Central Waters / Local Option De Kleine Dood
When Central Waters decided to open its brew house for its first collaboration beer, Chicago’s Local Option was the obvious partner in crime. The resulting brainchild, De Kleine Dood - a Belgian inspired Weissenbock – maintains the traditional characteristics of its Bavarian forbearer, with the added complexity of Belgian ale yeast. De Kleine Dood is dark amber in color; maintains a rich, full-bodied mouth-feel augmented by caramel; mild and dark fruit. Rounded out by an unostentatious bourbon driven aroma from brief bourbon barrel aging, De Kleine Dood is a complex ale, a marriage of distinctive styles, and an orgasmic experience for the taste buds that revel in its glory.
3.7
186 reviews
Amherst, United States
Community reviews
Pours transparent sepia with a good thick tan head. Aroma delivers bourbon-soaked wood, caramel, toasted malt and nutty tones. Flavor features bourbon, woody, caramel, toasted malt and nutty tones, not quite as bold as the aroma but still enjoyable. Mouthfeel offers so-so body and fair fizz. Eine kleine Dood for the beer lover (hang the proper grammar).
Bottle. Bourbon, chocolate caramel malt, alcohol, and hay aroma. Cloudy dark brown with minimal head. Moderately sweet bourbon, chocolate caramel malt, and moderately bitter alcohol and herbal hay flavor. Nice body and balance. A bit boozy but pleasant.
Bouteille achetée à Boston. Une robe brune rouge. Un nez intense de bourbon, de bois, légèrement sucré sur un fond grillé. Une bouche boisée avec de la vanille et du bourbon. Cette bière souffre de la maladie de la barrique. Où est la bière ? De plus utilisation douteuse de la tête de mort, ça vous rappelle quelque chose ?
Il est dommage que le bourbon boisé écrase la base de cette bière. Au nez, son côté belge est légèrement plus apparent. Au goût, le feu du fût est ardent. Ceci dit, vanille et cassonade figurent comme saveurs détectables. En bouche, la texture me semble être mangé par le bourbon. En finale, bourbon et chaleur. Ce bourbon à la bière ne m’allume pas trop. Merci à rodenbach99 pour la dégustation.
So my first impression of this is that it was a barleywine. Certainly has plenty of caramelly malts. The body was a little off for a barley wine but still plenty thick and tasty. One of two fancy beers carried with me to enjoy on vacation in Fiji.
Fig newton nose with wood and fudge accents. Cloudy brown, thin tan head, minimal lace. Oak, bourbon, dates. Subdued fig newton and caramel finish. Full body, moderate carbonation. Way more bourbon than advertised or expected, which is a pity. Not nearly the level of weizen character I had hoped for. Still, this beer has good personality and intensity.
Good brew. Pours a deep reddish Amber with minimal head. Nice bourbon in the nose and evident in the flavor. Notes of smoke and tobacco. Good stuff.
At Local Option. Winey dark, woody, a little sour and sweet, reminds me of Oerbier. Good. Serving: Tap
Bottle: Dark caramel, very malty nose, caramel, bourbon, and just plain ole rich maltiness. Thin head and little lacing. Bourbony on the tongue, malty, some biscuit, sweet, a little molasses and brown sugar. Little hop bite, if any. Not much strikes me as Belgian tho. Perhaps a slight dark pitted fruit that somewhat reminds me of a Belgian Dubbel. Moderate body and mouthfeel. Finishes malty, bready, sweet, some dark pitted fruit, and moderate bourbon notes. Fairly tasty, but not as complex as I had hoped. Still enjoyable tho!
Sample at Local Option. Deep brownish-amber color with a medium off-white head that diminishes steadily to an outer ring. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of dark fruit, yeast and malt. Medium to full body with flavors of ripe fruit, earthy yeast, bourbon and vanilla. The finish is fruity with a subtle bourbon aftertaste. Pretty good overall.
