Brick Bock

Wow !! So good Thanx to Mike from Cameron’s at the Cask tasting. Shared a 1994 adition, wow was that nice Dark brown color, malty spicy sweet aroma. Flavor similar malty some smoke, sweet dried fruit a little alcohol. Wow so good for a 14 year old beer. Very lucky to have got to try this.

1993 bottle shared courtesy of MDS, thanks for being so generous Mike! Deep dark chestnut pour unleashes a nice size mocha froth and puts lots of sediment in my glass. The nose is of huge caramel malts with plenty of black cherries, wood smoke, nuts, sherry and a blast of leather. Quite big and assertive. The flavour profile is a bit weaker than the nose would have led me to believe. It is quite malty sweet with hints of sherry and dark fruit. After that, there is a roasted nuttiness followed by a sharp metallic twang lending itself to the finish. Bitterness lingers, and the finish is a touch watery. All in all I am impressed. This beer has held up very well over 15 years. I’ve been wanting to try this for years, so thanks Mike for giving me the opportunity to do so, I appreciate it.

A revival of ratings, thanks to Pootz opening up his cellar on this. He has given me the 2001 edition. I found this to be in good shape overcoming it not being intended for so long. While the carbonation has gone out to a significant extent, the beverage was still tasty and interesting with a dark brown colour sans the head, and a malty treat to smell sans much yeast. It was not to sweet, and yes there was a pungency and mid-sip spiciness, bittersweet chocolate, mollasses in finish.

2000 edition sampled in 2007 Poured a dark chestnut color in the glass..light needed to see through..has ruby highlights. Thick sticky 3 finger mocha colored cap that lasts relatively well then settled to a rich surface foam that imprints lace on the glass as you drink. Aroma: a tad 2 dimensional but still wonderfully pungent...figs and chocolate in spades with a light whisp of wet hay. Medium bodied, silken mouth feel and pungent dried fruit toasty-nutty character. Starts wuth a nice bite into Christmas cake then the dried fruit (figs/dates) and cocoa tones dominate without cloying...mid palate the hops show to create an interesting mix of medicinal/herbal bittering offset to the toasty-nutty malts with dried fruit (figs) from yeast esters plus the coca tones from black patent malts....complex blend of mellow flavors but not overly complicated ( which is a plus for drinkability in a dark bock)...mellow, slow finish runs like bittersweet chocolate on raisin toast with a light herbal-woody bittering just at the end that tails off into the after taste. WOW! Age improved? dunno... but not oxidized and certainly a drinkable sturdy bock of old world dimension and taste. We have got to beg this brewer to make this beer again...probably the best dunkler bock I have tasted in Canada if not the US as well...Shiner’ bock has niothing on this...neither do Stoudt’s or Calument...this is very close to Weltenburger bock...but better IMHO................................................................................................................................................................. Bottled. 2003 edition.... Poured a deep dark ruby-cola color with soft carbonation which produced a good frothy 3 finger sand colored head.... Aromas sweet malts..chocolate, ripe cherry, molasses with some walnut notes. Buttery mouth feel full of complex malt flavors; burnt toffee, smoked caramel...some fig and licorice...then a long liqueur-like finish where the sweet toffee malts give way to the hops and leave a lasting impression of tart spiced rum as the alcohol warmth kicks in.

Brown bottle, 341 ml, 7%, bottled in 2003, tasting at Ian’s with Dum and Lubière on September 15; eye: dark brownish burgundy, clear, no effervescence, head that disappear rapidly; nose: faint smells, caramel, grainy malt; mouth: grainy malt, bad roasting, finale in caramel eventually covered by grainy malt with a hint of pepper FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 341 ml, 7 %, embouteillée en 2003, dégustation chez Ian avec Dum et Lubière le 15 septembre 2006; oeil : brune bourgogne foncé, claire, pas d’effervescence, mousse qui disparaît rapidement; nez : odeurs peu prononcées, caramel, malt granuleux; bouche : malt granuleux, mauvaise torréfaction, finale en caramel avec malt granuleux qui vient par dessus avec une petite pointe de poivre