Faxe Fest Bock
Royal Unibrew A/S

 

 

 

 

 

Served from a can to a German style boot glass

A: Deep brown color with a two finger head. Minimal lacing. Retained itself quiet well. Looks very appetizing overall.

S: Toasty malts and some yeast character in the smell too. Nothing really to search for in the smell its nothing exceptional.

T: Biscuity, bready malts, with some nice yeast charachter too. Hop bitterness is low to normal but that's how its often supposed to be with a Bock. Some rather slight raisin flavor is also present as well.

M: Very crisp and refreshing lager but still manages to remain quiet filling. The alcohol is hidden so well its astounding. An almost 8% beer going down like a 5% could spell trouble very quick.

O: This was a pretty good beer and one of the better Bock offerings I've had. I would consider buying it again and it would make a nice beer for the spring in my opinion, even though most see it as a winter beer.

ABV 7%. 500mL can from LCBO.
Poured quite a head of medium tan foam, leaves solid lacing. Beer is a quite dark ruddy brown.

On the nose, this beer has dark rich caramel and roasted notes. Boozy plums as well as a light refreshing spiciness.

The taste initially seems quite unbalanced. A host of heavy roast malt flavours and dry caramels vie for the most attention. The maltiness kicks in late to bring a bit of lightness. A lot of flavour here, but it seems a bit all-over-the-map and a bit astringent. The finish is dry and slightly bitter, and bread comes through.

Mouthfeel is slightly heavy with the alcohol contributing body, yet retains a slight lighter side, despite all the heavy flavours.

This beer has a lot of heavy flavour, and the unfocused nature leaves a bit to be desired. Maybe saying it is a chore to drink is being too harsh. It is a big beer though.

 

 

 

 

500 mL can. Brew date April 9, 2011; Best By date July 7, 2012. Can says 7% ABV. 16.6 degrees Plato.

Appearance: Dark brown with a trace of red, quite clear. Two fingers of frothy, dense, sticky-looking, light tan head. Foam stayed around several minutes, leaving tons of lacing.

Smell: Slightly musty, sweet malt, fresh grass.

Taste: Light coffee note, more bitter than sweet, carmelized sugar, slight metal twinge from the can.

Mouthfeel: Doesn't feel too heavy. Could use a bit more carbonation. Sticky.

Overall: A decent beer. Better than the other Faxe beers I remember having. I think it would be better later this fall in cooler weather.

500ml Can

Appearance – Reddish brown colour with a very large size frothy beige coloured head. It’s hard to make out the carbonation level due to the darkness and there is some really good lacing. The head lasted for 5 minutes or so before it began to dissipate.

Smell – Malts, dark fruits, roasted nuts, breads/grains

Taste & Mouth - There is a very low amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, roasted nuts and some dark fruits. There is also a bit of a butterscotch flavour and I can taste the alcohol slightly.

Overall – The beer has a fantastic appearance in the glass. The taste is nice but nothing spectacular. It would really benefit from even just a little bit more carbonation. I wouldn't buy it again but I'm happy I gave it a shot. Also, my version was only 7% rather than the 7.7% can in the picture.

Can from the Beer Store, 500ml into a pint glass. Best before Sept 22, 2011.

Pours a dark mahogany, with some deep red wine colours appearing in the light. Tan head, with good retention and lace. Nose has some mild chocolate, dark bread, burnt caramel, mild anise notes. Taste has more of the same, chocolate and some mild sweetness. Unfortunately any other flavours were completely dominated by a strong metallic flavour (don't know if this can be attributed to the can or hard water) which lingered in the mouthfeel. Offensive but not enough to warrant a full on drainpour. Mouthfeel was a bit sticky, and some alcohol comes in as the metal begins to fade from the mouth. This one had some potential, but was brought down by a major flaw. I'd give it another shot with a fresher can.

Nice 500ml green, red, and gold can - very much in the Christmas theme - except maybe for the Viking overseer...

