Mendocino Spring Seasonal Bock

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Hopland, California USA

$6.49 for a six pack at Total Wine. Amber beer with a white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt. Flavor is rich and malty, and a strong bock character. Has a good hop finish, lightly bitter. Very robust and malt-centric. 7% ABV is a big plus. Still a good balance. Very tasty and interesting, and I like it a lot better than I thought I would. Another great value from Mendocino. Excellent.

Bottle. Poured amber with an off-white head. Aroma of dark fruit with a caramel background. The flavor found prunes, caramel, and a light malt roast. Medium body with a roast aftertaste.

12 oz bottle. Pours a copper color with a relatively small white head. Aroma is malts. Heavy malts, like "malted milkshake malts." Many probably wouldn’t find this appealing, but I loved it. An interesting change of pace from the heavily hopped beers I’ve been consuming as of late.

Pours a nice copper color with a thin white head. Aroma is malty, citrusy, with just a hint of honey. Taste is malty smooth with some nice subtle hops. The smooth maltiness and the honey citrus make this very easy to drink and will be nice as the weather warms up.

12oz bottle from Willow Bend Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a generally clear dark amber color with a thin tan head. Aroma is sweet with notes of malt, ripe fresh fruit, honey, caramel, some slight notes of chocolate. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of caramel, honey, toffee, and candy sugar. Some hints of ripe fresh fruit and bread. Generally medium body with a sweet and malty finish. Better than I expected.

There are displays of this stuff in more than one place in Total Wine so I figured I’d give it a try. Pours a dark gold or amber color with a thick foamy off white head. A lot of lacing on the glass. Aroma is floral with bready malts and perhaps a touch of caramel but most of it is rather subtle. Medium bodied, clean and refreshing. The flavor starts with some caramel malt with hops staying in the background. It finishes with a touch of bitter hops. Smooth and easy drinking. Didn’t wow with flavor but there’s enough there to make it a solid beer. I didn’t know what to expect with this and in the end I am pleased. Give it a try.

Bottle. Sweet fruity aroma, with caramel. Deep golden body, small head. Flavor is sweet and fruity, with some bread and toffee. Sweet finish, but not cloying. Pleasant.

Clear copper orange with a thin but lasting off white cover. Sweet fruity toffee, caramel malt aroma. Taste is more caramel, apples, some citrus, then a lightly bitter grassy finish.