Maple Bourbon Bacon Bock
Sockeye Grill & Brewery

Draft at Fairview location. Dark amber pour, tiny ring of beige head. Maple is first on the nose, hint of smoke, sweet. Taste comes in like a true doppelbock, sweet and smoky, maple more subdued than in the aroma. With so much going on here, this could have gone terribly wrong but its great. All of the elements are in sync, complimenting each other. Doppelbock for breakfast.

On-tap at the brewery and served in a snifter.

A: Very dark amber appearance, clear-bodied with a small head.

S: Sweetness without being cloying; maple and vanilla, with a minor smoke character offsetting. Bready malt.

T: Malty and maple sweetness, caramel, mild smokiness apparent.

MF: Light-bodied and clean with a light lingering smoky sweetness.

O: A really fun light abv bock with some complementary adjuncts; I'd say its a winner.

i wanted this to be way better than it is, its kind of light, weirdly sweet, even greasy, and just doesnt taste as well put together as i hoped it would. its a paler bock, brassy in shade, without a ton of head on it. the aroma is maple for sure, a little smoke to it, a ton of brown sugar, a grain base thats a little too light for the flavors here, and some vanilla, i suppose i go get all the elements in the aroma, but its not particularly compelling for some reason. the beer is sweet in taste but its not pure maple to me, i get the whiskey sweetness too, but the maple part tastes light and cheap, and the bacon element is just weird, smoked for a second with weird meaty element to it, cool, but not appealing really. vanilla and grain sugar to finish, slick feeling almost greasy, and just not as evolved and refined as it could have been. i approached this one with great anticipation, i am a lover of maple beers and this sounded real ambitious, but its nothing special in the end. the bacon part is distracting, it might be better without it...

edit: now on tap at the brewery more than three years after above review. this seems a lot better refined than i remember it, sweet but not overly so, natural maple, and just a light smoke from the malt, not necessarily a real bacon flavor now, less whiskey and more wood so its mellower overall, and the low alcohol is awesome in this to me. its smooth in feel, complex in flavor, and quite well refined, earthy and autumnal, and absolutely without question better than i remember it being years ago, although i cannot exactly remember where or when i had this one. in any event, its tasty stuff, on tap now, and delicious. i am raising a few scores accordingly...