Left Hand Rye Bock

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: Dunkler Bock
Longmont, Colorado USA

Vintage 2008. Serving date: 2009-01-09. Served in snifter. 750 ml bottle, corked and caged. No freshness date to be found on bottle. Nice bottle artwork - no paper label, only print directly on the bottle - with a bock head with mesmerizing eyes. Some information on the beer and bock beers in general in the back. Dark and ruby color with a big 3-4 cm off-white head that very slowly settles into rather thick lacings. A good looking beer. The smell is grainy with hints of grass and weeds. Lots of caramel malts. The flavor is very sweet. As with all doppelbocks, this one packs a lot of malts. Caramel malts dominate. Some toffee notes are also present. The sweetness also has a fruity character, primarily blackberries and raisins. A gentle hop bitterness that balances the malty sweetness appears in the finish. Towards the end, when it heats up and the originally lively carbonation is reduced a little, the beer has a slight change of character: Its body - which is medium at first - becomes a bit more full and the taste of toffee becomes more accentuated. The alcohol is well hidden beneath the malty sweetness. All in all, it’s a very good beer, perhaps a bit to sweet for a full session though. I really like how it held up and developed all the way to the end. Would absolutely have one again if I was offered one. The price is a bit high though (in Sweden). Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

From the Bottle at RBESG Harlequin, Sheffield 19/07/2009 Big malt aroma. Amber coloured rich and slightly sweet on the palate with a slightly dry wheaty finish.

2007 750ml botte opened October 09. Pours a near clear viscous slightly red brown with a nice frothy off-white foamy froth. Aroma has some funk, leather, brown sugar. Flavor of leather, brown sugar, a bit funky, some infection. Medium bodied, fairly chewy.

2008 bottle. Dark red-brown with a creamy tan head. Spicy and bready rye aroma together with raisins and hints of cellar. Solid nutty and bready flavours and dry throughout. Noticeable alcohol. Quite fizzy, full body. A great bock.

750 ml. bottle. Vintage 2007. Flowed up and out of the bottle upon opening, the over flow was cleverly caught in a bowl. After the exuberant overflow, the head settled into a thin layer, with minimal lacing, over a slightly cloudy, coppery, (SRM 16) body....nose leads with caramel, toffee malts, followed by gentle dried fruit (cherry, raisin), then rye bread....taste is light sweet malts to start, then light dried fruit, followed by rye bread tones, and a final lingering harsh bitterness....mouth feel is medium, carbonation high even after the initial burst. This is not nearly as layered, complex or flavorful as anticipated. Perhaps the bottle was past its prime, alas.

Bottle at RBESG 09 Sheffield. Hazy chestnut colour with lasting beige head. Soy sauce on aroma and malty in mouth. Bit mouldy in fact. Really not that good.

Bottle @ RBESG Grand Tasting 2009... hazy brown ... sweet rye toffee nose... rich toffee sweet malt ... malt extract ... rich soft and smooth ... lots of honey.

Bottle at the RBESG09 Grand tasting, sheffield. Alround rating: Big grainy sweet brown bready malt character, theres not much hop character in there. Im not into bocks.