Beer Club, Volume Six - Bocks!

I decided to go with Bocks for this installment of Beer Club in honor of Bockfest at Schell's Brewery in New Ulm. It ended up being doubly important this year because sadly my streak of seven years at Bockfest was broken this year. At least I had a good lineup of beer to help me feel better about it.

Rather than focus on one of the specific bocks like dunkler bocks or doppelbocks or heller bocks, I decided to throw a couple of each in there to give us an idea of the differences between them. Due to illness, vacation, forgetfulness and out of town visitors, we had the smallest group yet but the three of us made the most of it.

The first two beers we did were dunkler bocks, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock and Schell's Bock. I've been sitting on a couple bottles of the Chocolate Bock for awhile now and figured it was as good of a time as any to crack them. Schell's is the bock that always comes to mind for me because it's the one I've drank the most of in my life (even if 95% of it has come on seven specific days!)

The Sam Adams was unique, definitely chocolate chocolate and more chocolate. Not that it was overpowering, but it was definitely the main flavor in the beer. To me it tasted like a coco powder more than the chocolate I've tasted in other beers and I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm wondering if it was because they use coco nibs. I'm not even sure what they are but I know this is the first beer that I've had with them. Guess I'll find out when I finally try the Dogfish Head Theobroma. The Chocolate Bock was a decent beer but I'm not sure I'd run out to search for more of it at $10 a bomber.

The Schell's was as I always remember it, a perfect example of the style. Bocks to me are similar to brown ales and amber ales in that I can sit down with 5 different ones and notice that each one is different but have a hard time describing the exact differences. Another way to put it is that I know what bocks are supposed to taste like and this beer is the standard for me.

Next we moved to the two heller bocks - Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock and Dead Guy Ale from Rogue. I've never had a heller bock before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Well, technically I had the Glissade at a Sierra Nevada tasting a couple weeks ago and thought it would be a cool change of pace to throw in the line up. It has a light golden color with a nice pillowy white head. Aroma is bready, malty as is the flavor which also has some spicy and hoppy notes. Nice clean finish with a small hops bite.

The Dead Guy was a bit of an anomaly to me. I knew that bocks fell into the lager category but Dead Guy is advertised as Dead Guy Ale, not Dead Guy Lager even though most resources I've seen call it a heller bock. After some research and a few messages back and forth with Rogue, I'm just going to go with it being a hybrid, heller bock style ale. This is one I'd like to drink isolated from Beer Club to get a better handle on what I think of it. I know I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. I'll update my thoughts on this beer in the comments section.

The last three beers on the list were doppelbocks. For a quick history lesson on these and to find out why so many of them end with -ator, click here.

First up was Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock. This beer is rated as the number one doppelbock on Rate Beer and it's easy to see why. This is a fantastic beer. Deep brown pour with a big creamy tan head. Sweet & roasted malty aroma and flavor with a sweet caramel finish.

A random entry to the night was Boulevard's Seeyoulator. I stumbled across this beer a couple weekends ago and picked it up because of the cedar aging. It wasn't till I was home that I even realized it was a doppelbock and decided to use it for Beer Club.

It was fantastic. Caramel color, LOTS of lively head, fantastic lacing. I poured the first glass quickly and down the middle like I do for most small samples and got a ton of head. I tried pouring more slowly and off to the side on the next two and still got quite a bit of head. Not a ton of aroma, sweet and malty is what does come through. Flavor is sweet, fruity, malty with a chewy mouthfeel. The cedar does come through in the flavor as well. Very cool beer, pretty unique for a doppelbock.

The last doppelbock was the Sam Adams Imperial Double Bock. It's a nice big chewy beer with a bunch of intense good flavors in it. Very sweet and smooth considering how much is going on in it.

We wrapped up the night with attempt at poking our bocks. You heard me right. If you've never been to Bockfest in New Ulm, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Well, at Bockfest they have campfires set up to huddle around if you get too cold. They also keep hot pokers in these fires and if you ask, they'll "poke" your bock by sticking one right in the middle of your brew. This caramelizes the sugars in the beer and makes it sweeter and a bit smokey.

I procured a metal rod from Home Depot and we fired up the burner from my turkey fryer and gave it a try. It didn't come out exactly like it does at Bockfest but it was a pretty good attempt for our first try. I'd guess that there's a bit of "seasoning" on the pokers down at Schell's, something like a cast iron skillet acquires after many uses. It definitely had a reaction and gave everybody a good idea of how it works.

I think my favorite of the night would have to be the Celebrator. It's number one for a reason and I can't argue with it. The Seeyoulator was nipping at its heels for me though. I really liked the depth that the cedar seemed to give it.

Over the weekend I also tried some Paulaner Salvator and a bottle of Widmer Brothers' Reserve Cherry Oak Doppelbock. I found the Salvator to be a solid beer but if given the option, I'd go for the much more economical Schell's Bock and enjoy it just as much.