The bourbon is complexly there - and broadly a really complex palate. Not very drinkable stops this from higher rating but it's awesomely made so feel bad not giving a better rating.
On tap at growlers to go go in Madison.
one of my highest ratings for this style. 2014 bottle; I had it with the stouts so guess I misread when I stored. all good things here...malty; balanced with slight wood, some vanilla, light borbon that didn’t overpower - many things in play that worked together. only negative is it was an ugly looking beer; but tasted great!
Bourbon, sweet, overripe, dark fruits. Hazy dark brown, small, creamy, beige head. Medium sweet. Bourbon, caramel, dark malts, Belgian yeast. Nice BSA, great complexity. Keg at Local Option, Chicago.
On tap for CW’s pre-GToM tap take-over at Lucille in Madison, WI., dispensed to a goblet showing a nearly opaque, black/brown hue, with some amber highlighting, a modest layer of bubbly, off white head foam that created a persistent ring, light film, and light dots & dashes of lacing. The nose was a combo of toast & roast, dark & dried fruit as prune & raisin, light woodiness/barrel, a touch of spice, and the promise of some booze to come. Medium+ bodied, with decent carbonation, the taste was similar notes, added some tartness and a bit of vinous nature, modest roasted & earthy bitterness, subtle bourbon, and finished pleasantly dry. Perplexed at first with the style description, but won over by the flavorful complexity.
22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear deep reddish brown color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, coconut, pepper, and clove; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, fig, date, apple, milk chocolate, cocoa, banana, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate fruity/spicy yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, coconut, pepper, and clove; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, fig, date, apple, milk chocolate, cocoa, banana, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate yeast and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, coconut, pepper, clove, light dark fruit/chocolate, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate fruity/spicy yeast flavors; with a great malt, yeast, and bourbon/oak spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an excellent BBA weizenbock. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate fruity/spicy yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. This feels more like a doppelbock than a weizenbock due to lower yeast character; but still has great malt/barrel complexity and balance. A very enjoyable offering.
Thinking this was a weizenbock, this was poured into a pilsener glass.
The appearance was a dark brown close to black color with a one finger white / off white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute leaving some light messy lacing roaming all around the glass nicely.
The smell started off with some sweet dark fruity (raison/plum) qualities flowing into sweet bready malts.
The taste was mainly sweet with a delicate spice underneath rolling into the bready malts. Boozy raisins in the aftertaste. Smooth sweet finish (vanilla? - somewhat? Kinda).
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. Carbonation runs fairly smooth.
Overall, weizenbock or Belgian Strong Dark ale? Eh, to me, I say weizenbock with the bourbon barrel qualities coming out, and I would love to have this again.
This bottled brew from a rating party poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized brown colored bubbles that were quickly diminishing and left behind a no visible carbonation hazy brown colored body and a good lacing. The nice aroma was roasted malt and dark malt. The vinous mouth feel was tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish with a lingering mild roasted malt aftertaste. The yummy flavor contained notes of bitter roasted malt vinous and dark malt. Delicious and one I would certainly like to have again.
Bottle: The aroma consists of moderate chocolate, light-moderate vanilla, light coconut, bourbon, mild roast, and banana. It pours a dark brown, that turns to more of a transparent deep garnet when held to the light. It has a one finger beige head that fades to a thin film outlined by a thicker ring. There is some thin webbing left on the sides of the glass. The flavor starts with a quick dose of moderate caramel, toffee, and light chocolate. There is some light banana, fruit, and mild roast in the middle. The finish has light bourbon, vanilla, coconut, oak, hints of alcohol. It’s medium-full bodied with mild carbonation and a somewhat sticky mouthfeel. Overall, the barrel aging certainly bastardizes any relation to a Weizenbock, but it’s pretty tasty. You could call this a poor man’s Livery Tripelweizenbock.
Big sweet roasted sugar aromas. Deep mahogany light white ring of head. Thick smooth roasted sweetness the bourbon vanilla wood ties it together perfectly.
