Just Beer X Bock
Buzzards Bay Brewing

22oz. bomber shared with friends on 6/11/10.

A - Poured a clear copper-toned body with reddish tints and a slim off-white head that reduced to a thin, wispy patch and spotty lacing.

S - Sweet and malty aroma with a hint of honey sweetness and light herbal hop notes.

T - Sweet malt, caramel and toffee create the base of the bock, while a hint of herbal and grassy hops emerge in the middle through the backend. The sweet malt evolves into a butterscotch character with a hint of apple and mild dark fruit. Finishes with a faint nibble of herbal hop bitterness.

M - Medium bodied with a somewhat syrupy texture that drops off quickly, resulting in a rather thin, watery mouthfeel overall. Finishes with a faint bitterness, although it festers on the palate.

D - Not a bad Bock overall, although I doubt it would stand out in a group.

appearance - Amber copper color, off white head, no lace.

smell - Malts, hints of alcohol, and some hops.

taste - Nice balance of malt and hops here. 8% ABV is present.

mouthfeel - Medium body.

drinkability - Lots of flavor here. Nice and tastey here, malt and hops have a lot of flavor here.

22oz. bottle served in a tasting snifter. Pours a translucent mahogany with a loose, half-inch, white head that dissipates into a band. Nose is malty sweet with a hint of dark fruit. Taste is earthy malt and a little burnt, with a slightly watered down quality; not much dark fruit coming out in the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is light-medium, with a slightly coarse carbonation and a little prickliness across the roof of the mouth. Decent, but a somewhat lackluster example of the style. Alcohol was very well-hidden, but not really something I would look to again.

I've been looking forward to this beer for quite some time. This bock was lagered for about 12 weeks prior to release. This Just Beer release is similar to last year's Buzzards Bay Harvest Bock, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I'm pleased to say, I enjoyed this years version even more.

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a traditional Lowenbrau dimple mug. Looks amazing, with deep copper hues and a thick off-white two finger head that doesn't want to go away. Spot on.

The smell is somewhat muddled, but I can certainly pick up heavy amounts of malts, probably caramel. There are also traces of hops, but are barely noticeable.

I was really blown away by the taste, since I couldn't get too much nose on this one. Full bodied malt flavors up front, which is followed by a very subtle hint of hops which keeps this bock neat and well-balanced. The deep, complex flavor of the malts keep me coming back for more. Very well done.

Mouthfeel was bit drier than I expected, but it wasn't unpleasent by any means.

Drinkability is a 5 for me. I've had 2 growlers of this before, and I cleaned them out pretty quickly. Easy to drink, doesn't over fill you too much, and it's 7.8%. Not much else to say.

If you go into this thinking "traditional German bock", you may be disappointed. It isn't the total maltfest that traditional bocks are. However, this is one fantastic brew. It's complex flavor and sheer drinkaiblity seperate this bock from the rest. I think I'd take an X Bock over most traditional German bocks. That's right, I said it.

NOTE: The Just Beer website says X Bock is 8.1%, but the bottles say 7.8, so I put that down as the ABV.