Boulder Creek Golden Bock Ale
Old Schoolhouse Brewery

Historically all bocks were ales. But by the mid-19th century as the popularity of lagers swept the beer-drinking globe, bocks turned the corner and mostly made the move to cold fermentation. It’s nice to see an historic revisitation to a bock ale, but I can’t help but find the tag “golden bock ale” a bit cumbersome if not redundant.

Boulder Creek is a summer seasonal whose amber body and complete lack of CO2 bear little resemblance to most invigorated, plum colored bocks. Though my pint came with a showy head and made an effort at lacing the glass, these were short lived displays. But I enjoyed the captivating vanilla-cream aroma and taste of this beer and its airy notes of wildflower honey. Hops include Northern Brewer for bittering and Willamette and Liberty finishing hops, which bring Boulder Creek to a smart, truncated close.

Taste-wise this bock ale won me over handily. But delivering this flavor on a tired, flaccid body undermined its intent.