Left Hand Smoked Goosinator Doppelbock

A big malty beer with caramel & toffee flavors that has a clean & smooth finish.

Ingredients: Imported German barley & wheat malt, Northern Brewer & Vanguard Hops.

Recipe change in 2007. Increase in abv from 7.2 to 7.7%, and "smoked".

3.6

228 reviews

Longmont, United States

Community reviews

3.8 Thanks to blutt59 for sharing this bottle. Bob can always be counted on to bring the smoke. 2007 vintage. The beer pours a hazy brown color with a white head. The aroma is great. I get a lot of ashy notes, but there is also a nice malt backbone behind the smoke. I get some toffee, caramel and some brown sugar. The flavor is heavy on the smoke. There is also some a nice amount of malt as well as some sugary sweetness. A very nice beer because you can get the doppelbock notes as well as the smoked notes. The smoke is dominant, but the malty sweetness is also a big player. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

3.4 (750ml bottle, 2007 vintage, courtesy of blutt59) Pours a cloudy orange body with a small fizzy head. Aroma of smoke, caramel, maple, and vanilla. Flavor of smoke, roasted malt, some beef jerky, nuts, raisins, and caramel.

3.2 Bottle courtesy blutt59. Hazy reddish orange color with a white foamy head. Aroma is heavy fruit, clay with a touch of smoke. Flavor is smoky and earthy sweet. Clay notes with a big amount of malts. Lingers on with the smoke edging it on. A little strange.

3.5 2007 bottle on 6/27/10 from sprdv. dark ruby amber with a small off whitish head. sweet mellow smoky aroma mixed with notes of caramel, vanilla and some unknown fruit. the flavor follows suit along with some grassiness and roast. the medium body is a bit on the sticky side but otherwise really easy to put away. 7/4/7/3/14/3.5

3.8 2007 Bottle. Brown red, tan cover. Aroma is smoky sausage, burnt caramel. Taste is spicy, thin, smoked sausage, campfire smoke.

3.5 I don’t know how many versions of this beer exist, but this is the 2007 that I’m rating in a 750ml bottle. Cork was a bugger to egt out, and then came out with a big old "POP!" The beer pours out a murky brown grey colour with minimal head and quite a bit of carbonation. I have to say, this is quite possibly the least attractive beer I have had in a while - but looks aren’t everything. Aroma is really spot on for the style, sweet, woody gamey with a good Rauch-like meat smoke, but not super meaty, as there’s an oaky wood smoke that balances the aroma. Then there are more aromas of toast, dough, touch of fruitiness and a touch of booze. Flavour continues in the same vane, but with more yeast coming through, and seriously light touch of hoppy bitterness, but this is dominated by sweetness and malt, more smoke and more wood. Tastes a little chipotle like, but without any heat. Finish is slightly tart, smoky and relatively short. The body is light and a bit fizzy, but to be honest, this doesn’t bother me too much as I think it suits the style, and stops it from becoming cloying. Overall, I think the beer succeeds in it’s intenstions, and as my first bottled Left Hand beer, is a nice treat and quite cool to see the US brewing scene doing such a good job of creating an homage in this fashion.

3.7 Bottle, tfs Vaiz! Deep brown, red glow, tanned head. Aroma of faint fruits, smoke and old beer. Flavour starts with some bitter smokyness, then some sweet fruit, then more smoke.

3.8 2007 bottle. Clear amber pour, thin off-white head. Aroma of smoke, sugar, fruits and wine. Flavor is very smoky, bacon, some sweetness, slightly bitter with licorice. Quite complex brew. Creamy texture. Very nice.

3.6 Bottle at RBNAG-2009. Amber colour witha beige head. Aroma is smoked, bonfire, malt, caramel. Flavour is sweet, smoked, bonfire, caramel, alcohol, roasted, malt. Full body.Nice beer.

3.5 Bottle, 75cl corked, at RBNAG -09. It pours a clear, amber body under a small, beige head. Smoked, bacon-like aroma with tobacco and hints of a burnt down bonfire. Full-bodied, with smoke-flavors dominating. Pleasant sweetness, and a smoked, bacon-ish finish. Pleasantly hopped as well. Overall, a nice beer, but maybe the smoke is a bit too dominant. In a different way then Schlenkerla Urbock at least, and that’s a beer I appreciate very much. 091107

2.8 2007 bottle. Cashew, toffee, whiskey nose with a kiss of bacon. Cloudy rust, no head. Malty and nutty, caramel throughout. Smoked bacon overtones. Alcohol obvious, perhaps magnified.

