Miasmatic Review

Blue Goat Doppelbock

It’s time for another random beer review. Tonight I’m reviewing a beer that I found next to Dragon’s Milk at the store. It’s Blue Goat Doppelbock by the New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan. This is the same company that makes Dragon’s Milk.

It comes in a 1 pint, 6 oz brown bottle, that’s 22 oz for those of you that don’t want to do the math. In blue ink silk screened on the bottle is the name of the beer at the top and a picture of a goat’s head. There is a long story about the beer on it. There is nothing on the bottle that tells you what the Alcohol By Volume is, but after some research I discovered it is 7.5%, which is rather respectable.

When poured into a pilsner glass it has a nice dark brown color to it. There are some orange highlights when held up. Light passed through it, but you couldn’t make out images on the other side. A nice, thick tan head formed. It faded into a film on the top of the glass after a couple of minutes. There was some lacing on the side of the glass.

The scent is a combination of caramel and toffee. There were some nutty undertones to it. The smell was pleasant and inviting. It enticed the drinker to take a sip. There was not a hint of alcohol to it, which is kind of surprising with a 7.5% ABV. The taste was a pleasantly mild combination of caramel and toffee malts. It didn’t have as strong of a malt flavor that you normally get with a doppelbock. There is a slight grainy/bread like finish to it. Surprisingly you can’t taste the alcohol. The aftertaste is pleasant and unobtrusive.

This is a medium bodied beer with some strong characteristics. There is a silkiness to it that coats the tongue, mouth and throat. The carbonation is on the lighter side of beer, but it fits the beer perfectly. It drinks very easily and could be dangerous on a hot summer day.

Overall this is a really good beer. Easy to drink, but watch out for drinking too much too quickly. I don’t know if I would actually call it a doppelbock, it seems to be a bit light for one. I was pleasantly surprised by this beer, I give it an 8 out of 10.