This beer pours a clear, very dark brown colour, with reddish highlights, and two fingers of thin foamy pale beige head, which leaves some nice consistent spidery lace around the glass in its wake. It smells of orchard fruit malt, brown sugar, and a bit of warming alcohol. The taste is sweet malt, some molasses, stewed dark fruit, some apple tartness, and a spicy hop bitterness. The carbonation is moderate, the body a solid medium weight, and smooth but for a slight boozy edge. It finishes still sweet, but with a prominent drying note, the booze and hops staging a mutiny.

Well-flavoured, to be sure, but just, um, strong-tasting. The alcohol is masked, but still creates an uneasiness as the can is drained...

Appearance: When viewed indirectly, it appears black like a cola soda. Held up directly to the light, it displays a rich orange/brown color.

Smell: Smells like pears, pineapples, grapes, toffee, and eventually a fresh brewed coffee taste. As it warms up from 4C to room temperatures (20C) it ends up smelling like a Tim Hortons 'Double Double'.

Taste: Is very complex. I tasted it fridge cold (4C) and constantly as it warmed up. The initial taste was very estery; pineapple, banana, clove and cinnamon (?). Warming up, the malt starts to show through, providing a nice biscuity, coffee chew.

Mouthfeel: Fairly thick, chewy and velvety: The carbonation could be a little less and I would have rated it as a 5.0

Drinkability: I like this beer. A lot. Especially coming from other Faxe variants such as Strong and Royal Export. I honestly was not expecting a lot. Had I not consumed this at 1 am, I perhaps would consider this more drinkable.

Overall: I had been wanting to try this beer for about 5 years. Finally found it July 9/2010, although I had overlooked it 3 days earlier. Comparing it to Doppelbocks such as Celebrator or Salvator does it a disservice; this beer stands on it's own. At $1.95 Cdn, this is quite a bargain. Wish it was available in Winnipeg.

I think this is a fantastic beer. My first beer from Faxe and my first Dopplebock-type beer. I really appeciated the complex flavors that were present in this beer compared to the standard slew of lagers, pilseners, lights, and ales out there. At 7.7% ABV you would think this beer would be somewhat bitter but that is not the case at all. It has a sweet taste with a head that is quite impressive, and it stays for a while. The nose is medium in strength and consists of dark roasted hops and hazelnuts with a little bit of alcohol coming through as well. Very pleasant throughout the entire beer and it finished quite well with no lacing left in my Czech Pilsener type glass, however I've heard this beer can leave quite the astounding amount of lacing so take my observation with a grain of salt on that one. Overall, this beer certainly surprised me, and I will buy it again!

Tasted at the end of 2008. My tasting notes reveal:

Pours as a brown ale with light head. Mainly the smell is malty, and so is the taste. I taste roasted malts but it is so light that it is almost watery. Good beer but not great. Mouthfeel is refreshing, light and thin.

Overall, a good beer that would benefit with a more "punchy" taste.

A- pours very dark but very clear. exceptional head!!!a+

S- smells of sweet malt and slightly of alcohol.

T- very smooth. sweet malt and a little warming alcohol. finishes without much sweetness.

M- again, very smooth. perfect carbonation. silky.

D- this beer could be dangerous it's so smooth!

starts to taste more alcoholic as it warms

Served in a Pilsner glass at 10c.

Pours a clear dark brown with reddish hues, huge frothy head that sticks around nicely and laces the glass. Aroma of continenetal malt and fresh cut hay. Very delicate aroma, not a trace of anything out of place, a good natural smelling lager. Flavor of malt, cristalised candy, apple and pear flesh and a hint of spice. Middle devellops a lager-esque aquaous note that I got alot from fresh pilsner in Germany. Aquaous in the sense that its a refreshing pause in the taste, not a watered down beer taste. Finishes clean and dry and leaves your tongue with a burnt crisalised homemade candy taste.

Alcohol is subtle and clean, I'm amazed this one did not come from Germany. Awesome dopplebock beer. Not as complex as Paulaner Salvator but its close.