Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock Review

Brewery: Boston Brewing Co. | Beer: Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
Style: Bock | ABV: 5.5% | IBUs: ~25
Serving Method: 750ml bottle poured into Pilsener glass

Chocolate Bock is one of the occasional rarities from Sam Adams that shows up every few years. Sold in a handsome bottle adorned with a wrapped neck, neck tag, and metallic label, it presents well enough on the store shelf to justify its twelve dollar price. It hasn't been brewed since 2008, and the notes below were taken back then.

As for construction, the backbone is built from Two-Row Harrington, Metcalfe, Copeland, Caramel 60, Munich 10, and Chocolate malt varieties. Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Spalt Spalter hops provide bitterness and the house lager yeast brings it all to life. All of that is brewed, fermented, and krausened on a bed of Felchlin cocoa nibs. As a final touch, a "hint" of vanilla is added to "meld the symphony of flavors together." The ingredient bill seems to reflect the premium price tag.

Here's how the brewery describes the finished project:

Smooth, rich, and dark, with the robust flavor and creamy texture of chocolate. Distinct aroma of chocolate, toffee and malt. Tastes slightly sweet, full bodied with a finish of fine chocolate.

Sounds good to me. Let's crack this pretty bottle open and see if the beer inside can live up.

Appearance: A rich reddish-brown body with laser beams of red highlights. Up top, a little over a finger of tan head that burns out quickly and leaves little lacing.

Aroma: Standard dark fruit and darkish malt Bock aromas with just a hint of milk chocolate.

Taste: Much the same as the aroma. It's essentially a regular Bock with all of the usual nutty, raisiny, and malty notes. The milk chocolate character is more prevalent in the flavor profile but still not as prominent as I'd like. The aftertaste is roasty with a mild hint of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation and a drying finish.

Drinkability: Very sessionable, though you'd quickly run up quite a tab at this price.

Verdict: Unfortunately, Chocolate Bock falls a little short; it's not much more than a middle-of-the-road Bock with some mild chocolate flavors mixed in. While this would work as part of a mixed twelve-pack, this 750ml doesn't quite measure up to the over ten dollar price tag.

Grade: B-

Note: While this review is being posted in 2010, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in late 2008.

Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale Review

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery | Beer: Post Road Pumpkin Ale
Style: Pumpkin Ale | ABV: 5.0% | IBUs: ~20
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Back in 1998, Brooklyn bought out the Post Road brewing company. Best known for their flagship Pale Ale, Post Road was an early player in the New England craft scene with a stable of beers brewed under contract by the now defunct Catamount.

The only Post Road beer to survive today is Pumpkin Ale, which apparently had enough cachet to make the cut. Each batch is made with hundreds of pounds of pumpkins along with American Two-Row, Belgian Biscuit, and Aromatic malts and Willamette and American Fuggle hops.

The end result is what Brooklyn describes as "a beer with an orange amber color, warm pumpkin aroma, biscuity malt center, and crisp finish."

It might not be fall yet, but I'm always in the mood for a good pumpkin brew. Let's dig in.

Appearance: A crystal-clear, pumpkin-orange body capped by around two fingers of off-white head that sticks around nicely and leaves great lacing.

Aroma: A wonderful blend of pumpkin, spices (nutmeg and cinnamon mainly), and mild caramel malt, creating something strikingly similar to pumpkin pie.

Taste: Much closer to beer than pie in the flavor profile, as the malt body perks up and a citrusy, earthy hop component comes alive. There's still plenty of pumpkin and spice to be found, but it's much more balanced than in the nose. The aftertaste features citrusy hops and some spice.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with good carbonation and a drying finish.

Drinkability: An easy-drinking brew, a few bottles of this would be perfect during a large holiday meal.

Verdict: Akin to a mild English Pale Ale with a pumpkin pie twist, Post Road Pumpkin Ale is a highly drinkable and tasty holiday brew—one of my favorite examples of the Pumpkin Ale style.

Grade: B+

New Belgium Old Cherry Review

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing | Beer: Old Cherry
Style: Fruit Beer | ABV: 6.5% | IBUs: ~15
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into globe glass

Old Cherry was originally brewed back in 1995 as one of New Belgium's original beers. It ended up being discontinued in 1998, but demand for another cherry-themed beer was strong enough that a new, lighter beer named Two Cherry was introduced as a fall seasonal. Eventually, that beer too was retired.

However, New Belgium brought back the original Old Cherry for an appearance in "Folly Packs" a few years back. While it has once again fallen into hiatus status, I figured it was about time to get around to posting the notes I took back in early 2009.

