Hudepohl Festival Bock
Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

It pours a kind of murky amber to dark copper color. The head is light and fizzy and too short lived.

The nose is rather light but quite nice. I catch maple, figs, caramel malt and a bit of darker fruits.

I'm a bit taken aback by the flavor as its nicely rich and diverse. Maple syrup, caramel malt, hints of chocolate and toffee, dates, figs and barley are found on the palate.

The feel is a little sharp with carbonation, but it has a nice thickness to it.

I had no expectation to get the flavors I found but this was a nice surprise and a tasty beer.

 

A fairly decent offering from a mass produced beer. Hudy Festival Bock pours a deep amber brown with a 1 inch thick white tight bubbled head that dissipates quickly to a thin layer of white foam that light clings to the glass. Smell is sweet, almost like a soft drink with lots of medium roasted caramel malts. Taste is fairly one dimensional with sweetness up front with the taste of cola, caramel, and a light tin like aftertaste. Not awful by any means, but much less a bock that it was 20 years ago. Solid but not exceptional, although the price makes up for that from a mass produced bock for which they should be applauded for.

 

 

 

Poured from a bottle to a Sam hybrid glass.

A: Dark amber with a substantial head that dissipated slowly.

S: Malty sweetness.

T: Malty sweetness and a hint of bitterness to balance it out. Alcohol on the back and increasing as it warms.

M: Medium-bodied and medium-high carbonation.

O: The unbalanced sweetness that characterizes everything I've had from Hudy thus far is much less present in this Bock - it looks amazing and everything else is appropriate to the style. Taste of ethyl is a little off-putting on the back and as the beer warms, though, so don't expect a Hudy that is too upmarket.

12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear dark copper with a one finger white head. Ok head retention but not really much in the way of lacing.

Aroma has a good bit of cooked caramel along with a certain corn character. Some burnt toast and metal.

The flavor is quite sweet right off the bat along with a large amount of caramel. Burnt toast and toffee along with the same metal that was present in the aroma and is a bit distracting. Bitterness is light but the sweetness is not and that is something I found a little unpleasant. The sweetness really hinders drinkability and almost becomes cloying at times.

Overall, a fairly poor excuse for a bock. The sweetness is a bit extreme and the metallic taste is bad. Not really one I would pick up again.

Pours a brilliant burgundy with a fizzy half inch khaki head that dissipates fairly quickly, leaving a light film.

Cola, rubber, and caramel form the initial aroma. Seems fairly sweet, with a touch of nuttiness and floral notes.

Flavor reveals toasted malt as the backbone, with that caramel and cola sweetness and buttery diacetyl surfacing mid palate. There are underpinnings of dark berries.

Body is moderate, with fairly high carbonation and significant alcohol warmth.

The fruitiness and cola flavors are somewhat offputting. More complex than anticipated, but lacks the melanoidins and malt complexity typical of the style.

12oz bottle poured into pint glass.

Pours a highly carbonated brown, the head comes in quickly and leaves just as quickly. Very malty in the nose and on the palate. Very easy to drink and actually quite enjoyable as well. This is a solid bock that you can find dirt cheap in the cincy area. I got my six pack for well less than a dollar a beer. Hudepohl tends to get a bad name but they put out beer that blows most macros out of the water.