Holiday Bock
The Lucky Monk

Served in a Bruery snifter.

I've been holding onto this Monk Club bottle for a couple months now. What better time to crack it than after dinner on a day off, eh? It pours a clear russet-sienna topped by a finger or so of sandy tan foam. The nose comprises caramel apple, nutty toffee, light graham cracker, and a dash of brown sugar. The taste, though, takes a different turn: The graham cracker is still there, but less sweet, more musty. the caramel apples are there as well, but now are dusty, old, off. Unfortunately, this is what dominates things, in quite a bad way. Funny that the bottle would turn so quickly, especially given the ABV and its placement in the fridge... The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, either this bottle has gone decidedly south in a very short amount of time, or this wasn't very great to begin with. I'm hoping for the former... I knew I should've had this on tap when I had the chance...

Served in a tulip glass at The Lucky Monk 12/26/09. Special theanks the HeatherAnn for the assist!

A: Served a deep usset brown with one finger of creamy brown head. Great retention and lacing.

S: Aromas of caramel, tootsie roll, and molassas.

T: Sweet caramel, toasted nuts, brown sugar, maple, toffee, and candied apple.

M: Slick with a hint of dry, bitter, astringengy.

D: Excellent! Certainly not my favorite style at all and I found myself racing through this. Very nice, indeed!

Attractive dark ruby amber color.
Poor head retention overall, but some minor spotty lace sticks inside the glass.

Mildly sweet, bready nose with some indistinct traces of spice that reminds me of holiday cookies.
So far so good.

Earthy bitterness, dark fruits like sugarplum or raisin, but thankfully not overly sweet like some Bocks can be. Clean and traditional in style. Recommended.