Stoudts Smooth Hoperator

This medium bodied copper colored strong lager is in a class all by itself. First released in celebration of our 20th Anniversary. Ed Stoudt calls this beer an "American-style Doppelbock" He believes it to be the first high gravity lager brewed with German Malts and American Hops. This brew has a delicate malty palate up front, which is abruptly overshadowed by the dominating ho presence that can be attributed to 1.5lbs/bbl of hops that were added to this brew for aroma & flavor. A hop lover's beer indeed.

Yeast: Bottom Fermenting Lager

Bittering hops: Summit

Aroma hops: Amarillo

Malts: Two-row,Vienna & Others

3.6

343 reviews

Adamstown, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Draft at Kloby’s. Pours dark reddish copper with a creamy beige head and lots of lacing. Tastes like dry hops, malt, light raisin and booze. Light/medium body and carbonation. Smells like malty booze with light hoppy bitterness.

3.6 Poured from 12 oz. bottle. Cloudy, amber orange with a 1-finger khaki head and excellent lacing. Aroma of caramel, earthy hops, bread and fruit. Taste of bread, peaches, grapefruit, caramel and apple. Medium/full body and high/medium carbonization.

3.6 Quite large light tan head of fine and creamy bubbles. Nice hoppy aroma with some light citrus, milkweed buds, light toast and some malts. No where near the typically sickly sweet malts of dopplebocks. Color is a nice dark copper with great clarity and lovely spry carbonation. Malts make a strong appearance her ein the flavor but is balanced nicely by the hops. Some fried dough, bitter greens and a hint of tobacco and leather. PIcking up all kinds of strange flavors in this brew. A tasty and unusual brew.

3.3 12oz bottle from Manahawkin Spirits. Pours a clear deep amber color with a finger of frothy tan head. Aroma or toasted malts, caramel, sweet citrus, and grapefruit pulp. Taste of roasted malt, caramel, grapefruit, pine, syrup, and earthy hops.

2.7 Deep amber with a red tint. Big off-white head. Plenty of lace. Slight grassy aroma with a nutty malt. Sweet malt followed quickly with an acetic bite. Vinegar in the finish that sticks around.

3.3 Very nice doppel with a good mix of malts that left it as a hybrid between US and UK flavors. Nice warm mouthfeel and good alcohol.

4.1 Copper colored pour with a decent white head. A great combination of hops and lager fermenting. I would compare it favorably to Troegs Amber Ale. I usually shy away from the over the top sweetness of a lot of lagers....but, I thought it was an IPA. :-)

5.0 Love it! Great IPA, smooth, balanced, not too alcoholic. Perfect day drinker. The Derricks

2.6 Draft at Prohibition. Pours a clean copper with thin white head and nice soapy lace. Nose of grain, burnt popcorn, caramel, mild citrus. Medium body. Taste dominated by burnt grains. Mild bitterness.

3.9 A: Amber/Orangish Hue, Passes Most Light, Mild White Head, Minimal Lacing S: Malty, Bready, Earthy T: Bitter Malts, Crackers, Bitter Lemon M: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Dry, Bitter Overall, a very malty, mildly hoppy ale. A decent blend but nothing that pops.

4.0 Pours copper. Has a mix of citrus hop and light cocoa aroma. Taste is very unique with a mix of citrus hops, brown sugar, malt, fruit and caramel. Tastes like a mix of a brown ale and a light IPA.

3.4 Draught @ The Ginger Man, NYC. Pours clear amber with airy off-white head. Clear aroma of malt, caramel and fruit. Bitter, hoppy flavour with fruity and malty notes. Quite carbonated for its style. Bitter finish. OK.

3.7 Poured clear golden with a slight head aroma of citrus and tastes of citrus and lingers on the palate

3.6 From a 12 oz bottle shared at home. Pours a clear reddish copper with an off white head. Malty nose. Flavors of light caramel and grassy hops. Mildly bitter but crisp finish.

