Amsterdam Spring Bock

In a town with Denison’s Maibock, Creemore Urbock, Brick Anniversary Bock, and even Niagara Eisbock, it’s hard to get up for this relatively lightweight, simplistic (albeit fairly refreshing), grainy example.

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.

It was spring and it was a bock. But that’s all. Not very interesting but drinkable. Sweet, some spice (I think it was coreander), malty.

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.

very dark brown colour. Appropriately better than average carbonation, well-malted, and a significant amount of smoke.

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.

Draft. C’est What. Dark red brown body, small creamy beige head. Muted aroma of sweetly alcoholic malt. Flavour is similarly alcoholic, with initial sweet malt and a very dry finish. Average palate, lingering aftertaste. Not bad.

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.