REVIEW #47: Triumphator (Löwenbräu)

Pours a dark purplish burgundy with a tan head that disappears almost instantaneously. Porter-like dark malts dominate the nose; full of glace cherry and plum. Christmas cake and caramel notes up front; sticky sweet and rich. It finishes much the same; short (almost evaporating in the mouth) with a brief bit of alcohol dryness to accompany the sweetness of the malt. Very little hop bitterness or aroma on show, as expected of the style. Only medium bodied too, a reminder that despite the fruity taste, it is after all a lager.

Triumphator is a classic doppelbock ("double goat") lager in taste and name. Bock means goat in German but may also derive from the town of Einbeck in Germany, thought to be the site where the first bock beer was produced. All doppelbocks are basically higher strength bocks and end with the suffix -ator, for some reason. They are all strong in ABV and malt heavy and hop light. Löwenbräu is a  Munich based brewery probably best known for its Original helles (light) lager here in the UK. The brewery itself is very old, thought to have been founded in 1383 but now owned by Anheuser Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer with a near 25% global market share! Löwenbräu is one of only 6 breweries allowed to serve its beer at the famous Munich Oktoberfest. I've got Hacker-Pschorr's Animator waiting in the wings too so watch this space!

• MALTS: DARK MALTS
• HOPS: LOW; INCLUDES HOP EXTRACT
• IBU: LOW 
• ABV: 7.6%

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