Old Cherry is essentially an Amber Ale brewed with the juice of dark Montmorency cherries from Washington state. It has a more potent malt backbone than the Two Cherry version, but is not wildly different. New Belgium describe the finished product as having "a rich cherry aroma and a delicate balance of cherry tartness and barley malt sweetness."

It may be gone (for now), but Old Cherry is not forgotten. Here are my notes.

Appearance: A hazy orange-red body with a finger and a half of off-white head that leaves chunky lacing.

Aroma: Nicely malty with tart berry and other fruit notes. There's no distinct cherry to speak of.

Taste: Tart and slightly sour with subtle cherry notes in the aftertaste. You really have to look for the cherry flavor here. A lot maltier than I was expecting, but more dry than sweet. Overall, much like a lighter version of their Frambozen.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and somewhat chewy at times. Low carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: Just about average; you can put down a few easily, but probably won't be chugging it all night.

Verdict: A nice enough malt-forward fruit beer. Certainly a much better attempt at a cherry themed beer than Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat, but nothing earth-shaking. If you like New Belgium's Frambozen, you should enjoy this as well.

Grade: B-

Note: While this review is being posted in 2010, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in early 2009.

New Belgium Giddy Up Review

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing | Beer: Giddy Up
Style: American Amber Ale | ABV: 6.0% | IBUs: ~25
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into globe glass

Today, we're taking a look back at a short-lived brew from New Belgium that showed up in their mixed folly packs. Apparently it wasn't a hit, as it was retired just a few short months after its debut.

Designed with no particular style in mind and brewed with lemon peel and sustainable espresso from Brazil, Giddy Up was a strange brew. We're going with American Amber Ale, which seems the closest fit.

Here's how New Belgian describe the finished product:

First whiff is full of sweeet caramel, toffee, latte. Then, a hint of lemon scone flavor from the addition of lemon peel. Body is creamy, resonant of espresso, yet the finish is bright, even a bit frisky. An ale to git along with.

I have to say, it's all very intriguing.

Appearance: A clear and deep rust-colored body with a solid finger of eggshell head. Decent chunky lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malt body with lots of medium-roasted coffee. Not much as far as hops or lemon coming through, but the coffee is brilliant. In a blind smell test, there's an outside chance I'd peg this as coffee, not beer.

Taste: It's still very much all about the coffee in the flavor profile as well. The profile is of mildly bitter coffee flavors firmly in the medium-roasted coffee territory, so don't be expecting a dark-roasted espresso. The backbone is somewhat reminiscent of 1554 (although much weaker) and nicely sweet. There might be a splash of citrus in there, but it's hard to pin down.

Mouthfeel: A smooth, medium body with average carbonation.

Drinkability: Moderate drinkability. The coffee might get somewhat tiring after a while.

Verdict: Giddy Up is somewhat one-dimensional beer, but it does what it does perfectly, having the best recreation of coffee flavors I've ever experienced in a beer. If you're looking for medium-roasted coffee flavors in a beer, you can't go wrong here. It works perfectly as part of a mix-pack, but I'm not convinced I'd be picking up a lot of six-packs.

Grade: B-

Note: While this review is being published in 2010, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in early 2009.

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA Review

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery | Beer: Hop Henge Experimental IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 8.8% | IBUs: 95
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Clocking in at almost 100 IBUs, Hop Henge Experimental IPA is the hoppiest beer in Deschutes' Bond Street series of hop-forward beers. It was first brewed in 2006, but has gone through a significant recipe change since then. As the name implies, this beer is meant to embody Deschutes' more experimental side and their "commitment to innovation."

As usual, Deschutes provide lots of detail on construction. Each barrel is brewed with several pounds of Centennial and Cascade hops, with even more hops employed for dry-hopping. The malt body is built from Crystal, Pale, and Carastan varieties and "creates an overall biscuity characteristic that is dense and muscular, building the alcohol base to support the monstrous hop profile."

All this hop talk has got me mighty thirsty, so let's open it up and hop in.

Appearance: A slightly hazy, burnt-copper body capped with a generous and creamy off-white head that features brilliant staying power and lacing.

Aroma: Sweet, somewhat juicy and citrusy hops and moderate alcohol character over a substantial caramel base.

Taste: Just as you'd expect from a Double IPA, there's a generous flourish of hops up front. They're citrusy, piney, resiny, and nicely bitter. That nearly nine percent alcohol content is hidden rather well with. Underneath all of this, there's a solid enough caramel malt backbone to keep it all together. Lots of resiny, bitter hops and a few wisps of booze in the finish.