Dark brown pour. Small tan head. Little lacing. Bourbon, vanilla aroma with hints of coconut. Taste is the same. Very smooth.
As others note, this is a good beer but not a subtle beer or a masterpiece of delicacy. Dark brown, oily beer with a rather massive bourbon presence and a hot finish. There are other flavors to be found in there, but does it really matter? But the beer can still be compelling even if not perfect. Bottle.
Pours deep amber with quickly dissipating ivory head. Nose is big bourbon, vanilla, cacao, treacle, dark fruit and sugar. Taste is a potpourri of bourbon, vanilla, dark chocolate, fairly boozy but warming, sweet malts. Very nice offering.
Bottle pours out dark brown almost black topped with a small head. nose is pit fruit lots of the bourbon barrel notes vanilla and some moca. Taste is more of the pit fruit but the bourbon over powered and hides most of the other fun stuff going on.
On tap -- the base beer doesn’t quite hold up to the Bourbon Barrel. The barrel shines, and I love its flavors.
On tap at Green Street Smoked Meats. Pours almost opaque black. Flavor is sweet, slightly nutty, with some dark fruit spicy notes. Slight alcohol burn. Not getting much bourbon here. Not as complex as the deScription promises. In fact I found it to be a bit one-note. Not bad though.
Bomber. Deep ruby color with a big foamy orange cream colored head. Molasses, sweet bourbon, vanilla and sticky rolls. Initial molasses sweet flavor followed by buttery, alcohol flavor. Heavier body with a sticky feel.
Fair with a rather harsh alcohol bite. Of course the ABV is 9 % so one might expect a bit of a bite. It is complex as the deScription declares...def a lot going on in the glass.
The bourbon is overpowering. Barely getting anything else Can hardly tell this is a weisse bock. The nose is bourbon, vanilla, slight belgian yeast. The appearance is a dark amber, cream colored head. The flavor is bourbon, vanilla, dark fruit. The finish is bourbon. The bourbon crushes what might have been an interesting beer.
On tap at Au Cheval. Poured black with min head. Aroma sweet charred caramel sugar bourbon dark fruits. Light carb med bod. Taste fairly sweet mashed dark fruit barrel char.
(bottle) Picked this up on a whim and seeing the ratings here, I believe I should’ve consulted with Ratebeer prior to purchasing. After my run-in with C-dubs’ Headless Heron, I’m understandably a bit gun-shy with this brewery. Pours a murky brown color with a thin tan head that rings around the glass. Aroma consists of a big bomb of butterscotch candy, vanilla, sugared dates, raisins, flat cola, booze/bourbon, and cherry urinal cake. The flavor is sappy sweet, with a continuation of the sugared date theme;which, in the case of the flavor, takes a booze-soaked bent. Further flavors include vanilla flavoring that regrettably transitions right into a diet soda dryness that renders a flavor eerily similar to a Diet Vanilla Coke. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. I guess for those that like to sully their bourbon in coke, this is right up your alley, but I’m going to classify this one as a "Pass" for the future.
Earlier Rating: 6/22/2013 Total Score: 3.4
(bomber) Pours a very murky brown color which looks like a cross between rust water and coffee. There’s also a quickly dissipating yellowish-tan head that leaves just a scant ring around the glass once it settles. The aroma when cold is entirely bourbon-based, with elements of charred barrel (so much so that green pepper creeps in), apples, caramels, vanilla, and alcohol dominating proceedings. The weizenbock elements are not appearing at the moment, but as it warms, it does begin to resemble the style. The flavor contains a huge dose of caramels, and kicks of bananas foster coupled with plums consist as evidence for the base beer’s existence. There’s a slight hit of chalky wheat on the finish, but it’s overcome by the barrel character that again is displaying a good amount of charred wood on the finish. Mouthfeel is a bit thinner, which is often the case with CW beers, but the carb is appropriate. Overall, I thought the concept was intriguing, but the execution of that concept left a lot to be desired.