Samuel Adams Imperial Double Bock

Samuel Adams Double Bock, part of the Imperial Series offered by Samuel Adams (Boston Brewing Co) on a limited basis, poured a chill-hazed acorn hue into the glass with little but fairly violent carbonation and no observable head.  The nose carried forward huge, off-sweet malt with an underlying yeast funk that bordered on stewed tomato.  


Samuel Adams Imperial Double Bock opened slightly sweet with a strong undertone of fermented apples and pears that swelled into an incredibly thick, creamy sugar middle.  The almost 10% alcohol thankfully never made an appearance, but the rich, sweet Double Bock ended on a burly, too-decadent finish.  


Samuel Adams Imperial Series Double Bock is certainly a bigger, bolder offering than anything else in the standard Sam Adams line-up, but it is much too sweet and heavy (a half a pound of malt in each bottle?!?) to make me go back for a second.