Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Dunkler Bock
Boston, Massachusetts USA

2008 bottle. Pours a dark brown body with a beige ring of head. Roasted, dried fruit, and cocoa aromas. Flavors of cocoa, dried fruit, dark maple syrup. Rather sweet finish.

Dark red-black with low carbonation. Surprisingly strong chocolatey aroma. Slightly thin in the mouth, compaired to other chocolate beers. This makes it slightly sickly sweet, but with a nice over-all chocolate flavour.

Every three years Samuel Adams releases their renowned Chocolate Bock. Seeing as I am still relatively new to the beer scene, while I may have been around and supping on brews when the last batch of Chocolate Bock was released, I sure as heck didn’t know about it. That all has changed though and I try to stay much more on top of beer releases and the beer scene in general. I was hoping to age a Chocolate Bock to see how it faired, but she is a light bock and is best-buy dated, a fact many Samuel Adams appreciators may not be aware of. Fear not though, if you haven’t cracked yours open yet, do so, and you will not be disappointed.

Deep blacks and browns flow like silken threads into my glass, settling underneath a velveteen khaki head which slowly recedes into an attractive ring. Her depths may be dark, but holding my glass up to the light, she is crystal clear, burnt amber and garnet highlights streaking where the light pierces the deepest. As I poured my Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock into my glass, faint esters of her nose teased mine. Hesitation is not my middle name, and with shameless abandon I dip my nose deep into her sultry depths. Rich Belgian chocolates permeate her nose and seduce my senses. Nothing but the finest here, and I know a chocolatier somewhere is blushing in humble pride. As her chocolates continue to melt and seduce, gentle esters of licorice, prunes, cherry cordials, toffee and caramel mingle and dance together in supple harmony. She exudes balance along with her promise of sultry riches. Someone must have taken the fudge cake out of the oven because here comes rich warm melted chocolates, take two. Mingling with the chocolate this time is vanilla bean, cinnamon sugar cookies cooked to a brilliant golden brown, graham crackers and a kiss of honey. Whew. And I haven’t even delved into her inviting depths, but all that is about to change…right…now. Smooth and mouthcoating, her softness rivals the finest silks. Chocolate rolls across my tongue with velvety finesse. As promised, her proud Belgian heritage permeates her palate in perfect precision and balance. Each quaff melts and mingles and melds into a menagerie of flavors that are nothing short of liquid harmony. Caramel and cherry cordials mingle atop chocolate cake slathered in all-natural chocolate fudge icing. There is a playful nip of tart unripe cherries in the swallow while dark fruits, prunes, and raisins add some meat to her body. Long after each quaff chocolate continues to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Weak knead and near my point of no return, I sup reverently on her slowly diminishing bounty as vanilla bean and licorice finish with a shiver. As a bock and not a double bock, there is little to no discernable heat, just pleasant chocolate warmth that promises rosy cheeks and sensual abandon. Exquisite.

The only shameful side of the Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, 2009, is that now I have to wait three more years for the next release. Samuel Adams rarely ever disappoints, and with this particular beauty, inhibitions were tossed, humility shunned, and every indulgence indulged. Chocolate bars? Paf! Who needs those when one has a Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock in hand.

Last year’s bottle, pours near solid black with a creamy tan head. Aroma is grain, milk chocolate, oat, vanilla, brown sugar. Taste is sweet milk chocolate with some light fruit. Very smooth and mellow vut not really as good as I was expecting. Medium body, mild carbonation. I guess I wanted something thicker and more chocolatey.

Pours out of the bottle a dark brown that borders on being black. Thick, tannish head that takes some time to dissipate. A bit thin on the mouth feel, but wow does this one taste good. The chocolate taste comes through very well and is creamy at the finish. If it weren’t so pricey I’d have to get this one again.

Pours deep ruby red, tan head. Cocoa, caramel nose - very malty.
Milk chocolate flavour, not so much body to it though. This lack of body makes it come off slightly sickly sweet, but otherwise enjoyable in small quantities.

A Christmas gift from last year. Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a stemmed glass. The color is a dark black with a very slight dark maroon hue to the color when held to the light. About two and a half fingers of head with some nice lacing that does not stay too long. The smell is pretty chocolaty with some nice even malty flavor that brings out the dark sugar flavor. The taste is a real nice chocolate flavor. Some nice chocolate milk flavor with some mixing of a dark malty flavor and a tiny nutty flavor in the background The feel is light for a chocolate flavored beer. This is the only chocolate bock I have ever had and it is pretty smooth and goes down well. There is life to this Chocolate Bock. I was told that Bocks do not age well but I am really happy with flavor and feel of this bottle. It just seems to have a great smooth milky taste that also fizzes at the same time.

I agree that this bottle of beer can be great one time...then very different the next. Dark pour...lots of malt...taste of chocolate (Obviously) Very smooth beer.