Sly Fox Instigator Doppelbock
A classic German-style doppelbock brewed with German Munich and Roast malts and Hallertauer hops. It will agitate your taste buds and incite your imagination.
3.3
156 reviews
Pottstown and Phoenixville, United States
Community reviews
22oz bomber from Whole Foods, Bowery. Reckon this one’s been aged about a year. A very potent aroma (yeast, molasses, caramel, roast nuts) wafts atop a handsome copper brew - moderate carbonation, no lacing or head really. Crisp hops make it a pleasant drink, and balance things out in a way I find pleasing in this style (as opposed to the soupy ones). Not quite as complex as one might ultimately hope for, but this is a solid doppelbock.
It has a very dark/amber color with a good head that fades away quickly. Ok lacing to it. Very sweet malty smell to it. It has a very sweet taste to it. A little bitter, but more sweet and sour then bitter.
22-oz bottle received as a gift from Ernest. Pours clear brown with a small, fizzy, light brown head, diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is average malt (caramel, cookie, nutty), light hops (grass), moderate yeast (earth, leather) with notes of dates and alcohol. Medium bodied, thin texture, light carbonation, and a metallic finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, light acidity and bitterness.
Draft at Phoenixville. Pours mahogany with a small off white head. Aroma of caramel, sweet esters, and dark fruits. Flavor of dark caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar. Finish is a tad dry and smoky. Not mind blowing, but decent enough to drink again.
Bottle. Pours a deep opaque ruby when held up to the light. Aroma was cherry and alcohol. Similar to that of sloe gin. Taste was a bit oakey but for the most part the taste was indistinguishable. It was not the most pleasant doppelbock. Palate was somewhat flat and thin.
Nice copper brown color with a slight ogff-white head. Aroma of roasted malts and molasses. Tastes of roasted malts, some hoppy bitterness and caramel. A decent offering.
Deep mahogany, thin ring of a head. Nose is kind of watery meladonins, dark fruits, some dusty malt mixed with toffee - overall watery & undefined. Flavor is caramel & meladonin, some nice sugaryness. Malt is substantial, if a bit cloying.
2007 bomber bottle. Pours crystal clear cola colored with reddish highlights and a nice small head with moderate retention and little lacing. Luscious aroma of sweet lightly toasted malts, prunes, molasses and some alcohol. Sweet, fruity malt-dominated flavor with some nice hop bitterness and a touch of alcoholic warmth. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation; smooth. This is wonderful and a very impressive doppelbock; best U.S. version I’ve had.
Didn’t notice as much hops as I hoped or expected. Tasted a lote maltier. Light. Not that much smoke. For a goat beer, this was a little tame. A little forgettable for this brew.
Jan. 2007 - Dark brown pour, tannish head. Aroma was molasses and brown sugar. Flavor was dominated by these two as well, with some dark fruitiness in there as well. Really sweet. Alcohol was warming. I might not have liked this as much if I didn’t have another high alc brew before one, but I was thinking this was okay by the end.
Thanks to grandet for this beer. Dark coffee color with thin tan head that disappears into a ring around the edge. Smokey malts with a sugary sweetness. Flavor is malty sweet caramel with a touch of roasted wood. Little thinner than I expected, but I would not call it thin at all. Nice mouthfeel. I enjoyed this...thanks grandet.
Bottle - Poured a dark brown with a thin tan head that disappeared immediately Faint sweet malt/caramel aroma. Flavor was malty, caramel and slight alcohol. Fairly thin.
Pours a translucent deep brown with a white head that faded completely rather quick. Aroma is strange and not very inviting. The good: maple syrup and caramel. The bad: teriyaki sauce and smoke. The flavor is alright, good enough to save this bomber from a drain pour: malty, sugary, caramel, grain and biscuit. Finish is a little thick but drinkable. Not a beer that looks or smells great, but the proof is in the pudding and the strong doppelbock flavor makes this beer decent.
Dark brown body, thin tan head. The over all body looked rather thin. Heavy roasted malt note in the aroma, with some earth notes. Flavor was richly malty with mainly earth notes. I found it to be rather thin on the palate given the malty presence
Bottle: Poured a dark brown with lots of foam on top. The aroma was that of wood and copper. The flavor slightly fruity and heavily malted. The balance was excellent. A very good beer.
[965-20071212] 22floz (w/ blankboy, HogTownHarry, jerc, tupalev). Cardboard woody earth aroma has a hint of cooked green beans. Clear, dark red body with a quick foamy off-white head. Malty toast and dark fruit flavour. Medium body, was anticipating something thicker. Interesting to try.
Bottle; poured a dark brown with hints of ruby. Not too much head. Aroma was very malty; with caramel, fruits, brown sugar, grapes and raisins. Flavor was similar to the aroma with a very pronounced dark fruit presence. Palate was a little harsh for my liking; a good amount of acidity. Some chocolate and caramel as well. Not fantastic, but solid and pretty tasty.