Mouthfeel: A fuller than medium body with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: Perhaps a little above average for the style in this department, despite the high IBU rating. Just watch out for the nearly nine percent alcohol.

Verdict: Hop Henge is a tasty and quite serviceable Double IPA, though I might stop short of calling it "experimental." A definite pickup for the hopheads.

Grade: A-

Note: While this review is being published in August, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in spring 2009.

Brooklyn Local 1 Review

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery | Beer: Local 1
Style: Belgian Golden Strong Ale | ABV: 9.0% | IBUs: 32
Serving Method: 750ml bottle poured into tulip glass

The first in Brooklyn's Big Bottle series, Local 1 is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale (though Garrett has been known to refer to it as a "strong Saison"). It debuted in 2008 and is based on the old draft-only brew Fortitude. Despite being on the shelves for just a couple of years, the beer has already built up a lot of buzz and spawned a second beer in the series.

As for basic construction, the backbone is built from two-row Pilsener malt from Bamberg, Germany, hop character comes from Hallertauer Perle and Styrian Golding varieties, and everything is brought to life with Belgian yeast. The recipe also calls for raw sugar from the tiny island nation of Mauritius. Once fermented, the beer is bottle conditioned for more depth.

Here's how Brooklyn describe the finished product:

Behind the full golden color you'll find an alluring aroma, a dynamic complex of flavors, Belgian flair, Brooklyn fortitude, and a dusting of our special yeast.

Sounds great, let's pop this cork and get started.

Appearance: Wow, what a gusher! Despite a week of sitting still in the fridge, after carefully removing the cork from the bottle, the beer starting flowing out of the bottle like champagne within seconds. In fact, a few minutes after pouring the first portion, a two inch tower of dense foam snaked out of the bottle and softly floated down to the table. It's alive! Once you finally corral the beer into a glass, a beautifully hazy apricot-orange body is revealed. Up top, a massive cap of off-white head fades slowly and leaves great lacing. Local 1 puts on quite the show, even before you've raised the glass to your nose.

Aroma: Clearly a Belgian-style beer, the nose is a mix of golden fruit, a bouquet of spices, bubblegum-like yeast, earthy hops, and some nice alcohol.

Taste: Much the same as the aroma: leafy and earthy hops, mild bubblegum, golden fruit, cloves, coriander, peppery phenols, and bready yeast all over a pale malt backbone. The alcohol is masked beautifully. Fruity and yeasty in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with great carbonation and a drying finish. Just a hint of burn from the alcohol.

Drinkability: This is certainly a beer to be savored, but it's hardly a task to polish off a glass or two.

Verdict: To be perfectly frank, after sampling a few of Brooklyn's more mainstream beers, I was starting to wonder what all the fuss was about. But after a bottle of Local 1, I wonder no more. This is, without a doubt, one the very best Belgian-style American beers I've tried yet.

Grade: A

Harpoon UFO White Review

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery | Beer: UFO White
Style: Witbier | ABV: 4.8% | IBUs: 10
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Earlier today, I reviewed Harpoon's UFO Hefeweizen and mentioned that it was such a hit that it had spawned a whole new brand. Well, only one of the beers in that line has made it to Houston: UFO White. While the Hefeweizen was rather mediocre, I still have high hopes for this brew.

As the name implies, UFO White is a Witbier. Harpoon doesn't provide any specifics on ingredients or process besides the fact that it's brewed with orange peel and "a unique blend" of spices, but here's how they describe the finished product:

Light, crisp, refreshing UFO White follows in the tradition of spiced wheat beers that have been brewed in Belgium for well over 300 years. UFO White is the perfect choice for a summer’s barbecue, a night out with friends or any time you're thirsting for something a little different.

I'm not sure if I'm quite thirsting for something a little different, but let's crack this bad boy open anyway.

Appearance: A beautifully hazy, golden-straw body capped by a finger and a half of creamy, nearly white head that features good retention and lacing.

Aroma: Floral and perfumey citrus over a mild wheat base. I can almost imagine that this is a fancy candle under my nose.

Taste: Perfumey citrus peel, tropical fruit, mild yeast, and spices (clove and coriander mostly) over a bready wheat base that is much more pronounced than in the nose. The aftertaste is citrusy and bready.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and creamy with sharp carbonation. Dries a little in the finish.

Drinkability: A very drinkable proposition, though the perfumey character might get a little old.

Verdict: UFO White is perhaps a more floral take on the Witbier than most, but still a solid enough brew that's perfect for Summer.

Grade: B