Shiner Bock

Brewed by Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus Company)
Style: American Dark Lager
Shiner, Texas USA

Good looking beer, with a nice aroma of roasted malt and just a tiny hint of hops. Decent beer on a summer day, but there are so many other much better choices I just don’t see a place for this one on my diet....

Definitely not the worst beer I’ve had, but on the same token it’s a bit underwhelming. Pours a decent looking amber color with a nice head that doesn’t stick around. A little bit of hops are present. Has caramel flavors along with light fruits. Carbonation is slightly sharp. The wife really likes this one, which is good considering she’s not a beer drinker at all. It’s actually a beer the both of us can agree on, which is nice. Far from my favorite, but also far from the worst I’ve ever had. Not a bad price either!

An old favorite of mine. Slight aroma of malts. A nice amber color with a small white head that leaves quickly. Slight flavor of roasted malts and spices, finishes with a small bitter kick.

Clear dark amber brown, moderate head with no lacing. Sweet faint caramel aroma. Sweet pale malt palate with a mild caramel nuance to it. Surprisingly quite bland given the striking amber appearance.

Draught at some bar in Arlington, VA while visiting my brother. This beer has a vomit flavor to it. I don’t know why anybody would drink this on purpose.

Light aroma of carmelized malts and corn. Amber with small white head. Caramel malt, corn, metal, touch of spicey hop flavor. Light body with moderate carbonation. Dry light finish with hint of bitterness.

Bottle. Musty, slightly nutty aroma, that typical Dark Lager graininess which really isn’t doing anybody any good. Dark woody copper pour with a small soapish beige head. Watery body, sweet taste, sticky caramel malt with a little toffee, rather nutty. Some light fruitiness and metallic bg with lasting crispness. Nowhere near a bock [for shame!], and not something I’d like to have again.

A mass produced bock - potential for goodness? Definitely not. All the bocks I’ve had I’d loved, but they were also finely brewed, crafted and finely priced beers. So I sort of wondered what a low quality bock would taste like. Question answered. Pale gray soft wafer thin head atop a clear but dark red-brown body. Like a port. The aroma is dark and syrupy, exuding maple syrup, cooking smoke and a little wet hay. Dissapointingly, the flavor is generically plain, with a neutral dark malt flavor that tastes a bit like cheap, pre-ground coffee in the tin. And that’s that. Invest in a bock or get something tasteless. Funny how that extends beyond styles.