Maibocks are one of my favorite styles, and 'tis the season. But it seems that while almost all of them are distributed in the Midwest, we get none here. Besides BBC and Rogue Dead Guy, can anyone else tell me a maibock that has distribution in MA or NH? Thanks!
Not in bottles/cans but Idle Hands has a nice Maibock called Bluma on tap right now. I've seen it on taps lists in a few spots around town and available in crowlers at the brewery.
Easy to gets off the top of my head would be Troegs Cultivator ad a spring seasonal, and Trader Joes has a house brand one as well.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll keep an eye out for the Idle Hands on tap. Cultivator, at least according to the Troeg website, isn't available within 100 miles of me. Seems strange, as I can get Troegenator easily, as well as Mad Elf and some of their other seasonals. Maybe I missed the window and they sold through? I will check out the Trader Joe's; that's great idea.
http://magounssaloon.com/maibock-spring-fest-2017/ All great suggestions so far. I'm not sure how far away Somerville is from you, but if you love Maibocks, I highly recommend heading to Olde Magoun's Saloon on April 29th. 6 German Maibocks on tap plus a German menu (their German food is solid). Even if you can't make it this day, I'm sure those will be on tap for awhile. Maibocks aren't exactly flying off the shelves these days... You could even swing by Idle Hands (probably about a 20 minute drive away from Olde Magoun's) and pick up some of their Maibock for home consumption. Finally, Ball Square Fine Wines and Liquors less than a half mile away from the bar typically has Hofbrau Maibock this time of year. I haven't seen it yet, but it might be there by the end of April.
Berkshire used to make a really good Maibock, but I can't remember off hand if I had it last year or not. Oddly enough BBC's website has been down for quite some time and they've been non-responsive on Twitter, so I don't know if they're releasing it this year. I'd recommend the Magoun's event (& subsequent days) as well. Nowhere else will you ever find 6 different Maibocks on tap.
This. Also in addition to Magouns there will be some draught Andechs Bergbock Maibock for the first time ever stateside. Check Blackmoor, Row 34, Deep Ellum, Lone Star Cambridge, The Gaff, Smiths Billiards, The Independent, and Stoddards.
Another local option - Night Shift just announced they are releasing a maibock called "To Helles and Bock" in cans on May 6.
For anyone interested - apparently not too many by what's left - Magouns still has 4 of the 5 Maibocks on tap. All excellent, served in branded glassware & somewhat different from each other. Prosit!
I had the Andech's and the Einbecker, I thought both tasted as if they had some age on them. Some astringency that was subduing that malt character. I had the Hofbrau there last year, and it was excellent. Malt profile was much more rounded, bready, smooth...etc. I think last year's event was around March, maybe these are a bit old? I plan on trying to head there next weekend to try the Hofbrau and Hacker Pschorr. I haven't seen Ayinger's yet either, I've seen it on tap in prior years (I think last year was at Redbones).
I had Andechs, Hofbrau & Einbecker - thought the Einbecker was the more hoppier & festbier-tasting of the 3. Agree with your aged assessment on the HB, but still good for a unique style around here.
