Let There Be Light(house)

You.  You people.  I'll bet you thought I disliked Victoria's own Lighthouse Brewery after my latest 'slamming' of their Keepers Stout.  But I bloody well told you I didn't, and now I'll bloody well prove it.

With this:  Lighthouse's Navigator Doppelbock.  Prepare yourself.

8.5%.  It's not a number that graces the bottles, cans, boxes or crates of beer very often.  What it is, is a savage and unprecedented assault upon your sobriety.  You think you can handle it?  Think again.  At 650 ml, this one beer will inflict more damage than 2 pints of your average, slim-hipped lager.  And that's just the thing; technically speaking, this is a lager.  Wait what?

Huuuuuuuuuh?

Well okay, it's a dark lager.  But its roots can indeed be traced back to that original anti-Christ of good beer known as lager.  Amazing, what a team of crack brewmasters can do.

The Navigator then...it's probably unlike anything you've tried.  It's an animal.  It hits you with a megaton blast and makes sure you don't forget its unrelenting savagery thereafter, by inflicting you with shocking amounts of alcoholic content.  The taste is like a firestorm of sharp, explosive, malty flavour.  The aftertaste is like having an IV drip filled with battery acid.  Shock value alone makes this beer special.

Luckily, it's actually pretty excellent even once you've already tried it.  And I'd know, because I'm reviewing this based on a second Navigator, this time on a cruise.  True, the weather may be taking a turn for the worse with the coming of winter, but fear not; cruising shall continue.  Studded cruiser tires are already in the pipeline for when things get really cold.  And beyond that...there's always potential for the likes of Beer Ski, Beer Snowshoe, and Beer Hike.  The outdoors and beer were meant to be together; I will not allow a little rain and cold to come between that.

And helping me by lighting the way will be the Navigator.

Nothing.  I just thought this picture was pretty awesome.

Taste:  Have you ever eaten a live grenade?  Yeah, it's something like that.

Aroma:  To be honest, it's nothing surprising.  Not unlike a nut brown ale.

Aftertaste:  Not nearly on the level of the initial wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am flavour of the Navigator, but it leaves a burning, acidic and malty taste behind.

Recommended?:  Negative.  It's mandatory.  

Verdict:  I have a very difficult time trying to think of a beer more shocking than the Navigator.  Doppelbock is traditionally strong, but this is the Arnold Schwarzenegger of beers.  So...get to da choppa!  And then use it to fly to your local liquor store of choice and pick up a Navigator.

Score:  9 mugs out of 10.