As for the Widmer, it was phenomenal. As I always say, give me any combo that involves imperial stout, bourbon, oak aged or cherry and I'm all in. This stuff was awesome. It bummed me out that I waited so long to try it because I figured it was all gone. I was lucky enough this week to track down a couple more bottles of it before it completely disappeared. I'm going to hold one or both bottles for awhile and see how they age.

I'm already looking forward to next month's Beer Club, I'm leaning towards doing Trappist Ales after discovering that Chimay makes cheese. If you have any advice on Trappists, please let me know. Until then - Cheers!

Some non-Surly ratings from last weekend

As I mentioned last post, I swung into the Liquor Barrel Friday night after work to order my next keg. I decided on Grainbelt Premium to placate my yellow fizzy beer fan friends instead of the Two-Hearted that I really wanted because the last thing I need is to be pouring a glass of nectar like that and having them bitch about how awful it is while paying 3-4 times as much for it. Why do I care what they like? Hmmmm, good question.

Anyway, after filling in the Oktoberfest hole still left in Beer Club's lineup (it really is coming, trust me) I noticed they had Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale and I was curious enough to give it a try. After I got home, drank and rated the Surly CynicAle that I also bought (see the Surlyfest post for that) I poured myself a Sierra Nevada. It was definitely unique, there were plenty of flavors and aromas that I couldn't put my finger (or nose or taste buds) on. Looking forward to another shot at it to see if I can pick anything else specifically out. It got a 3.6 from me and these comments:
Deep golden color, thick foamy white head. Sharp pungent hops aroma, touch of citrus with a hint of pine. Mild hops in the flavor with a bit of pine, finish is sharp like the aroma, bitter from the hops. Solid, unique IPA.

Sunday I got my first chance to sit down in front of my own TV to watch my beloved Vikes and I plopped down with a Lift Bridge Farm Girl Belgian Saison. I've heard about these guys for awhile and have been anxious to try this one of their offerings in particular. It was a very solid Saison and I can tell that I've been drinking awesome beer because when I looked back to see what rating this one got from me and saw 3.1, I wondered why I was so hard on it. Then it hit me that 3.1 is nothing to be ashamed of. Anyway, some notes:
Yellow pour, very fizzy/carbonated. Not much of a head. Not a very strong aroma, some yeast/wheat and slight citrus. Wheat flavor with the spicyness coming through faintly, clean smooth finish.

I followed that up with a Stone IPA, a Magic Hat #9 and split a Little Sumpin' Extra with my buddy Noe. Football and beer, nothing better.

Later that night for Sunday night football I decided to try a couple other new offerings, starting with Two Brothers Cane and Ebel. I don't remember where I read about this but I do remember reading good things, good enough to make me buy it without further research. This beer stands out very well in a sea of very good beers that I've been trying. It took unique to a whole new level with the fantastic rye flavor. It got 4.1 from me.
Deep brown color, thick white foam. Heavy rye aroma with a hint of the sugar coming through and slight hops as well. Rye is very prominent in the flavor, sweet and bitter also. Very nice combo of flavors.

To close out the night I went with a Rogue Half-E-Weizen (MoM Hefeweizen). I was very disappointed in this one. It just had nothing of note to mention, just a very boring beer that only got a 2.3 from me.
Cloudy orange pour, white foamy head. Wheat/yeast aroma with slight sulfur. Not very flavorful, slight yeast, bit of lemon, not much mouthfeel or finish.

I might as well throw my after work beer rating in this entry in case I get behind again. I've had several of the Summit Horizon Red Ale and each time it has grown on me. It falls into that unique category because it's a red ale but has some wonderful IPA qualities to it, namely in the aroma department. The flavor isn't quite as good as the aroma but it's still very good and has its own unique taste to it, no doubt due to some help from that smell. It sounds like they're planning on keeping this around all year round now and I'm very happy with that decision. Summit EPA has always been one of my go to beers not because it's the best out there but because it's often the only decent beer in a flood of otherwise boring macrobrews. Hopefully the Horizon Red will catch on like this and give me a better hops option when I'm out and about. I gave it a 3.9 and said:
Deep red color, light brown foamy head. Sweet hoppy aroma with floral notes. Slightly bitter hops flavor without the floral that’s in the aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a bitter finish.

Officially Rating an Old Favorite

Last night I stopped by the Liquor Barrel to pick up a bottle of the Rogue Somer Orange Honey Ale for LeeAnn and figured I'd pick up an extra couple for myself. I also noticed a Half-E-Weizen (MoM Hefeweizen) from Rogue so I grabbed a bottle of that to try.

I saw they still had the Horizon Red Ale from Summit too so I bought a six of that since it's so popular and hard to find. It grew on me the last time I had it so it's getting another try. was reading about the Imperial Line from Sam Adams and bought a four pack of the Imperial Stout. Looking forward to trying this one day soon.


I swung by Buffalo Wild Wings to try their new flavors and when I got home I decided to pair them with a Two-Hearted Ale. Draft Magazine was right, it was a fantastic pairing.