3.3 Bottle. Pours a semi clear copper orange color, with a large head. Nose is sweet, malty and woody. Taste is complex, initially malty, caramel and sweet than abruptly ends on a bitter note. Very drinkable. Nice descent doppel. Quaff Score 7 / 10

3.1 Pours copper with a beige and aroma of hops and caramel. Taste is toasty and sweet, of caramel, earthy malt, and balanced with hops leading to a bitter, dry finish.

4.1 rich malty nose. beautiful mahogany hued dark copper color with a healthy off-white head. solid malty flavor profile, with a bit more hop character than typical doppelbocks. full bodied and chewy. rich and delicious.

3.6 An interesting lager. Dark amber color with little head. Smell is malty. Taste is distinctly malty with a strong hop finish. Could be mistaken for an IPA. A pretty solid beer.

3.6 12 oz bottle This beer was given to me by a friend. The doppelbock poured a very clear rich amber color. The head was big and frothy white with lacing. The aroma was of caramel malt. The taste was a nice nutty caramel with some hop bitterness of resin. The beer had a light texture with average carbonation.

3.2 Bottle down the shore with Ann. Pours reddish brown with light head and good lacing. Aromas and taste of bitter hops, fruity malts, cherry, german malts, pretty spicy. Light to medium body,

3.4 Translucent amber orange with a creamy beige head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Aroma: pale and caramel and kilned malts, herbal floral hops, and bready yeast. Taste: sourness, citrusy hops, slight caramel note.

3.3 Draft at the growler NYC. Pours a red amber color. Not overly sweet or hoppy or malty. When I saw the name I expected an iPa . They really do a decent job or combining and balancing the attributes of both the iPa and dopplebock styles

3.0 Bottle. Deep amber color with a big stable frothy beige head. Aroma of malt, a bit of caramel, cookie notes, toasty hints, some fruitiness and some citric and spicy hops, slightly stale and an faint acidic note. Flavor has some sweet chewy caramelly maltiness, hoppy bitterness, spicy, resinous and a bit harsh, and a bit of alcohol. Medium-bodied, a bit heavy.

3.7 2/21/13. 12oz bottle from Grassroots. Ticking while finishing up the details for RBWG. Amber brown pour, more hazed red under the light, with a fluffy khaki head that fades to a thick ring with fuzz and laces plentifully. Sweet caramel and malt in the aroma with a bit of green hop presence, but not as much as I was expecting. Sweet, smooth malty flavor with a slight bitter kick and lingering grassiness and citrus. Tasty.

3.5 Tap. Pours clear amber wig average, creamy off-white head; decent retention and lacing. Aroma is grassy and floral hops, toasted and caramel malts, dates, pears, and light woody notes. Flavor is floral hops forward (medium bitterness) with supporting light fruit esters, dry, bready malts, and light pine; dry finish with some hops. Medium body and low carbonation.

3.7 Tap. Pours clear amber with a medium, frothy off-white head, long retention with excellent lacing. Aroma is caramel, cookie and nutty malt with dates, figs, and plums and light earthy hops. Flavor is malt dominant with light hops and bitterness, dark fruity esters and a sweet finish. Full body and medium carbonation.

3.7 Bottle. Poured a nice dark amber color with a nice tan head. sweet aroma of malts and caramel, taste is also semi sweet a bit of bitterness at the end; malty first then hoppy at the end. not what I was expecting of this kind of beer but very drinkable, nice beer.

3.8 Pours amber with khaki head, surprisingly little lacing. Aromas of cereal grain, sweet malt, and hop resin. Sweet caramel malt upfront giving way to herbal hop. Pretty good twist on the old -ators, I enjoyed it.

3.1 Draft to pint. Looks solid; a transparent amber with foamy off-white head. Smells and tastes hoppy with a semi-sweet backbone. Average on the palate. Solid, but not spectacular.

3.8 Aroma is malts and then a strong, for a doppelbock, punch of hops. The flavor is malts, citrus, a hint of hop resin and a mix of bitter and tart in the finish. Definitely different for a doppelbock, pretty good.