Santa's Little Helper Winter Bock
Ethereal Brewing

 

Brewed to assist Operation Secret Santa and designed to give a unique holiday flavor to their fans, Ethereal Brewing looks at the German styled bock beer for inspiration when devising a beer that fits both goals.

Santa's Little Helper pours garnet brown with a general rusty haze. As the dark lager settled into the glass, a light tan froth carries a scent of toast, dark fruit, brown sugar and a hint of coffee. Sweeter on the tongue, the dry caramel flavors bring hints of sorghum, toffee, nuttiness and mild molasses.

Dry in its approach, the malt forward beer shows great dryness as its sweetness largely dissolves and the more toasty and savory flavors soon follow. Toasty, coffee-like, nutty and with shy hints of cocoa, the beer's middle palate is framed with gently burnt sugars, breads and light grilled fruit. A slim bitterness reinforces a coffee finish with a mild fruity hint of sherry to finish.

Medium bodied, malty-dry and finishing remarkably drinkable for such a darker lager, the bock beer misses the mark on more savory and sweet notions of the style, but this cleaner, crisper and nearly refreshing character has the session drinking like a bold brown beer or light porter.