After that I went to Mainstreet and instead of my normal Furious fest I decided to do official tastings and ratings of a couple beers that should have been rated long ago.

We'll start with the second beer I rated, Newcastle. I hate to say it but it really fell flat. I expected it to be a lot richer with more flavor and since I came around last year and started liking it, I was really disappointed. It didn't hold up at all to the stuff I've been drinking lately. It had no aroma at all and the taste was just not really there. I gave it a 2.2 on RateBeer:
Pours deep brownish red color, little to no aroma. Very small flavor, a slight malt note and a bit sweet. Overall not a very flavorful beer.

The other beer I rated was Guinness Draught. As you can see I had one at home just the other night but decided not to rate it because it has been in my fridge for a few months and I wanted to go with it on tap to get a better feel for it.

This beer held up much more than I anticipated. It has been my favorite beer to pour ever since I poured one with the widget and getting it on tap doesn't disappoint. Easily the best looking beer out there and the aroma, while not too strong is very nice. The thick creamy head gives it great mouthfeel and while the flavor itself is a bit weak, it's still money. Very low ABV (4.1%) and its ability to fill you makes it a great beer if you want to have a few but still need to drive home as well. Guinness belongs in the Beer Hall of Fame. I gave it a very solid 4.0 on RateBeer.com:
Guinness is the beer that I wish I could give a 20 for appearance. When they put that cascading beauty in front of me I could watch it for hours if I didn’t want to drink it so badly. It pours a deep brown color and cascades like a waterfall. Thick creamy head with coffee and chocolate in both the aroma and taste. Very smooth mouthfeel and goes down without effort. My only knock is that it could use a bit deeper flavor to it but overall this is a classic beer.

Cheers and happy Friday!
Mike

Dessert in a glass and some macrobrews

August 6th I was in New Ulm visiting my parents and brought a few brews with for the weekend. The first one I cracked open was and Un*Earthly by Southern Tier. Now I always give my mom a sip of whatever I'm drinking and she always takes it even though 90% of the time she makes the classic bitter beer face. I figured something that had 11% ABV and mad hops wouldn't be something to she'd like. She loved the smell, took her sip, nodded in approval and passed it on to my stepdad Marv who agreed with her assessment and they both took another swig before letting me have it back. Who knew? Maybe more people out there would like massively hoppy beer if they just gave it a chance.

August 7th we went out for supper at a local restaurant that of course had Schell's beers as 4 of their 5 taps - Grain Belt Premium and Premium Light and Schell and Schell Light with the standard Minnesota beer (Michelob Golden Light) being the 5th. I was in the mood to have a Premium so I ordered one and it went down so smoothly I had to order a second.

Later that night I opened up a beer I've been very excited to try, another Southern Tier beer called Imperial Creme Brulee Stout.

Here's what I wrote on RateBeer.com:

Wow, this beer has all kinds of stuff going on. Pours very dark brown with a brownish head to it. Smells amazing. Very sweet with aromas of vanilla, caramel. Flavor is also very sweet with the vanilla being the very prominent flavor. Massive beer that tastes like dessert in a glass. Had a 22 oz bomber that would have been perfect if I had 1-2 people to share it with.

I'm a little on the fence with this beer but leaning towards giving it big thumbs up. This would be the ideal beer to split between three people right after a meal for a literal dessert.

I thought I was done for the night but still wanted something so I cracked open the very refreshing summer beer, Rogue's Somer Orange Honey Ale. This stuff is so good in the summer that I'd drink tons of it if it wasn't so damn expensive. My RateBeer.com entry:

The commercial description is pretty accurate. Smelled very refreshing and tasted the same. Could definitely make out the orange and honey and didn’t find it to be too sweet which is what I was expecting. Went down very quickly, this is a very good summer (somer?) beer.

August 8th found me in Redwood Falls, MN for a wedding. Being the hate-to-be-late guy that I am, we were in town 45 minutes before the wedding started. After a long search for the only place in town to have beer (literally), I walked in with last night's Grain Belt still in my head wanting a glass of it more than anything at the moment. Score! It's one of 4 taps in the bar and went down as well as I had imagined on this scorcher of a day. I've decided this is going to be my next keg in the bar. It was my only beer of the day but I did have a couple of Johnnie Walkers at the wedding reception.

My first beer of August 9th was one of a Nude Beach by Point. The last bottle of this that I had was a little disappointing because it seemed to lack the flavor that I remembered when I sampled it at the Four Firkins. This one totally hit the spot though. It wasn't quite as refreshing as the Rogue from Friday night but wonderful none the less. Wussy beers do have their place and a super hot summer day is that place. Also had a few Mich Goldens at Mama G's before, during and after our volleyball games. Another beer in its proper place.

The sad news of the day is that the Cinema Grill doesn't carry its impressive array of microbrews during the summer. I went there excited to order a Furious only to find out that they only were carrying the 3 lightest beers on the menu until the fall. I changed my order to water because it seemed appropriate. Oh well, October isn't that far away I guess.