Barbar Bok

Brewed by Brasserie Lefebvre
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Rebecq-Quenast, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Marcipan, raisons, toasted malt. Dark brown body with a little layer. Light sweet toffee, malt and honey taste. Suprisingly light in comparison to the aroma.

UPDATED: AUG 26, 2007 Rerate: After at least 2 more tries (i still got one aging right now), this bock has finally got it right! It’s not a beer to drink as a starter, but later in the evening the sweet caramelly malts and the complex fruity flavors come out the best. I can only say: Deliciousssss! Original rating: Finally a good winter-brew that doesn’t taste to alcohol (a lot). I can’t add anything to the descriptions already given: coffee? chocolate? whatever...

Dark brown; head like a chocolate malted – foams up quickly then comes down. Combo of sweet honey, slight tobacco, caramel and demerara. Starts very sweet – a kiss of cool honey but mostly toffeeish. Some light apple notes, no hops and the yeast in largely a non-factor. Straightforward, very sweet. If you can handle such sweetness, you’re on.

Brown sugar aroma, and molasses. Deep brown, with a reddish touch. Caramel, roasted malt, banana, clove, (similar to a Weissen) Deliciously sweet, creamy, complex. A very tasty Bock!

Very good beer! In the beginning it tastes like a rochefort, but that changes quickly to have a great taste of its own. Surely one to drink!

Extremely dark in color, even by bock standards, great head form and retention. Apple yeast, dark fruits and oak come through in aroma. Palate is rich with malt sweetness, like freshly baked fruitcake (as MJ would say), plenty of fruit and pretty yeasty. Oakiness also comes through telling me that this must have been wood barrel aged. Flavor and drinkability are both excellent.

Dark amber with a big head. Malty, slightly burned aroma. Dry sweetish taste slowly dissapearing without a real finish.

UPDATED: OCT 22, 2006 Bottled, re-rate. Very nice beer if you’re into the sweeter bocks. The aroma is a little light, some caramel, vanilla and licorice. Dark brown, off-white creamy head, very beautiful lace. Sweet, honey flavors, licorice, light bitter. Long lasting licorice finish.

UPDATED: SEP 21, 2004 Dark brown to almost black coloured. Malty, sweet aroma. It tastes malty, bit sour and quite sweet. Alcohol is all over the place. Pitty.
Rerate: I underrated this one. Gave it three stars before. It must have been a bad time. I had this 2 more times now and I must say this beer is pretty good. Very fruity (orange) and malty aroma with some spices. Decent appearance; brown coloured with an off-white, lasting head. Taste is malty (roasted), fruity/raisins and some spices. Full bodied well balanced.

My first Bock. Sweeter and stronger than a Vienna, but quite similiar. The story has it that this style was first developed in Einbeck, Germany. Not having the cold Austrian caves, the beer was only produced during the winter months, leading to the May festivals when the brew was finally consummed. The winter brewing tradition still appears to continue. Though LeFebvre was founded in 1876 by Jules Lefebvre, it was his great grandson Philippe who introduced the Barbar brand in 1995. This Winter Bok has a chocolate melted into wine colour. That theme continues into the nose and the taste, though the nose also has hints of peach and honeysuckle. The body is quite thin (like a Vienna) but with an interesting sharp fizz which catches at the sides of the cheeks. There is an element of Dandelion and Burdock with a touch of soap and cheap brandy. The finish is lemony hops and more soap. A significant range of flavours keep this interesting, but the thin body and constant sweetness prevent it from being an overall success.