The annual Strong Beer Time festival starts in Munich today and runs through April 3. I have collected a few strong beers over the past few months to revisit (a little at a time) over the next few weeks -- and may have to pick up others that start appearing on shelves. Join up if you'd like, love to hear opinions on Bock of all category. And no Lenten fasting required. Information seems inconsistent. But I'll carry on.
Sweetish, bready and earthy malts -- even a touch smoky. A touch of toffee and chocolate with a spicy blend of hops and alcohol in the finish. Spiciness continues through the aftertaste with a mellow citrus note. Hops have mellowed more since this was canned -- a really nice rendition.
Shucks. Already have tonight's beer in the glass (it's not a bock). But I'll catch up tomorrow. We have snow forecast and I have a brewery-aged 2016 Schneider Aventinus Eisbock ready to go!
I just posted about a new Doppelbock from Tired Hands in today's NBW thread: March is Bock month! Today I have a new Doppelbock to drink and discuss: Tired Hands Trendler Doppelbock. Below is how this beer is described on Tired Hands’ website: “Trendler Doppelbock A tribute to our favorite strong lagers from Bavaria. This one, our first run at this monastic style, is built from a plethora of German malts and hopped lightly with Hallertau Mittelfrüh. Fermented extra cool with our house Lager strain, and stored cold for roughly 3 months. Notes of medium toast, cantaloupe, light pecan, concord grape and toffee 7.5%” Wow! Three months of lagering is quite a commitment towards producing this beer! Served in my Polish Pilsner glass: Appearance: Deep amber colored with a BIG khaki colored head. Aroma: A prominent combination of aromas – dark bread (akin to pumpernickel), toffee, something that hints of sweetness. Taste: The flavor follows the nose with the assortment of flavors from dark bread, toffee and yes some sweetness. A low/moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel Light/medium bodied with an off-dry finish. Overall The flavor profile is very good and it is a smooth drinking beer. For my palate this beer would have benefited from a bit more body. Cheers!
Oh yeah, friendly ghost -- sorry. Distribution must be really weird around there. FWIW -- Hofbrau Imports is headquartered in Henderson, NV -- closer to Casper than my town. Go figure.
Trader Joe's Winter Ride this afternoon. Label says best by August of 2022, but the complexity is fading on this one and the alcohol pepperiness is taking over the malts a little too much. Still pretty smooth and drinkable.
This the first time I'm hearing about Bock month but I will keep my eyes open next time I'm at the liquor store. IIRC, I still have not yet tried a proper Helles Bock. Back in my hometown they were elusive to nonexistent. If I can't find any, it's been a hot minute since I've had Celebrator.
Went To Superior Wi today for Earth Rider Bock Fest. I had Haakon Honey Bock, Valhalla Scotch Ale and Navigator Doppelbock. All Poked and tasted good. I bought (2) 6x12oz packs of the Navigator for home. I already have Navigator 32oz crowlers in stock. (No Naviagator 6 packs will be distro'd for the most part?????? well maybe?) Next I went to Thirsty Pagan for bock and pizza. I bought a few crowlers of Woodfill's Woodcock Bock for home and I'm drinking one now: 3.93/5 rDev 0% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 Tested from a 32oz crowler plus a full pour at The Pagan Look: Light brown body, but semi transparent dark amber/lite copper body when held to the light. Decent head that lasts for a while, leaves a micro amount of lacing. Smell: sweet malt/caramel, Toasted bread, smells good. Taste: follows the nose plus a micro amount of stone washed dark fruit when it warms up. A micro hint of slightly bitter floral hops towards the finish. Smooth and sweet but not overly sweet. I will give it 3.91/5 for taste/flavor. Feel: is ok slightly thin for 7.7% bock, has some carbonation for a while from the depths of the mug. Nothing Heavy duty or super great here but I like it. Better than I thought it was going to be. This one has to warm up to bring out the flavors. 3.91/5 https://untappd.com/b/thirsty-pagan-brewing-woodfill-s-woodcock-bock/4605252
