Amsterdam Spring Bock

Brewed by Amsterdam Brewing Company
Style: Dunkler Bock
Toronto, Canada

Tap at bier bistro. Dark brown beer, thin brown head. Aroma is sweet and malty. Dark toasted amlts, sweet brown sugar, light raisin and roasted grain. A bit of licorice on the back as well. Dark and chewy sweet. It’s more doppelbock than dunkel and way too sweet, but it’s decent enough.

On tap at Volo. A cloudy dark pour. Mouthfeel was creamy supported by a soft white head. Taste was of dates and molasses. Smell was similarly sweet and syrupy. Nothing exceptional, but one of the better brews of the night.

Tap at Volo
Poured ruby with brown accents, good large creamy head. Visible carbonation, fragmental lacing.
Sweet malty nose with gentle strokes of hops. Fruity scent of sweet ripe red apple.
Medium light bodied, fruity front with slight tart and medium full roasted brown malts. Soft sweeter substance around. Alcohol well covered. Softer at edges which is welcomed (more like malty Czech strong dunkel) . Good attempt yet nothing sticking out of crowd.

Dark mahogany with a decent head and some lacing. Fairly thick, somewhat syrupy. As far as scent and aroma, it’s one-dimensional, sweet and malty with maybe some spice, but drinkable and somewhat tasty. Very metallic aftertaste. Didn’t blow my mind.

Draft at Shoeless Joe’s. I’m not an experienced Bock drinker, but I’m glad to read here that this is not considered a great one. I found it thin and a bit sour.

Draught. At Smokeless Joe. Blankboy wouldn’t let me leave until I tried this - I’ll get him, OH, yes I will ... Poured clear mahogany with a small beige head. Very mild nutty roast malt aroma, stale hops in there somewhat, a bit sour too. Flavour quite nutty and peaty, slightly sour malt, some light stale dry hop bitterness and oddly, thin from-concentrate orange juice - a bit burnt too. Mouthfeel flat, burnt, slightly harsh - not really too bad, but definitely a sub-par bock.

"This one should be relabeled as "enigma dark". Is it bock or a dry porter? ....I like the Mai bock and Xmas bock this brewer makes but this is a bit of a let down... a mild beer but not up to Amsterdam’s regular craft....something is missing....this is a very one dimensional bock with little nose but a great look to it. Pours a deep brown-amber with ruby highlights...frothy tan colored cap...reduces too quickly ..laces the glass weakly. Not much to the nose except some light husk and alcohol. Starts with a light, slightly watery, body where roasted/charred grain astringency teams up with the grassy hops for a dry porter-like "bite" with virtually no sweetness...finishes fast and dry with a little warming and a tinny after taste....seems flat, dry and one dimensional. What is missing in this bock is all the things that make a bock: body, thick chewy malt spine, sweet cocoa/coffee tastes, lagering mellowness and herbal hopping. If I closed my eyes when the bottle was opened I might be led to believe that some one slipped me a Sleeman porter...but not a bock. Amsterdam has slipped badly since the move.

Bottle at Bar Volo. Pours a clear reddish-brown with a spare diminishing off-white head. Very mild aroma of malt and some burnt elements. Watery flavour of burnt cola and burnt caramel and what I like to call that ’Amsterdam flavour’ that is present in every one of their beers. Shit aftertaste. Thin bodied. Wow, this is very poor attempt at a Bock, I passed it around to three other people and none of us liked it. Crap.