ZiegenBock Amber
Anheuser-Busch

It's beers like this that really get me pissed off at AB.

As near as I can tell, this beer is only sold in Texas (lucky Texas), and it was at the airport in Dallas where I ran across a bottle of this swill. Dallas airport (like many/most airports) is a macrobrew heaven, and I was having a difficult time finding anything interesting to drink. For the most part, heineken and corona seemed to be about it.... then I came across this stuff.

I thought I was looking at a bottle of German lager (serves me right for not looking more closely at the label - I actually thought I was buying a German Bock beer), so I thought I'd take a chance.

The beer poured a darkish amber orange color, with no lacing and minimal head retention. There was very little on the nose, just some sweetness from the malt. On the palate the beer wasn't too bad initially, tasting like your run of the mill amber ale. It was fairly sweet with flavors of baked apple and cherry. The beer was pretty light tasting, and as we (I was with a friend) drank it the flavors seemed to drop off more and more. Ultimately the beer came across as pretty watery, leading to disappointment in what I perceived to be the local craft brew scene in Dallas/Texas. At this point I looked more closely at the label, and finally the light went on. I was looking at a local stealth beer from AB (beers made by AB that they market in such a way that customers won't realize right off it's made by AB), which of course explained the poor quality.

Truth be told, this was not the most awful beer I've ever had from AB (with their penchant for making crappy beer, how could it be?), but needless to say I would never have bought the beer to begin with if I had known AB made it. Some day AB may start making flavorful beer (certainly they have the money and know how), but it's unlikely I'll ever give them a chance to win me over. I've been burned far to many times by the likes of ziegenbock, pacific ridge, etc.

Edit from 10/19/11. Was in the Austin airport the other day, and was saddened to see how prevalent this beer has become. A number of bars had signs referring to it as "a taste of Texas," which if I was from Texas would totally piss me off. Almost every place had it on tap and/or bottle; for the most part it was the only option other than the usual BMC macro swill (a few places had shiner bock). Just very, very sad....

 

 

 

Blech. I've never had an "amber lager" that tasted like Budweiser until now. Seriously, I almost think they add brown coloring to it or something. NO malt taste whatsoever. None at all. Just corn lager sweetness and thin as water mouthfeel. I'd say it's a good lawnmower beer, but at $11 a six pack it's overpriced for that. I know Texas people love it, but I'd take Shiner over this easily, and I don't even really like Shiner either. Hard pass.

 

This beer is pretty good and doesn’t deserve its poor rating.

6-pack from H-E-B

 

Despite of being rated in the poor category this beer is not bad or poor by any means. I'm not sure if it's a bock though. It's an American amber lager with the decieving brand name of Ziegenbock. I Shiner Bock is a bock by definition. Ziegenbock has a higher ABV% than Shiner Bock with Ziegen at 4.9% to Shiner's 4.5% which wins Ziegen over for me. Shiner is rated correctly but I have to disagree with the POOR status of ZB. It should at least be tied with Shiner. I'm giving ZB a 4.25 rating to help justify it at a higher level in the ranks.

Clear, golden amber color; decent head. Nice, pleasant aroma; a hint of sweet grain. Warm, toasty grain flavor; very little bitterness. Easy, smooth mouth feel, almost slippery.

Poured this in a paper coffee cup to sample at a Super 8 in Giddings, TX. While some of the visuals weren't readily available to assess, everything else seemed pretty good. This is not a high-end bock, but it does have some solid grain, slightly caramel like flavor.

ABV: 4.9%; pouring temperature: unk; bottling info: 24052 HU1139
Source: purchased somewhere northwest of Austin

 

 

For me, this is the best beer available in the Houston area. I don't drink more than one or two beers a day in the evening time.
I drink this one from the long neck bottle.
About half the time I drink it at room temperature as that's where the flavor is magnified in my opinion. And the bubbly mouth feel is better at room temperature.
By the way, I really like this beer. My favorite one for a hot day is a cold Coors Banquet. They are the only beers that I keep in the house, except for the box of various craft beers that I couldn't stand to drink.

 

Had a few bottles while visiting @ San Antonio area. Beautiful rich burnt orange walnut brown brew. Nice fluffy head but which disappears pretty quickly. Soft malty nose.
A bit heavier body than what many/most amber lagers provide. Better than most grocery store Texas ambers and bocks. Not a real craft brew… but It definitely grew on me :)
And after I got home I found it had won Silver at GABF …granted quite a few years back.

Medium brown, clear, light tan head.
Not much aroma, smells like a macro lager.
Tastes much like a typical American mass produced lager, a little toasted malt, not much else.
Not great but not bad.

 

 

Malty and bready with caramel notes and faint bitterness. Not a particularly strong beer, a little watered-down maybe? Easy to drink though!