Raid The Eisbock
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co. "Raid The Eisbock"
$12/32 fl. oz. crowler, filled on 14 April 2018 and sampled on 16 April 2018

Notes via stream of consciousness: From what I was told, this was just an accident. They were lagering a bock and the solenoid for the glycol stuck open and the beer froze. Whallah! Eisbock! Good name by the way, especially after hearing the story. Whether it's true or not I don't know, but let's hope it tastes good. It's a clear, very dark mahogany brown with orange and crimson-ruby highlights beneath a finger thick head of creamy light tan froth. In the full glass it looks almost black but not quite, The aroma is malty with a good bit of chocolate and a touch of caramel but little else. It's clean and welcoming. The flavor follows although more caramelish than chocolatey, and there's a bit of a non-descript hoppiness to it. I'm guessing it's German noble hops from whatever the bock was before it froze. And you know, they're lucky it was in a lagering tank. When accidental freezing happens in a uni-tank the ring of ice can drop down and shear off the temperature probe and then you've got a problem. Back to the beer, it's certainly rich, and it's certainly at a doppelbock level, but it's not as rich and complex as most of the eisbocks that I've tried - which is not to say that it's not an eisbock because, clearly, it is. Looking back the head has dropped but it's still leaving some very nice lacing behind, it's leaving thin vertical strips and spots that look almost like birch trees. OK, let's finish up. Medium-full in body and gently crisp. Smooth. The alcohol has a presence but never really shows itself clearly. Nicely balanced start to finish with a median bitterness that keeps it from becoming sticky or cloying in the finish, although the alcohol is probably helping with that a little bit as well. Overall, quite nice. A "must try" for malt heads or fans of strong beers.
Review# 5,945