Anchor Bock Beer Review

Brewery: Anchor Brewing Co. | Beer: Bock Beer
Style: Bock | ABV: 5.5% | IBUs: ~30
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

First brewed in 2005, 2014 marked the final year for Anchor's spring seasonal Bock Beer, paving the way for new seasonal releases.

I'll be honest, this wasn't a massive loss for the craft beer world, as the Bock Beer was one of the more forgettable Anchor products. However, as always, I still think it's worth adding this review to the archive.

As for construction, the malt bill was two-row pale, Munich, caramel, chocolate, and wheat. Hop bill was nugget and glacier, with a dry-hopping of glacier.

Here's how Anchor described their Bock:

The dark satiny texture of Anchor Bock®, with its rich hints of chocolate, caramel and roasted barley, is our interpretation of the historically strong German beers that signal the coming of spring.

Bock on! Let's get in the time machine and do this.

Appearance: A clear, dark brown body capped by two fingers of tannish head that recede slowly and leave great lacing.

Aroma: Roasty malt accompanied by spices, caramel, and something a little lactic. Reminiscent of their Christmas beer.

Taste: Dryish roasty malt, spice, earthiness, and a hint of something metallic. Again, parallels with their winter seasonal, though its nowhere near as rich and interesting. Grainy malt, earthiness, and mild brassy hops in the finish.

Mouthfeel: A somewhat creamy medium body with smooth medium carbonation and a drying finish.

Drinkability: Though a bit more substantive than most spring seasonals, this is still a rather easy drinker.

Verdict: Anchor Bock is solid and to style, as you'd expect from Anchor, though just a little unexciting. In the end, it's kind of a neutered version of Anchor Christmas.

Grade: B (3.6 out of 5 stars)

Note: While this review is being published in 2015 after this beer was retired, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh.

Review by Christopher Hunt

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.

Samuel Adams LongShot Traditional Bock Review

Brewery: Boston Brewing Co. | Beer: Samuel Adams LongShot Traditional Bock
Style: Bock | ABV: 6.8% | IBUs: 28
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

Well, it's that time of year again, when Samuel Adams releases it's LongShot mixed pack. While I should be posting reviews of this year's beers, I'm actually wrapping up the reviews of last year's. Late pass! Don't worry though, the notes below were taken when the beer was still nice and fresh last year.

Anyway, we're checking out Alex Drobshoff's winning entry from the 2008 contest: Traditional Bock. Alex was inspired to create up this recipe after talking with some friends about how German beer exported abroad was never as good as the real stuff back home. He decided since he wasn't able to fly out to Germany whenever he was in the mood for a good German beer, he'd take a shot at brewing up an authentic German Bock himself.

Since Bocks need to be lagered and Alex was not in possession of an underground cave, he could only work on the beer during the winter. It took two winters to get the beer where he wanted, and after picking up a few blue ribbons, he was ready to submit it to Sam Adams. The rest, as they say, is history.

As for construction, the backbone is built from 2-Row, Munich, Crystal, and Chocolate malt varieties, Hallertauer hops are used exclusively, and Märzen lager yeast is used to get everything going.

Here's how the guys at Sam Adams pitch the beer:

Alex's beer features hints of rich plum and cherry aromas paired with its toasty, malt flavor make this a great beer to linger over on a cool evening.

Let's pretend that it's a cool evening back in 2009 and crack this bad boy open.

Appearance: A clear, brownish-orange body capped by over a finger of creamy, off-white head featuring decent retention and lacing.

Aroma: Rich malt with great nutty and dark-fruity notes; certainly on point for a Bock.

Taste: Just what you'd expect to find in a Bock: earthy, nutty, bready, and ever so slightly chocolaty dark malt. There's some balancing bitterness from the hops, but not much. Towards the end, a nice little flourish of booze that shows up and compliments everything perfectly. I think the best way to describe this is somewhere between what passes as a Bock today and a Doppelbock.

Mouthfeel: A smooth, medium body with good carbonation and a drying finish.

Drinkability: It goes back easily, just keep in mind the moderately high alcohol content.

Verdict: Another hit from the LongShot series, Alex's Traditional Bock is a real winner and dead-on for the style. If this were on the shelves all the time, I'd be sure to pick up a six-pack every now and then.

Grade: A

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

Samuel Adams Winter Lager (AKA Winter Brew) Review

Brewery: Boston Brewing Co. | Beer: Samuel Adams Winter Lager (AKA Winter Brew)
Style: Bock | ABV: 5.8%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsner glass

First brewed in 1989 as one of their first seasonal offerings, Winter Lager (occasionally labeled as Winter Brew due to state liquor laws) is Sam Adam's main Winter seasonal. Since '89 Sam Adams have added more beers to their Winter seasonal collection: Winter Porter, Old Fezziwig Ale, and Cranberry Lambic. All of these and a few mainstays can be found in a handy Winter variety 12-pack.

Sam Adams list the beer as a dark Bock, brewed with "generous quantities of malted wheat." To be more specific, the malt backbone is composed of Two Row Pale, Caramel 60, Wheat Malt and Munich varieties. Hops are provided by East Kent Golding, Tettnang-Hallertauer and Tettnanger Noble varieties. As with most Winter beers, emphasis has been put on brewing something full-bodied and warming. Sam Adam's brew the beer using a decoction mash and is Krausen it to "add body and sweetness."

Appearance: Clear copper/burnt orange body with a finger and a mass of sticky, off-white head. It easily topped my Pilsner glass and left good lacing.

