Jingle Bell Bock Beer
Scrooge & Marley Brewing Co.

 

 

Deep mahogany color with a nice solid tan head, nice active carbonation, and nice lace rings. Decent all-malt aroma but almost a stinging Euro Dark Lager character. Tastes like a stronger Dark Euro Lager -- fairly thin dark malt flavors. On the light side for a Bock; decent but not creamy at all.

'2705 09' lasered on neck
Tasted: 04/17/06

Pours a light tan, two finger-head that goes quickly leaving some lace. Nice deep, clear amber color. Light carbonation and light bodied. Nose is caramel. Starts sweet, caramel is right up front, finish is sweet. Needs more carbonation and a little more hops to counter the sweetness. Bottle claims its full bodied - it isn't. 12oz bottle from 12-pack $15.99 Tully's Beer & Wine Wells, Me.

Pours a deep mahogany color. Dark, with stunning red notes when held to the light. Very little head retention.

The smell is sweet and malty.

It tastes good. Very malty, nutty hints, a touch of smoke. Different than other bocks I've tried, but still enjoyable.

The mouthfeel could be a little bigger. It has nice carbonation, but was a tad on the thin side.

Drinkability is great. I had no problem putting a couple of these down on Christmas afternoon, and would have liked several more.

Very nice, deep chestnut color. No real head to speak of. Decent aroma-quite nutty and slightly spiced. Distinct caramel aroma. Malty flavor-quite smooth. The nuttiness comes thru from the aroma. Decent mouthfeel-quite slick on the tongue. Decent effort.

Pours with a vibrant, noisy, quickly dissipating head of khaki colored bubbles. The glass is filled with a roasted ruby liquid. The smell is mostly of sweet, roasted malts, with subtle caramel and nuttiness thrown in. The taste is much the same. the mouthfeel is on the lighter side, with a medium body and medium carbonation. The finish is on the slightly sweet side as well.

A Scrooge & Marley mixed case showed up at the store the other day, and none of us, nor Beer Advocate, had ever heard of it. The bottle says it's from the "Scrooge & Marley Brewing Co., Monroe, WI" and that it is from a group of "limited edition seasonal brews from one of the oldest breweries in America." Well shit, who hasn't heard of the famous S&M Brewery? Coincidentally, the Huber Brewery is also in Monroe and also touts itself as one of the oldest breweries in America. And what's this, written very small on the bottom of the box yet mysteriously not found anywhere on the bottle labels? Ah yes, www.scroogeandmarleygifts.com. It's beginning to come together: Gift company contracts with Huber to brew some name-brand beer to sell through their holiday catalogues to unsuspecting old people. Well, let's see what Berghoff Bock in a Santa hat tastes like...

Hey, pretty good! It has more roastedness than I've ever smelled in a bock before, the nose bursting with coffee grounds, as well as the standard bock chocolate and caramel sweetness, as well as some buttery toffee. The toffee becomes the dominant character as the beer warms. The taste is a diluted version of the nose, but still good, just lacking in the completely inappropriate--yet still delicious--roasted coffee character. A solid, creamy mouthfeel completes a great little bock.

I've gotta say, this sure surprised the hell out of me, coming from Huber. Way better than the Berghoff Bock or Huber Bock.