Last night I drank both the dopplebock and the dusseldorf alt. I was unable to find an alt to compare Kaiser's too, I used Spaten's Optimator to compare his dopplebock. Being largely unfamiliar with these styles, I wanted to research them as much as possible to give the best review I can. Why?, because Kaiser frankly intimidates me with his beer. Cheese said professional grade and he is right. I know that I will eventually be able to brew as well as he, it was frustrating and enlightening to see what can be done with a home system. Enough with the but-kissing and on with the reviews.
Dopplebock
Appearance: A beautiful crystal clear dark brown color. The carbonation was perfect, a good medium level. Your notes said it was bottled with a cobra tap, I will have to confer with you at some point because my bottling using the same method has come out rather poor. The Optimator had a slightly darker color and a little less carbonation, the starting gravities between the two were close, but I couldn't find Optimator final gravity. I am curious if there was a large difference in the final.
Aroma: A good strong malt aroma, fairly complex as well. It was hard to pick out any dominating smell. Comparing it to the Optimator, the Optimator had a similar aroma, but stronger.
Taste: Good strong malt flavor with a small amount of bitterness. Hop bitterness I guess, it didn't feel tannic in any way. The Optimator again had very similar malt flavor, but to a stronger degree.
Mouthfeel: Both were similar, heavy almost viscous mouthfeel.
Overall: I have no idea if it was fair to compare Kaiser's brew to Optimator. However, I am glad I didn't compare it to my local's dopplebock, S'muttonator. Optimator was superior to S'muttonator in every way, I greatly enjoying this beer and there wasn't even any oxidation, I was sure that would be all I could taste. Kaiser's beer was very good, beautifull to look at, however I preferred the Optimator's stronger malt flavor and aroma. Please bear in mind that my favorite style currently is RIS, that my be coloring my judgement. Regardless, I will stand by Cheese's comment, Kaiser's beer was professional grade.
Dusseldorf Altbier
I was unable to find an altbier and this was the first time I had ever tasted one, I pretty much studied the BJCP guidelines and winged it from there.
Appearance: Medium carbonation and a medium brown color. I screwed up and didn't read the bottom of the notes. I poured it thinking it had been bottled from a tap, so I got a little yeast in the beer, made it slightly cloudy.
Aroma: Slight hoppy aroma, dominated somewhat more by a malt character. Neither was very strong, just noticeable.
Taste: Strong bitter taste with a medium level of malt to smooth it out. The bitterness really surprised me. I had read that this style was characterized by bitterness, but it just didn't click that a German style could have strong hop bitterness. Not much hop flavor, just the malt at the end.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium mouthfeel, didn't feel at all heavy. My best comparison would have to be to an APA level of mouthfeel, just enough to not make it feel thin.
Overall: A very good beer. This style is what I would use as a gateway beer from APA's to maltier German styles. It would also make a great house beer, easy to drink and none of the flavors really overpower you.