Aroma: Brown sugar and caramel malt with a decent dash of spices. A little bit of citrusy hops on the edges.

Taste: Bold, toasty malt with the spices providing decent balance. There's also a bit of honey that lingers into the aftertaste. Citrusy hops show up in the finish, but are still firmly behind the malt backbone. Occasional tinges of booze in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. Compared to the sweet body, the finish drys a bit.

Drinkability: Another relativity quick Winter seasonal from Sam Adams. While very full-flavored, Winter Lager goes down easily.

Verdict: A solid Winter seasonal and, at least in my opinion, one of Sam Adam's best offerings. A safe bet for a mellow, but still full-flavored Winter seasonal, Winter Lager is worth a try for sure.

Grade: B+

Shiner Bock Review

Brewery: Spoetzl Brewery | Beer: Shiner Bock
Style: Bock | ABV: 4.4%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

The Spoetzl brewery was founded in 1909 in the town of Shiner, Texas by German immigrants looking to recreate the beers they were used to at home. The brewery is named after the second brewmaster and long time owner Kosmos Spoetzl. Today, Shiner brews up a healthy portfolio (reviews of all Shiner beers to follow) with Shiner Bock as the flagship product. We learned about the Bock style a few posts back in the review of Saint Arnold Spring Bock. We also learned that there is some contention as to what classification this beer even belongs to. But while this may in reality be an American Dark Lager, for now we’ll go with the brewer and call it a Bock.

Full disclosure: I drink a lot of this beer. Living in the Houston area, Shiner Bock is my faithful stand-by. I don’t always have the luxury of buying my beer from a specialty shop, or even high-end grocer. In fact, I end up having to buy a lot of beer from *gasp* gas stations. This is where Shiner (people mostly refer to Shiner Bock as simply “Shiner”) comes in. In an endless sea of macro lights, Shiner is the only decent beer to be found in many grocery stores, gas stations and skeezy bars in the area. Funnily enough, at many restaurants in the area, it’s even featured on the “import” list. Oh, Texas.

Appearance: Clear medium brown body with white head that fizzes out quickly, leaving moderate lacing

Aroma: Medium roasted malt body with vague hints of hops in the background

Taste: Roasted malt and caramel notes with a little booze and that famous metallic curve-ball at the end - nice caramel aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Quite dry and clean with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: I can personally assure you, Shiner can be drunk in large quantities over the course of a night

Verdict: This is certainly not the greatest beer in the world, nor the greatest Bock. Hell, as we saw in that Saint Arnold Spring Bock review, it might not even be a Bock. But still, I have a very warm place in my heart for Shiner Bock. It rescues me time and time again out in here the outback of American beer culture.

Just last weekend, I was attending a wedding, dreading choosing between choosing either tea or Bud Light after Bud Light. Then, out of nowhere my spirits lift when I hear the golden words: “They have a keg of Shiner.” I’m proud to say at my upcoming wedding, we will be having a keg of Shiner, too. Though, to be fair I’ll also have a secret stash of some higher-end beers. I guess that’s about the most perfect metaphor for this beer I could have come up with.

Grade: B-

I’m sure you have your own regional beers, that while not exactly world-class, seem to keep ending up in your hand weekend after weekend. Leave a comment and let me know.

Saint Arnold Spring Bock Review

Brewery: Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Beer: Spring Bock
Style: Bock | ABV: 6.4%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

After a couple of diversions, we return to a beer from the Saint Arnold Brewing Company. My initial plan was to review around five of Saint Arnold's offerings in a row to give a nice (uninterrupted) profile of the brewery. Well, life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes, but we're back on track (for now).

Next up, we have another of the brewery's seasonal offerings, Spring Bock. Compared to its fellow bottom-fermenters, the bock style of lager is strong and requires a few more weeks of lagering (cold storage). It originated in medieval Germany as a beer to celebrate Spring and mark the end of the brewing season. In German, bock means billy-goat, explaining why so many bock labels (although not this particular one) prominently feature goats.

Saint Arnold introduced Spring Bock in 1998 as the company's second foray into the world of lager. The beer is brewed with five kinds of malt (no adjuncts) and won a silver medal in its class at the 1998 World Beer Cup. In their description of the beer, Saint Arnold delivers a pretty overt dig at their rivals down the road in Shiner:

"By law in Germany, to call a beer a bock it must be brewed to a high starting gravity and thus to a high alcohol content. Our beer follows these guidelines. There are many beers in the United States that use the term "bock" for their beers which aren't really bocks. They may be perfectly good beers, but they're not bocks. They are just dark colored light bodied American lagers."

Ouch. They do have a point though, Shiner Bock weighs in at a paltry 4.4% ABV, while Spring Bock has a decisive advantage at 6.4% ABV. Let's see if the beer lives up to the smack-talk.

Appearance: Clear copper body with a decent creamy head that dissipates quickly

Aroma: Nice balance of malt and hops with just a tinge of booze

Taste: Roasted malt and citrusy hops dominate weaker tones of dark fruit, grains and nuts with the alcohol slipping in right at the end

Mouthfeel: Creamy and smooth with a good amount of carbonation

Drinkability: Goes down smoothly with a nice bitter aftertaste, I could easily drink a few of these despite the alcohol content

Verdict: Spring Bock is a well-balanced dark lager with rich malt and crisp citrus hiding above-average potency. With this beer Saint Arnold is really forcing me to rethink my standards for a good bock, and I love them for it.

Grade: A-