Mammoth Blondibock Bock Beer

Brewed by Mammoth Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Mammoth Lakes, California USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Stein

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Thanks to ILOVESTOUTS for this one. Served in a cervoise. Nose is bourbon soaked bread with a bit of oak. Flavor is bourbon heavy with some oak, vanilla, toffee, and a bit of malty sweetness.

22 oz bomber into a tulip glass. Huge thanks to ILOVESTOUTS. A - Pours a slightly hazy dark orange/amber body. Two fingers of bone white foam settle into a thin cap with some patchy lacing. Decent retention. S - If I didn’t know any better I’d say this was a tamer Backwoods Bastard. Nose starts off initially with rich toffee malts followed by a wave of smooth bourbon notes. Butterscotch, vanilla, oak, and warming alcohol. Finishes sweet and fruity with a touch of spice, almost like apples or calvados. Really great aroma. T - Smooth toffee malt leads right into the bourbon notes. Very strong on the butterscotch and vanilla with some light spice and fruit. The alcohol tends to overwhelm things and muddle the aftertaste. M - Medium to light bodied with a somewhat high carbonation. Drinkability remains quite high. O - Not very "bock like" to be honest. It is pretty damn tasty with a wonderfully smooth and balanced bourbon presence. Very close to scotch ale territory in terms of flavors and aromas though. I quite enjoyed this one.

Bottle from the brewery. Aroma is of whisky and oak some vanilla. Flavor is probably one of the strongest I’ve ever tasted whisky, but is good, no burn going back up. Nice head and lacing, abv isn’t noticed.

Bottle from Total Wine, Sacramento. Pours murky blonde with a decent white head and a toffee aroma. There is a banana and molasses flavor with a dry bitter finish that is a bit ascerbic.

Tap at brewery. Pours a clear yellow with a quickly fading white head. Aroma is big, round bourbon with coconut and vanilla. Taste has a big, delicious bourbon character up front before a fairly neutral lightly sweet malt backbone and a bit of a grainy or perhaps chalky finish. Mouthfeel is clean and appropriate for the ABV. I really enjoy bourbon barrel aged beers where the base beer if fairly nondescript because the bourbon character presents so well. No hotness in this beer; just lush, tasty bourbon. Great beer.

Thanks to whomever brought this to the Orange County Beer Society tasting. This clear, dark golden pour is quite sweet, but it worked for me. I liked it.

UPDATED: SEP 4, 2012 This should be two beers blondibock the burbon barrel aged version of the original bluesapaloosa blond bock. First review is blondibock A - pours hazy apple juice straw with low white head . S - fantastic aromas of bourbon vanilla oak with hint of apple. M - strong heavy body full heavy palate. Nice alcohol warming at the end. T oak burbon vanilla, pepper, spice citrus vanilla oak. O suprisingly bourbony and good considering how much I disliked the original 7 A - Poured a deep golden with high clarity. Very little head. S - Aromas of scotch first, also bananas and buttered biscuits. Interesting mix, hot buttered banana nut scotch bread. M - Medium carbonation with heavy body. T - Begins with the scotch flavor, middle has bananas, hot buttered biscuits, nutty. Reminds me of banans bread, but with scotch overtones. Long ending with raisins and scotch. O - Very complex beer, but the flavors didn’t work for me. 2

22oz bottle, purchased at the brewery. Pours a deep golden-orange color; high clarity; modest, mixed-bubbled light-tan head with patchy lacing. Lots of rounded, relatively soft bourbon and assertive vanilla and oak in the aroma; a focused bourbon character that doesn’t overstep; the base beer is quiet, and there’s a light vegetal character present. Medium-full body; moderate carbonation; following the aroma, plenty of soft bourbon character here: a restrained spirit character, warming alcohol, plenty of oak and vanilla notes, and (again) that light vegetal note that could just as easily be coming from bright, new oak character; lots of barrel, and at least not hard; but all barrel, and very little showing from the base beer. Alcohol character grows as it warms, of course. Medium-length finish: lots of toastiness and vanilla in a balanced ending.

Bottle. Clear golden pour with a white head. Lots of sweet chewy malts, residual sugar, and bourbon. Even pretty hot for not having a super high abv. Not my favorite.