3.4 Bottle, shared by Tim - thanks! Ruby/amber body, white head. Nose is sweet smoke, a bit peaty w. rich malt & caramels. Flavor is smoke, a good amount of caramel maltiness. Could stand to be a bit more bitter.

3.9 Left Hand Brewing Company--Goosinator Doppelbock Lager Smoked 2007 Release--25.36 oz. Bottle--7.70%--27 IBU’s. (4.0 / 5.0) Doppelbock--Smoked . $12.99 Each. Foamy mild lace head. Clear rich dark amber color. Mild smoky malty mild hop front. Zesty BC dry sweet smooth doughy toffee mild fruit rich complex body. Mellowed by BC sediment. Lingering smoke mild hop dry malt spice end. BC Lager? Weird. Sampled 5/10/2008.

3.8 750 ml bottle sampled@RBNAG 2009, Vatlandsvåg. Reddish brown body with a small, light beige head. Aroma is roasted, smoked meat, ash, caramel and tobacco. Flavor is quite sweet, roasted malt, caramel, smoke and some alcohol. It’s quite smoked, but doesn’t feel overdone, the balance between mild, sweet malt make this very pleasant.

3.3 Pours dark amber into my friend’s snifter, but I got all the sediment from the 25oz. bottle: Nose is sweet malt, some toffee, and a lingering of smoke. Tastes similar, more caramel. Medium bodied, carbonated, and minute traces of alcohol- for a dopplebock. Drankability: Not bad, but not memorable. Rebuy: Pass. #246 on 20012010, DG.

3.1 Yeah, I enjoy a doppelbock, but this is more of a smoked beer. I am normally not a smoked beer fan, but this was alright. Very smokey, but still somewhat balanced.

3.7 Pours a beautiful plum color with wispy thin tan head. Nose is sweet dark fruits and hints of smoke. Flavor has more smoke, but not nearly as much as I recalled from earlier tastings. Still, lots of character, plums, a little salty. Good creamy body with medium carbonation.

3.9 Pours dark hazy brown with a light milky head. Tastes of caramel. Sweet. Nose is of smoke, hamburger, Eating some barbecue chicken and sausage. Nice pairing... surprise. Really helps add a brisk spice to the combo. Yummy.

3.5 From bottle@RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. A ring of beige bubbles upon a clear, reddish brown body. Sour-sweet malt aroma with distinct notes of ash, smoked meat and cigar box. Good malt body, fairly dry and toasted. The smokiness is less dominating in the flavor, still well prononced. Notes of pepper and mild hops. Slick in the mouth. Healthy body. Malty finish with smoke and some bitterness. Strange brew, tasty and challenging.

3.9 Bottle: Muddy caramel, very cloudy, sediment galore, some reddish accents, large foamy off-white head, sticky lacing. Looks delicious! Faint smokiness on the nose, a little meaty but not as much as I expected, some charred wood, campfire/ash, with a little bit of band-aid. While there is that hint of band-aid, it really doesn’t detract. Bright on the tongue, a little airy, not as thick as I would have thought for a Doppelbock. It does hold its own tho. Certainly smokey, but honestly, its not brash, its a little sweet, and I must admit pretty tasty. This one is kind of straight forward, malty, with a little bit of band-aid. Again, not enough to detract. *burp* Tiz a bit airy, which I find weird for a lager. Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full. Finishes bready, lingering smokiness, more like smoked meat than an ashtray. I hate them ashtray beers. I held off on this one for a while thinking I wouldn’t like it, but I am pleasantly surprised.

3.7 We interrupt this pay per view premier of "taking Woodstock" to bring you this rating of a 2007 bottle, made possible by Kaggie97 "the only name in genital wart therapy" And so the beer, it pours a metallic brown color and sports a not so solid thin sheet of off-white single layer bubbles. The nose is of meaty smoke or maybe its smokey meat, with a small amount of hops noted beneath. The flavors are clean and smokey, of the meaty persuasion. The body is a bit thin..the malts have oxidized just a little bit, but combined with the smoke element, seem like they could be brand spanking new. All in all, the flavors are clean and smokey, the hop presence is still evident and balancing, even after several years in the bottle. the body is medium to light..its a pretty straight forward smoked beer, but that being said, there really isn’t too much to complain about either.