Bomber, from secret santa, split with NachlamSie. Pours dark mahogany with nice beige head. The aroma is raisins, overripe nectarines, a touch of sweet chocolate, and a little bit of clove and allspice. The flavor is raisin, anise, and nectarine up front, then it gets a bit of a tart, acidic quality. Some wood and grape tannin comes in, maybe even a hint of chocolate. The finish is semi-sweet, with a hint of Brazil nuts. Not bad.
bomber, split with Tronraner. Pours a very deep mahogany, with a tall off white head. Nice, pleasing appearance on this one. The aroma is rich of ripe fruits. Lots of plums, grapes, and more slightly sour scents. The flavor is similar, lots of tasty vinous hints, plums, brown sugar in the finish. A light spiced blanket rounds things out. I am weary of doppelbocks as of late, but this one delivers well without any of the problems I sometimes associate with the style. Well done.
Bottle (22oz) shared with HogTownHarry, jerc, mabel & tupalev -- courtesy of jerc. Pours a clear deep ruby with an average size diminishing off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt and dark fruit. Sweet flavour is predominantly caramel malt along with some dark fruit, toffee and alcohol. Light bitter finish. Average to medium bodied. Not great, simply a good Doppelbock.
Bottle (22oz). Shared with blankboy, GregClow, jerc, mabel and tupalev, jerc’s bottle. Bright refractive deep ruby, with an average biege head (3+). Aroma of sweet malt, plums, raisins, and light rye. Tasted the same, strong deep roast cereal malt, very "dark" fruity. Sticky and still mouthfeel, fairly thick, the primary characteristic was fruity dark malt. Simple, but very nice, a good winter beer.
Bottle shared with Jerc, Mabel, Hogtown Harry, and Blankboy, courtesy of J&M. Dark ruby rd, small white head. Sweet malt and almost a wine like quality in aroma. Sticky sweet malt taste, strong, alcohol present. Medium to thin body. Enjoyed it without loving it.
Bottle. Dark brown body with a small beige head (3+). Odd earthy character to both the aroma and flavour, moderate bitterness in the finish. Lacks the rich sweet malty character I had hoped for. Average palate. Ok but I had hoped for better from Sly Fox.
Bottle courtesy Boboski. Black and ccloudy pour. Caramel roasted malt molasses aroma. Taste is slightly sweet and lots of molasses. Smooth tasty good.
Copying from my tasting notes. Bottle. Dark brown pour with a small head. Very sweet malty aroma with some citrus notes in the background. Taste was alright with alot of malt sweetness. Not a great beer at all
Dark brown, small head, decent lacing. Aroma is mostly caramel malt w/ hint of orange. Flavor is ok at best. Malty sweetness w/ bitter after taste. Too thin. Not my favorite Dopple Bock.
Bottle from eyedrinkale I think back in June ’07. Thanks! Quickly fading head of small bubbles. Deep brown color. Seems think. A little roasty in aroma. Kind of sour dry roasty aroma that I don’t like. Along with the flavor that has some husk/ashtray dry flavor. Not my favorite style, nor a good implementation.
Thanks to SecretSanta. Clear brown pour, faint white head that fades to nothing. Aroma is brown sugar, caramel and toffee. Flavor is much the same big on toffee, caramel and brown sugar. Nutty aftertaste and even some floral hops, but mostly a sugary sweet flavor that really lingers with the toffee. Not bad but a little thing and one-dimensional. Not a whole lot going on.
Bottle. Head is initially small, fizzy/frothy, light brown, fully diminishing. Body is clear dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (bread, caramel, nuts), lightly hoppy (flowers, herbs), with notes of honey and earth. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, fizzy/soft carbonation, lightly alcoholic. A very clean, efficient example that’s surprisingly quaffable. The malt character reminds me of Ayinger’s beers. It smells like it was made in Germany, and that’s a rare achievement for American breweries (and pushes this from a 7 to an 8 in the aroma department). It’s not especially complex or rich or anything like that, but for an understated, straightforward rendition, it’s clear the person at the helm knew what they were doing. At the same time, I still found myself wanting more. Bottle conditioning by itself would probably propel this into 4+ territory.
As I half expected, the beer is overly carbonated and starts to foam up and gush out of the bottle as soon as I pop the cap. It was not so bad that I was not able to get all of the beer and foam into my glass. I ended up with about three fingers of concentrated, burnt amber colored brew underneath five-fingers of lightly browned, tan froth. When held up to the light the beer shows an almost brilliantly clear, deep, ruby color. Quite malty smelling with an enticing mix of richly caramelized notes and a whole grain bread character. Concentrated fruit notes of dried figs and prunes as well as a touch of roast grain notes seem to round out the aromatic notes. As the beer warms, rich, concentrated malt notes start to become noticeable; these evoke a richness akin to umami.
The beer foams up a bit as it hits my tongue. The body is a bit lighter than one would expect from a Doppelbock, but is consistent with the excessive carbonation. Some focused rousing of the beer releases a bunch of the carbonation and makes this easier to drink. Despite the lower body, mouth feel and sweetness, this beer is still quite rich and malty. Flavors of prunes mix with a rich, caramelized sweetness and a toasty malt character. The finish is somehow a little sharp, though I am not sure from what.
Well at least this beer was not noticeably infected / off in the flavor department, the excessive carbonation was a bit much, and I am sure it affected / reduced the body and mouth feel of this beer. Having said all that, this was still a pretty tasty beer, one which I would certainly jump at the opportunity to try a fresh sample of. As the beer warms hints of flavors and aromas start to suggest that something other than you standard beer yeast was involved in the bottle conditioning of this brew, though it never becomes more than a subtle backdrop.