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Who Put the Bock in Bacchanalian?
by Belly Buddy Mark Stevens
At A Glance
Beer: St. Arnold Spring Bock Pros: Big malty beer with a toasty edge. Cons: Little rough on the edges. The Bottom Line: Good choice for people who like heavier beers. Not quite as smooth as the German classics. Recommended: Yes.
St. Arnold's Bock tastes like a classic bock, emulating the smooth, sweet, malty lagers of Germany that are traditionally sold during the early spring. Of all the various seasonal beers that I've had from St. Arnold, the bock is my favorite!
Style Notes:
A classic bock is always malty, with barely a hint of hops. The smell should be malt, the taste should be malt, and the overall impression should be that of a big, strong, nutty tasting beer. The grain used in brewing bocks should be Munich malt -- a slightly toasted malt that brings a deep red color and a somewhat nutty or toasty flavor. To get the color they want, brewers blend light and dark Munich malts. Bocks are traditionally big, bold beers: to truly emulate the German classics, the beer should be brewed to a strength no lower than 16 degrees Plato (1066 OG).
There should never be a strong hop flavor nor aroma in a good bock -- the beer is meant to showcase malt flavors. Because of the high gravity though, the hopping rate is fairly high, but its all used for bittering -- a brewer should not use any late kettle hoppings.
Although the style is said to have originated in Einbeck, I tend to think of bock as most prevalent in Munich (maybe that's because I love Paulaner's bocks so much, especially their luxurious Salvator dopplebock -- but that's another review...)
Sample Conditions:
These notes are from a six-pack I purchased at one of Houston's larger liquor stores (Specs). The beer was in a walk-in cooler and was purchased during the normal marketing season for this beer in its local market. The brewery uses brown bottles. The bottles look to be in good condition -- no dust on the bottles and no stickiness on the carrier.
Evaluation
Appearance: This is a beautiful beer! Absolutely brilliant clarity without a trace of haze. Very bright copper color with deep red hues evident as I turn the glass to the light. I'd put the color at around 15 SRM. Slight head dissipates quickly. Low carbonation.
Aroma:
On my first sniff I get a bit of pepper-like sharpness, but it gives way quickly to lots of sweet malt with a hint of caramel -- it comes across as a bit nutty, or maybe like toasted sweetbread. I don't pick up so much as a trace of the hops -- it's really all malt.
Flavor:
This is a big bold beer with a very sweet malty flavor, redolent with the toasty nutty character that I look for in a bock. The malt tastes a little like caramel ice cream topping. Although it's definitely full bodied, the beer doesn't strike me as being quite as smooth as some of the German bocks. There's a little bit of fruitiness in there that I don't expect, and I also feel a little more alcoholic warmth than I'd like (especially as the beer gets a little warmer) -- I understand that the style has a fairly high alcohol level, but this isn't a dopplebock, and I really don't want to notice the alcohol. These kinds of things make me wonder about temperature controls during the lagering process (or whether the beer is even really a lager or an ale -- not that it matters if the beer is good).
Brewery Notes:
Saint Arnold is a microbrewery located in an industrial area on the west side of Houston. They brew mostly ales, and have been in business for about seven years. The beers are sold throughout Texas. The brewery welcomes visitors for an entertaining tour (with free beer, of course) Saturdays at 1pm. More information about the brewery is available on the brewery's web site
Overall Impression:
This is a big, full-bodied beer that just cries out "malt!" everywhere. It's got sweetness, it's got a toasted sweetbread flavor, it even leaves a somewhat syrupy aftertaste in your mouth. People who like full-bodied beers will like St. Arnold Bock. Like every beer, it's great by itself, but I also enjoy it with freshly grilled bratwursts served up on a sourdough roll and smothered in caramelized onions and stoneground mustard -- life just doesn't get much better than that!
Price per six-pack ($US): 6
Beer Rating: A solid performer
