Starkbierzeit 2022

Nah, no specific white wine (I'm not great at describing wines either), but yes, more white grapey.

I'll try to see if I can actually post something of substance to this thread later today even though I'm late.

Thoroughly enjoyed some bocks over the weekend, including attending Notch's Starkbierfest. They released their Bock, Rauch Doppelbock, and Doppelsticke for the event. Snagged a bottle of each, and had all three on draft.

The Bock also received the "logger head" treatment. See below:

"So what’s up with the name, Loggerhead? A bock tradition in German, and at Schell Brewery in New Ulm Minnesota where we clearly stole the idea from, where a hot metal pole (known as a loggerhead) is placed into your bock beer and the malt sugars are caramelized for a much different tastel. We are giving it a shot, and hoping no one gets hurt."

https://www.brewer-world.com/the-history-of-beer-poking/

 

At the below linked website there is a video of this year's Schells Bock Fest and it shows hot pokers being inserted in beer:

https://www.mankatofreepress.com/mu...deo_a866ab5b-8a73-5625-b42a-b43dc8d4dfd6.html

A few days ago I purchased tickets to this year's Sly Fox Bock Fest & Goat Race. Below is an promotional video from 2018:



Prost!

 

It was a single, but six packs and the variety pack are available in the Twin Cities. Six packs and the variety pack were both available at the store where I bought it.

I've already thrown the bottle in my curb-side recycling bin, but I believe it was September 2022.

 

As promised, photos from Starkbierfest at Notch. The Bock was the definition of liquid bread.

 

No review, but here's what I had last night:



Hard to top this one. Rich. Bread. Toasted malts. Figs and plums.

 

Ha, no worries. No Bocks were harmed during the taking of that photo. And I wasn't drinking it anyways (the whiskey that is).

 

So, aside from the drama, how’d the poker beer go over? And your opinion on the effect on the flavor/aroma? Did it kill the carbonation? How many questions can I ask in a minute?

 

The other day I pulled Weihenstephaner Vitus out of beer fridge. This was an older bottle (3.25 years) just like the the Ayinger Weizenbock that I reviewed earlier.

Vitus is primarily a springtime beer for me; I treat it as a Weizen Maibock.


0.33 L bottle
Bottle Date: 3498 (5 Dec, 2018)
Glass: Teku
Pouring Temp: 44 F
ABV: 7.7%


Look:
Opaque golden yellow with a tall white head that fills the space in the glass not filled with liquid. The head slowly collapses to a consistent cover. Lacing is excellent - all the way down the glass

Smell:
Citrus fruits. Mango. Some apricot. White bread dough. Honeysuckle. There is a hint of spices way in the background

Taste:
A citrus bite starts things off and is quickly followed by a sweet banana-apricot mix. Mangos join the party. Then the citrus bite comes back and is joined by spices (primarily cloves). There is a flowery note in there, as well. The finish is both sweet and tart.

Feel:
Noticeable carbonation. Body is medium. Some warmth can be felt in the finish.

Overall:
I can tell that is a well executed beer. But the intensity of the citrus bite and the tartness don't quite do it for me. Nor do the mango notes. I wonder how much age has affected this particular bottle

 

It was cool to watch! I've duplicated this at home as well with their Doppelbock last year.

I didn't really analyze it much, but it made the malt profile sweeter up front. But then the beer tasted fairly normal after that. I gave their regular Bock (pictured above) the treatment at the beer fest this past weekend.

I don't really recall how it affected the carbonation. In a half liter steinkrug it causes the liquid to overflow (looks kinda cool). But I had it done in my 1 liter steinkrug. So it was quite anti-dramatic, barely made the liquid move (I have a video). The beer had been poured maybe 5-10 minutes before that, so the carbonation had likely settled anyways.

You asked four questions...you can do better than that in one minute.

 

Ight now I gotta know lol, what's the drama?

 

Damn, I need one of those for when people approach me at work

 

All of the above. Oh, and THAT’S a real beer brand.

I’m going to try it at home myself. Somday.

 

You bring the poker, I’ll bring my dab torch to light it up!

 

What's funny about that claim is that Salvator wasn't always very strong. In the 19th century it was supposedly about 5% ABV... at a time when British ales could be twice as strong. Their site (from your link) also claims: "This beer has been brewed for over 375 years – always adhering to the original recipe, with only a few refinements over the years." ... which would clearly be BS... as are most similar claims. How broad can a "refinement" be?

 

As broad as the brewery's Marketing Department wants it to be.

Cheers!