Schneider Aventinus Eisbock, Vintage 2016 Below is the review that I posted for this particular beer. Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock are 2 of my favorites. The Vintage 2016 seems to be somewhat sweeter than 'normal' and (as I mention in the review) resembles a Quad somewhat. I assume that is partly due to effects of aging. This is definitely a great sipper on a sub 20-degree (Fahrenheit) night. Nice and warming. Sorry for the lack of a picture - I'll try to get one uploaded. look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 Glass: Snifter Pouring Temp: room temp (approx 71 F) Look: Opaque chestnut brown with very little head. What head there is disappears quickly. The condition of the head is most likely the result of the high ABV combined with the age of this beer (5-6 years) Smell: Intense ripe bananas and plums plus other dark fruits such as cherries. Richly sweet. Some brown sugar. Mild cloves, cinnamon, and some nutmeg underly these. Taste: Cloves and cinnamon start then meld in with ripe and rich dark fruits. There is a malty undertone that keeps things tied together well. The alcohol is noticeable but not near what one would expect for a beer of this ABV. What the alcohol does do is provide is nice warmth without any bite or harsh notes. Feel: Slick and mouth-coating. Body is medium-heavy. Overall: A wonderful beer. This is insanely smooth for such a high ABV and yet is also complex and packed full of flavor. The beer does bear some resemblance to a strong Belgian such as Rochefort 10 (a Quad). Absolutely recommended.
Definitely agree. I don't see very many, unfortunately. The only other one that I recall seeing (and trying) was one by Kulmbacher.
But that one's not a Weizen, unless I missed something. IIRC, Schneider is the only Weizen Eisbock -- and it may have originally been an accident?
Not really a thing, just that Starkbierzeit starts in March in Munich and I like to recognize traditional festivals centered around beer -- so I started an unofficial thread.
Well, Starkbierzeit goes back to 1627, so I think beer drinkers have been the same for a long time. And could you only drink Bock on that one day? Did you have to hide in the basement to finish a case? Lookouts in place for the Beer Police?
I was referring to Eisbocks in general, not just weizen-based Eisbocks. As far as I know, you are correct - Aventinus Eisbock is the only Eisbock that is based on a Weizen. The story is that Eisbock was an accidental creation due to leaving barrel(s) in a non-heated location (maybe even wagons or delivery vehicles) during the German/central European winter. Part of the water in the beer froze; the rest of the contents in the barrel were 'rescued' and served as is (likely after some taste tests ).
A bit of a sidetrack to finish the weekend; a 2021 HB Winter Spezial. As with a few different beers, I'll save one year's release to try alongside the next year's. Cardboard oxidation, caramelly, winey, hot alcohol and bready malts lingering in the background. Surprisingly hazy second pour -- some sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Yeast settling? Proteins? Not awful to drink, but definitely better as fresh.
Here's a couple of Muenchner doppelbocks I had last night. I started off with Spaten Optimator (I enjoy it year-round): Then enjoyed some Augustiner Maximator Gruss aus München! ("Greetings from Munich!" Postmarked 1929--from my collection)
@grantcty -- I haven't had Maximator since I had it in Munich -- can you give us a description of the flavor? Also, what's the pricetag for a six of that in your area these days? I saw it for $16 +/- a few weeks ago. Oh yeah, and I see Optimator year-round, too. Sorry @Bitterbill
I'd say it's rich, darker-toasted bready malt, with restrained caramel sweetness. It's also got a great mouthfeel. Very easy to drink a few without fatiguing the palate.
The Optimator that I'm able to buy is regularly 3-4 months old. It may be a bit fresher on the east coast, but I'd say that's pretty darn fresh.
