Über Düber (2015): Hoppy Bock
Bauhaus Brew Labs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Clear dark amber, big head.

Smell: Toasted English muffins, then big caramel.

Taste: Moderately sweet caramel, earthy hops, very balanced. A little sweeter and a little citrus hops as it warms up.

Overall: Picked up a bomber to try. This is a nice balanced beer, with good malt base and both earthy and citrus hops. A nice beer for this long winter.

Bauhaus Brew Labs Uberduber Hoppy Bock. One of the "seasonal curiosities." "A toast, to all that's good in life." "Big & Funky". Limited Release. 7.0% ABV, 80 IBU, 22 fluid ounces. $7.99 for the bottle I bought.

Appearance: clear, dusky brown coloring, slim cocoa-toned head.

Aroma: malty, herbal, nutty, with hardly a trace of hops.

Taste: Wait, there they are bumping off the palate. Bright hoppiness holds court, with herbal, spicy, slightly citrus-y notes being the dominant voices. After that, it's fruit meets chocolate, with malt standing firm.

You know what? I like this. I went in thinking that I wouldn't, but it's not bad. I will enjoy the rest of this. Hey, what's the label tell us? Wait…need my glasses….oh, that's the government warning, we've all read that before. Oh, here we go…"The beer in this bottle is a true Bauhaus original. Loosely bases on German bockbier, we dose this festive and full-bodied malty ale {aren't bock lagers? oh, well} with loads of funky, citrusy hops and a bit of alchemy. The result? A beer worthy of Dr. Frankenstein's monster…but with more umlauts." Oh, yeah, there's umlauts over the u's, but I haven't figured out how to do them on this keyboard.

So, I'll probably still keep trying Bauhaus' beers, though I think their label copy is atrocious. And I still haven't forgiven them for "#jazzisstupid."

 

 

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a tall pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep brownish amber with a lot of rising bubbles. About one finger of off white head which settles into a thin creamy layer.

Smell: A toasty and sweet malt forward aroma with hints of biscuit, caramel, and toffee. Toasted barley malt with hints of grains, biscuit, toast, toffee, caramel, nuts, and yeast. Earthy and citrus hops with some notes of grass, orange, and lemon. A nice malty aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a toasty and sweet malt forward taste with notes of biscuit, toffee, and caramel. Upfront toasted barley malt with notes of biscuit, toast, grains, toffee, caramel, yeast, and nuts. Nice presence of earthy and floral hops with some grass. Also some light citrus notes of lemon and orange. A solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, silky, and pretty smooth with a drying finish.

Overall: A pretty solid take on a Bock. Nice toasty malt notes with a hoppy finish.

 

This beer pours a clear ruby color with a small bubbly head that disappears quickly. Lacing is minimal. The aroma is of toffee, light caramel, biscuit, wheat toast, floral, clean. The taste is similar to the aroma with lots of toffee and caramel. The mouthfeel is medium full bodied, and slightly chewy in texture with appropriately moderate carbonation. Overall, this beer reminds me more of a good dunkel than a bock, and that makes me happy. The label states that the beer is hoppy, but I'm not detecting much hop character minus the light floral tones in the aroma, and I'm glad it's not there. Bocks and dunkels shouldn't be hoppy. I like this beer for what it is, and what it is really fits the season.