Online Tasting: Bocks (April 23-25, 2021)

The OG Weizenbock.....now in cans.

Really nice banana ester aroma, mixed with dark fruits. Taste is the same, raisiny, malty, medium body, high carbonation and super easy to drink.

 

I look forward to reading your impressions. We all have our own unique palates and preferences.

Cheers!

 

I tasted it. :fingerguns:

Firstly, the absence of detectable oxidation or 3-MBT. They use wrap around cardboard, but not on the sides, so if it's sitting on the shelf long enough it'll still likely get hit. And, if it's split up, with the green bottles, it's obviously doomed. Secondly, the spiciness of the hops is very evident. I've had it both in Germany several times and old versions here in the States, and the difference is pretty profound. Now, I definitely couldn't put a date on it (and apparently neither can they), but from a sensory standpoint it is probably the best one I have ever had here.

 

Löwenbrau Triumphator (7.6% ABV, 18.2°P)

One of the first Bocks I've ever had. Rare to find and this is probably the oldest version (07/2021/L202026) I've had.

Smell is very bready with slight notes of plumbs and grapes. Taste is quite complex with aromas of grapes and berry fruits (blackcurrant(?), cherry) with a decent sourness. Malt is dark and rather roasty.
At the end there is something that makes this beer a bit heavy/cloying but overall this is still great!

Prost!

 

On to Bock #2.

This is from Capital Brewery. Others have said the beers went downhill after a Brewmaster change.

Side by side, it would be very easy to tell them (Lakefront and Capital) apart. They taste nothing alike, nor do they smell the same. It will take a few more of each to make a final decision but at this point the 6 pack of Lakefront will disappear faster than this 6 pack. I don't think I would buy this one again (but won't waste the other 5 ) . It is not bitter, maybe on the sweet side. Says "noble hop spice honey-malt sweet".

Cheers.

 

Really miss good old Lowenbrau here. Who can forget that "Weekends were made for Lowenbrau".

Cheers.

 

Here's another of Manet's paintings which wikimedia commons lists as: "Pivoines dans un bock", "Peonies in a bock" bock refering to the glass mug.

That's a sweet looking mug btw.

 

OK, the sun is theoretically over the yardarm (too cloudy to tell for sure... but the clock says so), and I'm retired so no work day impediment...

Starting out with the top-rated dopplebock, which I first had last year. I thought (like @DoctorZombies) this would be the beer to start my bock tasting with.


Ayinger Celebrator
Bock - Doppelbock
ABV: 6.7%
IBU: 24



Clear mahogany color with an abundance of carbonation bubbles rising to light tan head, thick and bubbly with excellent retention. The head forms a pock-marked surface as it recedes.

The aroma is weaker than I remember. Sweet caramel and slight chocolate. The beer stood for 5 or 10 minutes after removing it from a 41°F refrigerator, but I think I still should have let it warm up a bit more. I'm going to let it warm for another 5-10 minutes, slowly sipping as I go.

After giving the beer time to warm a bit more, now there are the dried fruits, with the overall aroma stronger, but still not very strong.

Lots going on in the taste. Caramel, chocolate, toasted malts, some earthy bitterness from the toasted malts. Figs or plums come out as the beer warms a bit. The interplay of the dried figs, caramel, chocolate, and toasted malts is wonderful. The beer starts out on the sweet side, but moderates toward the finish. The aftertaste is the continuing interplay of the flavors, malty, ending on the dry side.

The mouth feel is light to moderate, with a creamy smooth finish.

This is, according to our (BAs) overall ranking, the world standard of doppelbocks. From this tasting (once I allowed it to get to proper serving temperature), it is hard to argue with that. A great beer to start the tasting.

L: 4.5 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.5 | Rating: 4.33

 

Keeping up with the wheat doppelbocks....

Similar banana esters as Aventinus, without any of the dark fruits. Like their Weißbier, but on steroids. Mouthfeel is heavier than it's non-anabolic brother. Medium body, bready and spicy, perhaps from hops but I think from the 7.7% abv. Wish I has some Weißwurst to go with it.



Very old brewery needs some very old music...

 

I purchased a four-pack of Celebrator a few months ago for holiday drinking. I found those beers to be 'lesser' than from previous drinking experiences. While I enjoyed drinking all four of those beers I must confess that I was disappointed. My memory of my previous drinking experiences of these beers was this beer was vibrant, big and bold but this last four-pack was not consistent with that recollection. I am uncertain whether I will ever purchase Celebrator again. It is very pricey in my area and frankly for the price the beers should taste like previous years version tasted.

Maybe the beers I recently purchased got abused in transport?

Cheers!

 

I drank three bottles of Hofbrauhaus MaiBock on Wednesday evening. It's the first time I've had it since a visit to Munich in May of 1984. It was very pleasant, but the taste reminded me of Trader Joe's Prost which was unfortunately not available in NJ or Ct. this year (or maybe ever).
Their contractor did a good job in replication the taste of a classic.

 

I remember last year, when I had it for the first time, being a little disappointed at the subtleness of it. I chalked it up to high expectations set by the overall ranking and a beer with a bit of age on it. My second time around I'm still at a small negative rDev.

 

Are you familiar with the diacetyl character? A buttery to butterscotch flavor that sometimes tastes cloyingly sweet? My latest experiences with Capital's lagers have yielded this character. I can see them trying to pass it off on a "honey" character, but it's not really the same.

 

Sticking with Weihenstephan....

Big aroma of burnt sugar and dark fruits (despite my seasonal allergies). The 7.4% abv is well hidden by the malts, which are sweet dark bread.

 

Call me old fashioned and out of touch but I just do not like seeing this in cans. I have a noted can phobia.

 

I am new in these parts so not familiar with the language of brewing/beers. Your explanation makes sense. A very different flavor than the Lakefront. I am about to try my last local Maibock. It will be interesting to see where it falls.

 

Rock out with yer Bock out, BA's!

Finally home from my office and cracked my first bock of the weekend.....have not had this one in a while - I am digging it, although I was too lazy to wait for it to chill down more in the frig.....

Very enjoyable - crisp, refreshing and drinkable!



don't forget to bring yer goats out!



Cheers ya Bock-hards - goat horns up <<>>>>

 

I think you already know that I'd find that interesting. I was actually wondering if that was exactly the case - Not because I knew that info, but just because it seemed like a logical assumption. Thanks for chiming in (as usual). Here's a different version of that painting (essentially), that has the glasses in clearer view:

 

You're just cansphobic. It's actually odd to me too, as with other beers like Delirium Tremens. But I'm trying to be progressive and I think in the end we'll be better off.

 

Happy Friday, BA. Two Party System is an American Doppelbock brewed by District 96 in New City, NY. This is definitely more of a cooler Spring evening beer. The 7% abv and notes of sweet milk chocolate, caramel and dark breads is much more enjoyable in cooler weather or as a dessert companion when compared to something like a Helles bock.
Cheers!