Enjoying the crap out of my first Beer from Brauerei Heller-Trum. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock. Did some research on this, Urback is a Bock brewed with Pilsner and Munich malts. Thanks to @zid for the review, it has the most info on this Beer in one place that I can find! Questions; Is Aecht Schlenkerla a brand name? What are some examples of non-Rauchbier Urbocks? This has likely been on the shelf for a long time, no way of dating it? Where has this fantastic brew been all my life? 5/5 rDev +20.8% look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5 by Amendm from Rhode Island A moderate pour released a fat finger of tan creamy foam which sunk to a rocky head. Sticky lacing surrounds the glass. Clear dark brown color with fiery ruby highlights. Bold smell of smoked ham and bacon, dark bready malt and raisins Smokey, meaty taste that is right on the line of sweet and dry. Moderate bitterness at first that comes from smoked malt, hops are present yet indistinguishable to me. The smoke is mellow, reminds me of standing near a BBQ smoker and burning wet wood. Raisin and baked stone fruits almost add sweetness. The finish is quick, but the smoked meat taste lingers on. Bitterness builds a bit as it becomes semi-dry. Medium-full bodied with soft lasting carbonation. Very smooth and balanced despite the smoke. Malty like Scotch Ale. Big flavor similar to Baltic Porter. Higher than average bitterness for Lager, however this is no ordinary Lager. This is one of the best Beers I've tried so far. I gave this Bier a 5 all around, first time I've done that! F-in Prost.
You gotta try the other Rauchbiers they offer man! I particularly enjoyed this one and the Weizen, The Lentbeer (#1 for the style) I honestly found to be a bit lackluster, but I'm saving one can since I had it very fresh. I also have not figured out any way to date these beers, I only knew for that one because I picked it up at OEC in Connecticut and B United (importer) is right next door and supplies them with fresh imported beer for their bottle shop
It's nice to see that someone enjoyed the only review I ever left outside the forums after my arm was twisted to do so. Heller-Trum are two last names of people who owned the brewery at different points. I believe that Hellerbräu is the official name(?) and Schlenkerla is essentially a nickname that everybody uses instead. In a sense, they do use it like a brand name. The brewery also produces beers under the Heinzlein brand name, which are low alcohol beers that aren't made with "smoked" malt. Bock is a strength designation and can be applied to a large variety of beers in Germany as long as they meet the original gravity requirement. The more famous Schlenkerla Märzen is brewed to a Märzen strength standard - which has a lower original gravity than a Bock. I wouldn't put too much stock in the "Ur-" marketing. It basically means "original" and brewers use it as a prefix for various beers: Urbock, Ur-Märzen, and Urweisse are some examples. Since brewers like to use it to indicate an "original version" or more accurately - a less contemporary version of a style, it's often used for beers that are not golden in color (but I'm just stating this based on what is sold in the US). Probably the most well-known beer marketed as an Urbock (besides the Schlenkerla beer) is the Hofbräuhaus München Maibock... which is unlike most Maibockbiere... and not a beer like Schlenkerla's... and therefore also an answer to your question about "non-Rauchbier Urbocks." Not that I know of. I occasionally get Schlenkerla bottles that weren't good purchases due to age, but more often than not I'm satisfied with a bottle... which is very fortunate. I'll still take an undated Schlenkerla bottle over any fresh US craft "smoked" beer I can find in the store. Waiting for you on the shelf. @herrburgess - Please correct anything that needs it. (Have you had any of their low-alcohol beers?)
I've had both of the Heinzlein beers. Both pretty good. And, I agree on the older bottles holding up well. Smoke is a well-known antioxidant, so a little age won't hurt too much.
Nope, merely a day the regional brewers' organizations agreed to release their bocks - you drank 'em until the ran out... In some regions of the country (much to the chagrin of the "I'll drink what I want when I want!" libertarians) the bureaucrats even got involved .
The Alcoholic Beverage Association of Indiana? Is that the same group that mandated no liquor sales on Sundays up until just a few years ago?
