Dog Stalker April Bock
Grand River Brewing

Even after finding this bottled on 3/5/2015 bottled a year after the guy posting it last I figured it was worth a try. Most noted is the insane amount of carbonation even after a year from the bottle date its explosive every sip bursting with foam. Hard to drink but it does have a nice sweet brown sugar bready nuttyness one would expect for the style. Body is way too yeasty and foamy which I do not enjoy.

Overall it was only $2.50 for the bottle so it was worth a try but that carbonation is too crazy to enjoy.

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 3/5/2015. Pours slightly hazy dark orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, raisin, plum, light roast, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast notes; with good strength. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, raisin, plum, light roast, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, light roast, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity and robustness of dark/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; with great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth and fairly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice maibock style. All around good robustness, complexity, and balance of dark/bready malt, earthy hops, and light fruity yeast flavors; and very smooth to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottles of this have been on the shelf of my LCBO for a while so I decided to finally grab one. Bottled April 6, 2013. From notes.

A - One finger of thick creamy off white head sat atop a burnt orange body with a slight haze. Good carbonation coming up with spotty lace and a good half finger of retention.

S - Peach, fruity, mild hop note. Meh.

T - Bready, peach, fruity, some orange.

M - Strong carbonation, light to medium body, and a non-existent finish which was disapointing.

O/D - The qualitative descriptor fits here. Just 'Okay'. Nothing particularly interesting with this one. Flavour was decent, but nothing really kept me interested. Decent but quite plain.

 

 

 

Poured from a 500ml. bottle, #freshbeer info is bottling date Apr/26/2013.

Appearance: A lopsided but full head, body is an amber-brown (semi-opaque) with average retention.

Smell: Bit of toffee, brown bread, raisins, brown sugar and a metallic twang.

Taste: Dried cranberries, bit of sour twang in finish, some artificial sweetener, malty. Not much depth.

Mouthfeel: Starts ok but gets a bit thin middle to end.

Overall: Not much depth, bit muddled and not much hops or other flavors to grab me.

 

Dogstalker is much darker than you'd anticipate a spring bock to be; its colour is closer to that of a dopplebock than a maibock (though in fairness it claims to be an "April" bock). It turns out, however, that the muddied brown complexion does come to life in the afternoon sunshine, revealing flaming locks of auburn. Sadly, it remains flat.

The aroma smells of enticingly gooey, almost treacly notes of dark and dried fruits. It smells as though plums and prunes were drowned in butterscotch pudding. As a strong, rich maltiness is pretty much the sole prerequisite for any bock, I'd say this one meets the criteria.

That said, Dogstalker is not the kind of bock that you'll need diamond-tipped teeth to munch into it. This one is on the light end of medium (or even the medium end of light) when it comes to mouthfeel. Bitterness is limp - as it should be - and alcohol is negligible but the toastiness of the malts doesn't have the presence it should. Melanoidins never materialize.

Flavours of butterscotch, rum-raisin, dried apricot and prune are certainly tasty, if a bit more mild than I'd like them. It has pleasantness alright but not the muscle - this maltiness could stand to hit the gym. As is it could compete with classic German bocks, but it certainly wouldn't win.

Dogstalker doesn't have much bark or bite. It doesn't have what it takes to be anyone's best friend (especially not a German's) but it does make a decent spring-time companion. All in all, it is welcomed and respectable offering from a brewery still tinkering with lagers. A nice addition to their portfolio and one that we'll hopefully see again next spring.

Pours a cloudy amber colour. Short lasting head....rapid dissipation.

Sweet malty smell....some bready notes...some spicey notes as mentioned...but my nose was a little plugged.

Spicey notes coming in on first sip....slight malt flavours that became more prominent as the beer warmed to room temperature.

Slightly watery seeming...and it's a higher abv.

Overall I wasn't super happy with this offering from Grand River....but I do enjoy that they are putting out various styles on a regular basis so I imagine with some tweeking this will eventually be a good rep for the style.