 CaptainCougar (4663), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Mar 29, 2008 Pours a transparent amber brown with a thin, spotty-lacing off-white head. Aroma of lightly sweet, toasty German caramel malts with a touch of light fruits and oxidation. Body starts about average with a touch of sweetness and some earthy noble bittering hops. Finishes drier and bittersweet. Pretty bland and maybe even a touch too old.
JPDIPSO (4267), Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA
Aug 30, 2008 A copper color with a very ruddy complexion. Smaller, but stable creamy, beige head. Simple, sweet, toasted almonds and caramel scents. Mildly toasted malt, touch of vanilla, bits of apricot and earthy cherrywood in the flavors. Dry, somewhat woody finish and linger. Not much malt depth. This one help the myth of bocks being from the bottom/cleaning of the barrels.
DocLock (4170), Lower Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA
Mar 2, 2007 Bottle from Pat’s. Deep coppery pour with aroma of caramel malt, some fruit, some slight brown sugar. Medium to light palate, not terribly complex, with flavors of mostly caramel malt, plus some slight brown sugar, hops, and apricotty fruity notes.
heemer77 (3771), Savannah, Missouri, USA
Feb 9, 2008 Bottle. A very nice medium copper colored body makes this look attractive with a light khaki head on top. The aroma is sweet with a little bit of honey and some floral notes. There are also some hints of caramel. The taste has some light toffee and even some iced tea notes. There is also a little bit of pears. Actually, this is a nicely made bock. A beer in a style I usually do not like, made by a brewer that usually does not impress. Well played.
ClarkVV (3547), Allston, Massachusetts, USA
Apr 30, 2007 Bottle drunk on 4/26/07
Amber-auburn with some deeper milk chocolate hues and a small, modestly retained beige head that leaves no lacing. Filtered clarity.
Some metal in the nose is a bit off-putting, but somewhat passes, as melanoidins are stirred up and produce tons of ripe, red, boisterous fruits (raspberries, strawberries, red currants, oranges, peaches). Strong caramel-vanilla maltiness seems rather ample and about as supple as it gets for Saranac. Dries out on the end, properly, with lager yeast crispness, malt breadiness and light acidity. Aside from the slight metallic character and only medium strength of the nose, it’s impressively well-done for the style, especially being neither too sweet or dry, nor American hopped. Alcohol does not show through either.
Moderately sweet up front, there is a nutty/bready astringency, full of fruity melanoidins and a bit of oily/acidic malt tannin. Caramel shows very little stickiness, while a bit of cola flavor picks up on the finish, climaxing in a somewhat crisp yeast finale. Good balance, medium carbonation, but rather fizzy and loose. Alcohol not apparent. Yet another well-brewed beer from Matt that could be potentially great, if it didnt suffer from the sagging texture produced by the heavy filtration.
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