Weihnachts
Mickey Finn's Brewery

Serving: On tap, 4oz sampler
Served: 7 April 2015

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with a tan head that collapses into a sheen of soft dish-soap bubbles with minimal lacing. Similar color to Aventinus.

Smell: Very sweet nose- sweet sugary notes almost like candy, almost smells like raisin bran with their super-sugered raisins. Some faint Irish soda-bread like graininess. Very light traditional banana smells.

Taste: Big notes of banana bread and overripe banana, with another massive assertion of sweet breadiness. Beer finishes semi-sweet, which I found somewhat surprising for the style.

Mouthfeel: Medium-high body and medium-low carbonation. To style.

Overall: A beer with another really disappointing nose, and one that I found cloying sweet compared to exemplars of the style. This beer has the same coloring as an Aventinus, but is not as smooth and rounded-out in its flavor as the true stylistic gold-standard. A beer that could be improved slightly (esp. the nose!) and would be much better.

 

Served in a weizen glass at the brewpub.

Really enjoy the other w-bock here, so there are high hopes for this one. It pours a cloudy sienna topped by a finger-and-a-half of tan-cream foam. The nose comprises dark husky wheat, very light clove, very light banana peel, and grass. Gotta admit, I was pretty disappointed with this weaksauce smell. The taste blasts with banana and dark wheat, with some caramel, clove, and light brown sugar mixed there for good measure. The body is a straight medium, with a very light moderate carbonation and a sorta grainy feel. Overall, another solid w-bock from these guys, but the weak smell keeps it from attaining any level of greatness. Still tasty, though...