Gluek Honey Bock
Cold Spring Brewing Co.

Gluek Honey BockGluek Honey Bock
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Cold Spring Brewing Co.
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
Bock
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
73
Avg:
2.89 | pDev: 26.3%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
27
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 31, 2015
Added:
Sep 10, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mothman:
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

3.23/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Well, my buddy and I decided to get some good beer, so we got some good beer and some cheap beer. We went with Titan IPA and this. The Gluek was only $10 for a 24 pk and right now I am thinking it is quite the bargain. This beer is actually drinkable.

Poured into Sam Adams Sensory glass. Color is golden bronze. Pours a golden bronze color. Thin head that leaves no lacing.

The smell is mainly malty. No hop aroma. The taste is a lot similar. There are some earthy hops along with carmel notes. Not to bad of a taste.

Mouthfeel is very bitter and crisp. Leaves a slight sticky aftertaste.

Overall, this is one great beer for the price. I would much rather buy this beer than any BMC product. If you need to go cheap, check this beer out.
Jan 25, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.27 by iRun2Beer from Minnesota

Aug 31, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by schoon from Iowa

Aug 31, 2013
 
Rated: 1 by cfitterer from Montana

May 21, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by matjack85 from Illinois

Feb 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Doyle from Minnesota

Aug 05, 2012
Photo of lwillitz
Reviewed by lwillitz from Wisconsin

3.35/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12-oz can poured into Samuel Smith "Tulip" pint glass

A - 2-finger white head disappears in less than a minute and crackles like Rice Krispies as it goes. The beer itself is a transparent orange-brown, almost a combination of the main brown color of the can and the color of the orange goat on the can.

S - overwhelming sweet smell of honey, some malty scent, faint hop presence

T - sweetness of honey and malt balanced fairly well by some hoppy bitterness, especially in the finish; not much complexity to the flavor, but what it has is pretty good.

M - light- to medium-bodied with average carbonation

D - This is not exactly a world-class beer, but it was always my default when I just needed to re-stock the fridge with something. At about $10/24-pack, this beer packed plenty of bang for the buck. Unfortunately, the brew is no more. This is very likely my last experience with Gluek Honey Bock. RIP
Mar 15, 2011
Photo of FreshmanPour77
Reviewed by FreshmanPour77 from Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +33.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Reviewed 11-15-09
Cold, from a can to a glass

Must be a father beer, my dad tossed me a couple as well, yeah one of the cheaper brews floating around!

A - Dark brown/reddish tan color, ok carbonation but only 1 finger of foam after pouring

S - Sweet honey smell fixed nicely with a sweet caramel malt smell

T - Medium bodied, sweet tasty flavor, very smooth finish

M/D - Overall a pretty drinkable brew from Gluek, not a harsh beer, pretty smooth resting in my mouth, smooth going down. Not much of a malt aftertaste. For the price a well done brew? I would drink again, maybe even go out and buy it myself!
Nov 17, 2009
Photo of jera1350
Reviewed by jera1350 from Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
My dad picked up a 12 pack for under $4 at the local liquor store for this so I thought I'd try it out.

Pours a lighter brown with pretty nice head and some tight lacing.

Some honey, grain, banana and a bit of citrus.

Mostly light roasted malt, some grain, hints of banana also.

Pretty thin feeling. Carbonation isn't too bad. Finish is dry.

Easy to drink. Nothing spectacular, but nothing that turns me away either. Middle of the road bock, but at a stellar price.
Sep 07, 2009
Photo of Mistofminn
Reviewed by Mistofminn from Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Ok, I have never liked Gluek, but I have always liked Bock's (not necessarily Honey Bock's) so this is a clash that I was interested to find out how it turned out.

Pours a brown color with ruby highlights. Actually has a decent size head, but that disappears within a few minutes. No lacing.

Has a very strong smell. I opened the can and poured it into a pint glass and my roommate across the room said "wow I can smell that from over here." Has a pretty average smell. Not bad, not impressive. There is a strong presence of alcohol on the nose, however.

Tastes like a slightly watered down average bock. Definitely was not expecting that from a beer that cost's about $0.40 a can. Don't get me wrong, this is not by any means an impressive bock, but compared to the cost, it's really not that bad. It's actually...dare I say...kind of good!

Very crisp mouthfeel. Not smooth or creamy, with minimal carbonation.

Easy drinking.

The thing about this beer, is the cost to quality ratio. For $9.50 a case, you really can't go wrong. If you don't like it, leave it in the fridge for free-bee's when your buddies come over, maybe they will like it. Really though, I would buy a case of this anytime.
Jan 08, 2009
Photo of fizzy
Reviewed by fizzy from Minnesota

3.66/5  rDev +26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
I believe this beer gets the "bum" rap much of the time due to being drank at to cold a temp. I have experimented with this beer over a wide range of temps and have found that at very cold temps the beer is downright "blech". At to high of temps it shares the "to cold" evaluation- pretty "blech". At just over 40F, maybe up to about 45F, this beer tastes pretty good. I would advise anybody trying this beer to drink it at cold cellar temps or slightly lower. It can't take the "lite beer" chill down that has become so popular with thin watery beers.
Jan 01, 2009
Photo of climax
Reviewed by climax from Missouri

2.85/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
i had to turn the label on the can around and forget everything i knew about glueks beer to do this review. this beer actually much exceeded my expectations for $3.50 a sixer

a - dark brown with a purple or maroon hue

s - sweet smell, no hops, maybe hints of banana and caramel, didn't smell like crap

t - like it smelled, sweet, vanilla, caramel, banana, seemed a little diluted but was never overly strong of alcohol (5.8 % abv)

m - beer was pretty thin, somewhat watery throughout but not enough to ruin the experience

d - easy to drink but would probably get old after a few, however a grand choice if your not rollin in the dough
Dec 26, 2008
Photo of BeerBelcher
Reviewed by BeerBelcher from Ohio

1.52/5  rDev -47.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
This beer was good from the perspective that it exceeded my expectations from a cost-to-value perspective. I picked it up on a lark because it was soooo cheap at Discount Liquor. I expected a pale economy lager all other budget beers I can think of. What I got was something that actually seemed a bit bock-like. The bad news? It was not a bock I liked! Truer to style than other budget beers might be, but still not really worth buying or drinking, no matter the price.

