Yes Dear Beer
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

750 mL bottle picked up at the brewery; one of four beers released earlier this month to commemorate the brewmaster's wedding. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a translucent ruby-red amber colour. Generates a full inch of frothy, off-white head that sticks around for a couple of minutes, leaving behind a lovely, uninterrupted curtain of lacing, in addition to a thin cap and narrow collar of bubbly foam. Rich, malt-focussed aroma; roasted grains, toasted biscuits and some nutty notes are detectable, with some caramel and treacle sweetness. Quite earthy on the nose, too; almost like soil or tree bark. Good stuff thus far.

Well it certainly tastes like a bock, with saccharine malt flavours dominating most of the profile. Toasty, bready biscuits and caramel are prominent, with hints of nutty, flaky pastry sweetness and raisin. Seems to get a bit roastier towards the finish, with a slight earthy bitterness briefly overtaking the malt bill before fading back in time to allow for a lingering, caramelized sweetness in the aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with restrained carbonation levels that weakly prickle the palate. Drinks a bit lightly for 6%, though this is partly due to the somewhat thin mouthfeel.

Final Grade: 3.7, a solid B grade. Bog-standard bocks have never been a go-to for me, but Yes Dear Beer is overall a pretty decent example of one that would serve as a proper introduction to the style. The malts probably steal the show here - but not in an overbearing or cloying manner, which is greatly appreciated by this consumer. I wouldn't go out of my way for another one, but it's fine for what it is, and certainly worth a look if you appreciate this classic, strong German lager style.