Name

Remember how I said in my review of Karnival Kolsch that I was dreading summer arriving?  Well sure enough it seems like it has arrived.  Hot and humid days have been rolling in.  And the season for light and refreshing beers like wheats and lagers is here.  Unfortunately this lager that I am reviewing is anything but light.

Human Blockhead, from those ever fun folks at Shmaltz, is a doppelbock that weighs in at 10% ABV.  Holy crap!  And as much as the names Karnival Kolsch and Human Blockhead seem to flow into one and other by name they really don’t.  It’s a huge step up.

I pour this baby into my glass and it is a deep red color.  A sandy off white head develops on top of the brew and leaves some lacing on the glass.

The nose is a lot of what you expect from a doppelbock.  Hints of caramel, cherries, bready malts, the gang is all there.

There is a lot more of the same in the taste with the sweet caramel and cherries flavors.  There is some slightly roasted malt hints in there and then an earthy hop taste to balance things out.  The alcohol is a little hidden at first but comes out more as it warms up.

I have to say that the beer is exactly what I would expect from a 10% doppelbock.  It has all the qualities of the style just turned up a few notches.  Maybe it’s up to 11.  Or maybe they just adjusted settings to make it 10.  Who knows?

In the few of the Coney Island Lagers I’ve had from Shmaltz I am seeing that they really push the boundaries on the styles.  Whether it be a pale lager or marzen or in this case a doppelbock.  They make them new and unique.

And with the release of a barrel aged version of Human Blockhead this I look forward to even more sideshows in my life.

Grade - B+

Appearance – Pours a mostly clear dark red color with a thin off white head.

Smell – Dark fruit really is the main scent.  There is some faint malt character too.

Taste – You most certainly get the grapes in this but there are other dark fruit flavors in there as well.  A malty bready presence comes out as well.  There is a Belgian like yeast characteristic to it that really makes this seem more like the Dubbel half of the beer over the Doppelbock.  As it warms up you get the alcohol as well.

This is He’Brew’s 2010 Rejewvenator and it is called the Year of the Grape.  It also says it is part Doppelbock and part Dubbel.  I definitely get more Dubbel character out of this thanks to the grape.  I wasn’t sure what to think of this going in.  I didn’t know if it was going to just taste like an alcoholic grape juice or what.  But I was very happy when it tasted a lot like a traditional Belgian Dubbel.  Who woulda thunk it?  But I really enjoyed this effort at something different.

Overall Grade – B+

Appearance – Poured a very clear reddish/brown color with a very thin bubbly head that was gone almost immediately.

Smell – Pretty bready with dark fruit and caramel present.

Taste – Sweet cherries mixed with a lovely caramel taste.  There is bread like notes to it as well and as you would expect plenty of malts.

Got this in a “mini trade” of sorts with Phil.  He gave me this for a bottle of 1554.  This is a really nice doppelbock right here.  The color of it alone is pretty awesome.  If it only had more of a head to it the appearance would have been one of the best ever.  The taste and smell are pretty dead on to the style and makes it very enjoyable.

Overall Grade – B+