles and Tucher's Christmas beer (yeah, odd timing but hey) both were pleasingly sweet with a sophisticated hop profile and confirmed that my new drinking adventures were going to be enjoyable.  My focus, however, now turns to the dopplebock in the fridge.

Kloster Andech's Dopplebock was looking like my sort of beer: dark and coming in at 7.1% with promise of a big malt character. Not to mention the strong ties it has with a monastery. Those dudes know how to brew.

Once poured, I could see that it was indeed dark with a rich, ruby tint. There wasn't much of a head to speak of, but with force carbonated beers it less of an issue; the fizz is there.

Aromatically speaking, this is a beer that keeps on giving. With burnt elements that reminded me of treacle and maltiness bursting through, it was a treat for my nose. What I enjoyed was the fact that it differed so much in character to a Belgian Dubbel yet had all the same aspects involved. It just goes to show how much the yeast gives a beer; the German lager yeasts are as clean as a whistle staying well out of the way, whilst their Belgian cousins work their merry way throughout a beer's flavour and scent.

Once in the mouth there begins to be a few deficiencies. It's quite lacking in body and I feel that the fizz doesn't help. As I said, it's clearly fizzy but there's something about the character of the bubbles that doesn't help with the texture.  I might be romanticising the natural qualities of bottle conditioning but in my experience (and I hate to say it, but particularly with Belgian beer) there can often be a much richer, smooth distribution of bubbles with natural carbonation. In turn, this of course assists the texture.

Usually, I wouldn't be so critical but the aroma gave such promise of what was to come and I feel it slightly let itself down. The shortcomings don't end there; the finish is a little disappointing too. It's a rather disparate affair with bitterness and sweetness both in play, which is good, but they're not really 'as one'. The bitterness is very sharp and the sweetness very mellow but the lack of cohesion between the two leaves a funny sensation.

It's a little bit of a shame as I was really excited about this beer, particularly so once I'd had a whiff of its prodigal scent but it fell short. Not drastically short, mind you - I would happily have it again - but it could have been better.

Kloster Andechs Dopplebock - 7.5

http://www.andechs.de/kloster-andechs/die-klosterbrauerei/genuss-fuer-leib-seele-andechser-bierspezialitaeten/andechser-doppelbock-dunkel.html (German only).