Heavyweight Cinderbock Lager

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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10/15/06. Poured out of 12 oz. bottle, obtained in a trade with Jetsbeer on BeerAdvocate 7/18/06. Rated blind. Hazy orange-caramel color, poured with a small and mostly diminishing cream-colored head that sits with a tight film surrounded by a pebbly rim. Lacing and sub-surface lacing are both pretty poor, hardly sticking at all no matter the temperature or how much head is stirred up out of solution. Still, the color and the thin tuft of head is alluring. Call it "a high 2." Aroma is brightly yeasty at first, spiced and spicy enough to remind me of a Unibroue pseudo-Belgian, then swiftly opens up to a cleanly tangy, smokey, and woody (cedar chips) medley. Fairly faint overall, and I find an interesting play with the smokiness fading in and out with the yeastiness. Not very malt-forward. Flavor is softly and delicately woody, smokey, not really meaty at all, and seeming German in its malt-hop interplay (lightly peppery and dry hop profile with no piney and little-to-no vegetal notes, slightly toasty and caramelly but not very sweet malt character). Sublimely creamy and smooth integration of the carbonation makes it nicely drinkable, matching the slight tang and dryness of the smokey wood character. Finish sucks the moisture out of your mouth and leaves a lovely toasty, smokey trail. Some baked appley fruit notes in there too. Medium-thin body and almost no alcohol apparency. Extremely solid but somehow lacking that extra oomph, most notably in the nose, to really impress.

A big thank you to Adrian for opening this superb brew from now defunct (sad to say) Heavyweight. Could the bottle really have been from 1999? Very smoky, sweet, rich, floral aroma. The flavor is more robust than the aroma. Awesome smoked bock!

Bottle shared by Sean. Pours a very hazy earthy amber with a earthy brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a nice smoke note with some toffee and caramel backing. Flavor starts with slightly tart fruit with toffee and a nice smoke note in the finish.

bottle at 5k tasting - nice meaty taste, smoked and savory, toasted bready malts. Held up quite well.

Bottle at the double 5k tasting. Pours a lightly hazed orange. Smoky and meaty bandaids. Smoke, toast, caramel. Not too much oxidization going on really. Lingering smoke on the finish. Cool how well this one held up.

Bottle shared at Paul and Ryan’s 5,000th rate tasting. Pours amber with a thin white head. Smokey aroma with some sweet and ropey burlap notes. the flavor has smoked malts, ash, burlap, and a ligh sweetness. Not bad, especially for its age.

Bottle. Brown. Nose of BBQ, bacon and smoked malt. Taste of caramel malt, smoke and BBQ pork.

12oz Bottle. Aroma throws a really rich fresh smoked salmon, even including the salty sea oils. Nice malt back. Pours a rosy amber pale brown that throws a nice off-white soapy head. Nice, bambergian smoked alder, pig fat bacon, and light salty wood. Bock character is subtle and underlying. This is the most like the Bamberg examples of any American smoked beer. Nice roasted pig and long campfire finish. This is really smoky, even at this age. A bit of white and gray ash. This is solid.

12 oz bottle thanks to jimmack shared at the preBeerwars gathering. I didn’t take copious notes on this one so I’m going on memory but it has only been a few hours. Pours a hazy orangey/amber with an average to small sized whiteish head. Aroma still has lots of smoke over an earthy peat body with some caramel malt backbone. Medium bodied with average carbonation even after several years of sitting around. Flavor of smokey bbq rub, dense malts and earth notes. This one is still holding up nicely and if you can find it, get it!!!!

Wow. Held up pretty well. There is a touch of funk and sourness, but it is mostly good. Nose is sweet and smoky with some raisins and brown sugar. Flavor follows suit with a nice smoke bite and a lot of sweetness. The sweetness is a little cloying, but the smoke balances it out well. Even after all this time, it isn’t bad.

2006 bottle. Good lord has this held up to time quite nicely! Clear at first with lots of haze and silverish sediment particals. Bamberg sort of smoke with a slight hint of peaty sharpness. A little bandaid. Clean malt. Medium body. A bit fuller than most lagers. Substantial carbonation, not just for age. Smokey sharpness. Wood smoke with some bit of peaty oxidized grape sort of smoke. Full malt. A bit toasty. Astringent finish. Very nice, a shame this isn’t made any longer.