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

I must confess I had a Dupont as a cap last night that felt glorious...

And still have my first ever Eisbock to try, but honestly I´d prefer to leave it for tomorrow (European time) if the pub is still open for a while. I don´t want to waste that experience while not being in the right mood, and might open a Franziskaner to call it a day.

That said I enjoyed my 4 bocks here a lot, to the point i´d have a second if not a third of each.

 

Back to this newly found friend. I have always liked (top one or two) Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier but never tried this. Better late than never. All thanks to this weekends Bock tasting.

Cheers.

 

@TongoRad and all participants thank you for the fun exploration of bocks this weekend. My one and only beer today will be from weihenstephaner - korbinian.



A beautiful dark brown beer with a hefty off white head. I noticed the same thing with optimator, holding this one up to light is a thing of beauty as well. There’s a subtle deep red hue to the brown as well.

Aroma most noticeable to me was chocolate, follows by subtle roast and some toffee and raisin. Lots going on in the nose from this one.

The same prominent chocolate note hits immediately upon sipping, its a very pleasant start to the sip. What follows is the roastiness and some sort of dark rich bread. It is like liquid bread to be honest, very hefty.

Mouthfeel is medium and chewy, it is a hefty beer. For such a hefty beer it certainly goes down very nicely. I noticed the same thing in optimator. There is almost a creaminess, without the sweetness, to how smooth it is. A little kiss of bitter on the finish.

I’m glad this is my one and only beer of today, it is a big one and it is quite tasty. I truly enjoyed reading all the reviews I did. I look forward to reading more tomorrow as I’m sure you west coasters will add while I’m sound asleep. Cheers everyone. Have a great week!

 

Yeah - I wonder what it would have been like if I had not dumped all the yeast in, but what I had wasn't enough to make me spend money to find out.

And I was disappointed as I have had a chance to try a number of their beers at this point and enjoyed most of them. This one slip won't turn me off from them, by any means.

 

Thank you for suggesting we do another bock tasting, and for volunteering to host it.

It has been a wonderful binge of a weekend!

 

Local store was really light on bocks this week (BA effect?) , and I did not really feel like Korbinian. Fortunately I had a few bottles stashed.

 

And, now for #3 for today, ending with a traditional bock.

Those of you who participate / read NBW know that I like this brewery a lot, and not just for their beers (although that is a big part), but also for their whole historical preservation ethic.

Waldmann Bock
Bock - Traditional
ABV: 5.3%
IBU: NA



Very tall and very fizzy off-white-to-tan head that noisily recedes to a thick bubbly, airy cap with short lacing in a couple of minutes, and then a few minutes later a center island of bubbles and an airy bubbly ring with no lacing. The beer itself is ruby-brown, clear, with an abundance of tiny bubbles. Nice looking bock; the only downgrade is the quickly receding fizzy head.

The aroma is bread, toast, dried sweet figs, slight spice.

The initial sip tastes of figs and raisins, toast and dark bread. Shortly after, there is a drying feel that is not bitter or tart, but in that direction, as perhaps a very mild astringency - I hesitate to use that word since it can convey something I don't intend. Perhaps just mildly drying is better. All the while retaining its inherent sweetish, toasty malty underpinnings. The flavor has a lot going on. The light spiciness mentioned in the aroma; a sweet caramel or sweet figs. Toast. Dark (German) bread. This is a very tasty traditional bock. The finish is somewhat sweet, as is the aftertaste, with the previously mentioned flavors remaining.

The mouth feel has a substantial body.

Overall, tasty and well-brewed. Brewed to the German style without the need to Americanize it. That's one of the things I like about Waldmann's beers - authenticity.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.25 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.0 | Rating: 4.03

 

We can hope

Not really . You are often the...uh...bittering hops that are needed to make the BAbrew complete.

One more Hofbrau Maibock to the thread.
Toffee,caramel, brown bread/molasses , raisin, slight roasted pecan. Sweet-ish, but not too sweet , at least for the occasional thing. Not drinking it all day, every day, afterall.

3.97/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4686/3397/?ba=mikeinportc#review

 

Wrapping up my bock participation with a beer I’m a bit embarrassed to say I haven’t had in 6 years...Weihenstephaner Korbinian doppelbock.
Color is a deepest mahogany, opaque except at the edges of my Spaten mug. A massive, 4-finger light khaki head is generated by a less than vigorous pour. A couple deep whiffs detect aromas of toffee, milder dark chocolate and a hint of sasparilla. Flavors include toffee, cocoa, overripe plum and a trace of pfeffernüsse. Sweetness up front, but it barely lingers into the finish, which is relatively neutral and slightly drying. The 7.4% ABV is really only betrayed by the moderately hefty mouthfeel. This bottle was around 14 months old, but the contents doesn’t seem to have diminished much if at all. So good I’ll try hard not to go another 6 years before my next one.

 

I meant to do this earlier but I got roped into my footie game I wasn’t expecting to play in.

Anyway, an old favorite. Chocolate smoke. Meaty, malty, pumpernickel breadiness and clean finish. Proper bitterness to round out the decadent tastes. Schlenkerla can do no wrong. Top notch.

 

A doppelbock from the cellar - 2014 Samichlaus Schwarzes.
Definitely has a some mild roastiness to go along with the typical rich caramel and dark fruit flavors of the regular Samichlaus - plum, black cherry, fig. The booziness has mellowed out. Still decent carbonation level.

 

Thanks to @TongoRad for and for hosting and all the awesome posts. Unfortunately things didnt work out for me as far as Bocks. Really wanted a Maibock but nothing to be found locally and didnt have the ability to travel far.
Cheers to you all though!

 

I also had a rule that I didn’t “like” GIF posts... and I just “liked” yours. See, I knew it - It’s a slippery slope. Argh!

I was gonna challenge this, but then I’d be proving you right. Argh!

 

Haven’t really been around enough to post in real time today but I did manage to squeeze in a few other excellent bocks…

Apocryphon (Dopplebock) from Nod Hill Brewery: Delicious! Possibly my favorite bock of the weekend. I think the brewery described it perfectly with notes of almond, toffee, toast & fig. Glad I bought a 4-pack.
Heller Weizenbock from Brauerei Michael Plank: Light and crisp with nice banana notes. If you told me it was a Hefeweizen, I would believe you. If you told me it was 7.9%, I probably wouldn’t believe you.
Oak Lagered Doppelbock from OEC Brewing: Glad @sulldaddy got to try this one too. Love the 12 ounce can! Caramel sweetness helps hide the 9% ABV. His review does it justice!

@TongoRad Thanks for doing this! I checked the thread multiple times a day just to see what everyone was saying and to see all of the great options out there. I look forward to the next one.

 

I had the Plank and OEC very recently but drank my last of each before I knew about this tasting. Both were excellent.

 

Thanks Justin!!! @strohme2 An amazing bock.
Old Delta Bock by Upper Hand
Gorgeous, crystal clear amber hue that sends a sandy head roughly 2 fingers in height. A slow retreat leaves a smattering of delicate layered lacing.
The nose abounds with rich malt, toffee, brown bread, a mild fruit note, and a hint of toasted nuts.
Flavor follows the nose well. A firm malt backbone, gently tamed by the hops. rich brown bread, toffee, toasty caramel, a very smooth orange marmalade hint also comes through. Hops bring an ever so light herbal kiss and kind of dry out the back end.
Mouthfeel is medium, smooth, and lightly carbonated.
Overall, a crushable delight.
Cross posting on NBW.

 

That sounds like a deal! I'll set one aside and we can make a plan to meet up over the next few weeks. Bocking it up was a blast!