Miasmatic Review

Consecrator Doppelbock

Tonight we have our third official Enabler. Ktreva, my wife, has donated her twelfth beer for review. Having done so, she has earned herself an enabler party which will be held at a future date. Keep your eyes peeled for invites. For her tenth and final beer we have one that has become one of her favorites, Consecrator Doppelbock by Bell�s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI.

I originally had this at the brewery on tap, and then Ktreva wanted me to review it as she really liked it and bought a six pack of their standard 12 brown bottles. There is an off-white label with two goats that appear to be about to bump heads. The name of the beer is under the goats, the company logo is above.

It pours a rich ruby red and brown color. A thick frothy head formed that faded quickly to a film on the top of the beer and then to nothing. There is no lacing. The beer itself is clear. Light and images have no problem passing through.

The first thing I noticed when smelling it is that it has a very sweet smell. It�s almost like a barleywine like scent. The sweetness contains a fruity scent or raisins, prunes and tart cherries. A caramel malt scent balances it out. There is also a hint of alcohol that can be detected. The flavor is very much like the scent. Caramel malts with a touch of tart cherries. There is also an earthiness to it that that helps round out the flavor, making it more palatable. There is a slight alcohol taste to it, but not bad based on the fact it is 8% ABV.

This is a medium bodied beer with a touch of creaminess to it. There is a good level of carbonation so that it keeps fresh, but is also easy to drink.

Overall this is a nice doppelbock. It�s a little sweeter than what I prefer, but not bad. With an 8% ABV I don�t know that I would want to drink too many of them, but it is a good one to sit back on a hot summer night and enjoy one with some friends. I give it 5.5 out of 10.