It was dark brown but brilliant and sparkling, with a fine white head. I started to think that maybe this cheap beer wouldn't be so bad...price isn't everything after all. Aroma was diacetyl, metal, and some caramel. Flavor was not good...malted milk ball graininess with some sourness that I really don't think was supposed to be there. Pretty awful. Mouthfeel was thin. Most of this went down the drain.

I would not recommend this beer. I have several more in the fridge awaiting their eventual disposal, which will not be via mine (nor anyone else's) stomach.

I bought this at Discount Liquor in Milwaukee.
Nov 10, 2008
Photo of kjyost
Reviewed by kjyost from Canada (MB)

1.93/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
Drank right out of the can at a boy's weekend in Fargo... We pick beer by price, and the place went to this beer cost less than 25 cents a can...

The beer had a mildly sweet quality to it, and was drinkable when excessively chilled. I will have good memories of it due to the time I had, but I would never buy it again except under similar circumstances.
Jul 12, 2008
Photo of happygnome
Reviewed by happygnome from Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
a: deep amber rust color with about an eigth inch of head that dissapears fast leaving a slender ring of lace around the sides of the glass
s: kind of bland sweet honeyish smell lacks any aroma of hops
t: kind of bland sweet malts followed by a watery taste
m: light to medium bodied little carbonation

overall, for the proce (I think $7 for a 12) this isnt bad, Gluek is known around herer for cheap beer and cheap beer taste this isnt too bad, no metal taste but surprisingly bland, good thing its not a sessioner cause i wouldnt want to session this
Jul 23, 2007
Photo of WVbeergeek
Reviewed by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

2.17/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
I'm a sucker for canned beers, I guess...appears a light amber brown in color with a large cream head leaving uneven patches of lace all around my pint. Aroma contains semi sweet roasty malt character with a tocuh of honey noted but really holds together a decent smell for this cheap of looking canned brew not too much hops of course if any noticeable. Flavors are pretty rough with grainy offness flowing touch of roasty character with a light herbal hop note, pretty damn bland not as much honey as in the nose in fact it's hard to pick out amongst the graininess. Mouthfeel a bit thin in body light with not much texture carbonation moderate but seems really unnatural infused into it. Drinkability...not great but manageable like a High Falls JW Dundee's Honey Brown not something I'd search for ever again.
Apr 06, 2007
Photo of Gump
Reviewed by Gump from Minnesota

2.42/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
What is it that makes cheap beer taste bad?
My son, 12 years old at the time, said "it tastes like metal".

When I bought this beer, I thought to myself "I better get the 'honey' to cover the metal taste".

First pour is suprisingly dark and foamy head.
Smells of canned beer (what a coincidence, it IS canned beer) and light grass and honey.

Taste was the familiar "metallic" flavor of canned macro brew, but not as intense as some of the more cheap shit. Also more flavorful and robust than the other examples in this category. I'm glad I got the "honey" bock.

--- additional comments on Jan 27, 207 ---
Clean amber pour with minimal head.
Acidic sweet grain aroma
Canned taste
Hard to get past the huge metallic taste, especially on the first drink.
Compare this to other beers in this price range and it's a terrific value.
Jan 27, 2007
Photo of CharlesDarwin
Reviewed by CharlesDarwin from Rhode Island

1.18/5  rDev -59.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Originally reviewed April 9, 2005. Poured from a can at the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest 2005. Not really any particular aroma. I’m very underwhelmed with this beer. It’s dusty and rubbery. Very sour and offensive flavors. The end of the profile hurts of stinging aluminum foil in my mouth. This is a bock? This is beer?

How can this beer be "Worth A Try"? It's certainly the worst bock I've ever had, if not one of the most offensive non-Pale Lagers I've ever had.
Aug 06, 2006
Photo of scruffwhor
Reviewed by scruffwhor from Illinois

3.45/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12oz bottle.

Appearance- Left only a one finger head with about two minutes retention. Color was a mix between betwen mahogany and brown sugar mixed with tap water.

Smell- Some watery, yet tpasty malts insist on telling my noise it is a worthy bock with a slightness of sweet honey straight from the plastic bear.

Taste- Starts out with a dry earthy crystal malt and light German hop bitterness. The honey slowly shows itself in a drak way. By dark I mean in the shadows. Left behind a slurry of light toasted malts.
Mar 29, 2006
Photo of budgood1
Reviewed by budgood1 from Minnesota

3.42/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
pours out a mahoghany colour...sparse head and lace. a light toasty and sweet aroma...not too bad. while not a true bock, it tastes alright....light nuttiness and a touch of sweet honey mingles with a graininess and toastiness that melds quite well together. the good thing is that i can't find anything i don't like about the flavour profile. i can sense the bittering hops, and i would say this is a fairly tasty dark lager. the mouthfeel is nice; the body a bit lean and watery... but for $10 a case of cans one can't go wrong. the elevated ABV isn't noticeable either. i think i found my new cheap beer alternative. i'll be buying more.
Aug 18, 2005
Gluek Honey Bock from Cold Spring Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 27 ratings