Helles Bock
Barrel House Brewing Company

Appearance - pours a coppery orange from a notably under-filled growler. I really put some distance between the jug and glass to generate some head. What happened is that this mass of bubbles extending about two-thirds down the half-liter glass slowly worked its way up to the top, yielding two fingers of creamy, soapy white foam. A solid sheet of lace as the head faded. Coool....

Aroma - for the most part, this offered some standard sweet grain aromas and not much else. As it set up it showed the beginnings of some floral hop scents, redeeming it somewhat.

Taste - fairly good grain flavor, this beer seems a bit flat, though, perhaps the underfill did that. What carbonation is there can't really offset the sweetness. Just a trace of hops leave this leaning to the sweet/malt side, enhanced ever so slightly by some low level alcohol presence. Hops come on more with some warmth, bringing some balance to the profile. Actually represents the style pretty well and tastes quite good.

Mouthfeel - the lack of carbonation is noticed, making the beer come across muted in general. Slightly slick as a result, the body has more heaviness to it. It'll do.

Drinkability - it's been since Barrelhouse's last BockFest in 2005 since I last had this. Maybe I'll grab another growler from Party Source and give a *full* jug another go. This one will drink just fine and kudos to Rick for making quality brews that can withstand a bit of mishandling and still deliver.

This growler was purchased at the Party Source in Newport. The beer was served in a pub glass.

Appearance: The beer has a very bright clear coppery coloration to the body. The head was a short lived off white coloration. Rings of lacing remain behind on my glass.

Smell: The beer has a boozy caramel malty smell. The hops bring a bit of earthy citrus character to the smell.

Taste: The beer delivers a very nice caramelly maltyness. This is well balanced with the bitterness of the hops and spicey alcohol. This beer is not overlly complex but is satisfying.

Mouthfeel/ Drinkability: The body of the beer seems a bit thin. I would have liked a bit of a heavier body to this beer. The carbonation is moderate. The beer is not particularlly complex. This is a straight forward and enjoyable beer. Overall impression is I would have this beer again.

Bright and shiney copper. Looks like a new penny. Slightly off white head of a little less than an inch with even less retention and very spotty lacing.

Spicey, flowery aromas, orange, malted hops, with a zest feel to the aroma.

Thick malty flavors, with a toffee ending. Not very complex, some spicey hop kick, good carbonation, with undestiguishable fruit flavors.

Thin and watery mouthfeel but by no means a bad beer. I could drink a few of these although the high alcyhol may inhibit this.

Had this on tap at Boston's in Dayton last night and it may have been nitro rather than CO2.

We were told this was a remnant from bock fest and they only had a 1/6 barrel. Beer is very sweet and malty but completely drinkable. (Very drinkable. Two pints somehow vanished from my galss in short order, which made it a short evening given the alcohol content.)

It's always good to have a Barrel House beer since we can't pull up a chair at the late lamented brewpub. On the other hand we no longer have to worry about getting mugged on the way out the door so I guess it's a push.

As with most Barrel House brews the Helles Bock is worth every penny (all 475 of them at Boston's for this particular brew) and as mentioned, is QUITE drinkable, especially at cellar temperature. BA calls this a retired beer so for all I know Boston's has the last of it anywhere. It's worth the trip.

This was a very clear light gold with a billowy white head. The head lasted well and produced decent lacing. A nice malty sense greets the nose and this carries through into the taste which starts a bit sweet but quickly moves to a nice dryness from the finely countering hop level. A good crisp and clean sense to this beer and one which would likely be a great session brew.