3.8 Bottle shared by AndyReynolds. Yeah it’s a dopplebock, but more of a smoked beer. Smoke heads should love it. Strong smoked aroma and flavor accompany the usual dopplebock qualities. Smooth and flavorful with lots of malt and smoke. Something new.

3.1 2007 Corked bottle. Pours an average amber with a thin body and little head but a suprisingly intricate latticework of lacing. Aroma is cereal malt with a touch of syrupy biscuit. Flavor is an onslaught of biscuit malt with tinges of sugar bread and cereal, with just a touch of smoke in the finish. Average mouthfeel. Would like a fresh bottle, as aging seems to have soothed the smokey character.

3.9 Bottle. Pours a dark brune body with a tan head. Just loads of smoke character all over this brew. Liquid smoke, char, campfire, wood, bacon, peat malt, and dark roast. Finish is strong and bitter ashen burnt malt. A nice smoked ale.

1.8 Bottle, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Cognac-coloured beer, minimal head. Aroma of smoked sausage. Lots of smoke in the flavour too, dominates completely. Not my kind of beer.

3.7 750 ml bottle, 2005 edition corked and caged. Bought at College Liquors about two years ago. Pours out a dark brown color with a medium tan head. Even though this version was prior to the smoking, there was a lot of smoky notes, rich caramel and toasted malts. Sweet and flavorful, but very mellow. I assume the age has mellowed this quite a bit. Nice.

4.0 Bottle: Poured a clear deep amber color ale with a huge foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of of sweet malt with a side of toffee and light lingering finish of smoke malt. Taste is also very interesting with a well balanced mix between some smoked malt with some toffee and caramel malt. Body is full with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I very much appreciated the balance between smoke and caramel and toffee malt.

3.4 Nice aroma of smoked malt and fruits. Pours a clear amber color with almost no head. Good, rich flavor of smoked malt and fruits. The body is light to medium while the carbonation is soft. Well-done and interesting.

3.4 2007 Bottle. Toffee pour, good-sized tan head with persistant lacing. I’m finding it a bit of a challenge to really dig in and enjoy this one. The smoke is nice particularly in the aroma, but it’s a bit on the sweet side and a bit thin in flavor beyond that milky sweetness, and certainly thin in body. (Compare Bov’s review below; I concur). I see a number of possibilities here. One is that I’m simply a lamer and that I don’t appreciate a good smoked beer. Entirely possible. Another is that Left Brewing is not exactly my favorite brewery. Might be, but to their credit they’re rocking two of the top ten smoked beers on the site. Another is that I screwed up by letting this sit for two years. Again, unlikely given the style.

3.9 Rating #183 for this beer. . . . . . . . . . . 2007 Bottle Conditioned 1/10/2009: Left Hand Smoked Goosinator Doppelbock Lager... Aroma: Sweet and smoky! Nice blend sugary toasted and caramelized malts with a slightly meaty smokiness. Appearance: Attractive red-brown color; mostly clear; lively carbonation; fine bubbles; frothy beige head. Flavor: Wow! It’s rich and sweet and smoky! Fruity caramel gives way to sweet turbinado sugar to smoke to cocoa bean/mocha-like finish; lightly roasty overall. Palate: Medium-full and very smooth. Overall: Very well-balanced beer; Very well-done; Better and more smoky than LH SmokeJumper! 1 Pint 9.36 fl. oz. corked and caged bottle from Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield, Ohio. Score: 7/4/8/3/17=3.9 . . . . . . . . . . 2007 Bottle Conditioned 8/13/2009: Left Hand Goosinator 2007... Aroma: Applewood smoked crystal malt; great sweet-smoky blend!. Appearance: Really nice brown color, bug and fluffy beige head. Flavor: Mild to moderate deep smoke, somewhat oxidized that works really well this this beer; hints of chocolate. Palate: Medium-bodied, smooth. Overall: Still holding up really well for the age. I like how the smoke is coming out more. 750 mL corked and caged bottle shared by metmayhem. Thanks! Total Score: 3.6