Shiner Bock

She poured a clear but deeply rich and polished mahogany which sparkled with coppers, ambers, garnets, and treacle. A faintly tinged head receded fairly quickly into a thing ringlet, but she does puff up with generosity upon some friendly swirls. Her nose is all about brown spices, brown sugars and breads lightly buttered and toasted with caramel and maple drizzles while fresh lemons are sliced in the background. Her nose is soft but crisp, leading me with tried assurance into my first quaff. Of course, this isn’t the first Shiner Bock I have drunk, but the first in at least a few years and the first where I dedicated my full attentions. So while she is a glass of wistful memories, she is also a glass to celebrate the moment and the moment is now. Bright. Maple and lemon zest greet my tastebuds with a celebratory song, ensuring they are bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and paying her their full attention. The sweetness which was highly prominent in her nose is now settled into the background while melba toast and cooked brown sugars crunch with each thirsty quaff. A well balanced bock, she goes down easy with just the right touch of complexity. Further in, my lips smack of maple while lemon peel dries the top of my tongue. She hits fast and leaves fast which is fine and dandy with me.

Not the richest bock I have quaffed, but a fine contender if I do say so. Maybe Texas finally does have something to be proud of; the Shiner Bock is certainly a gleaming light in a sea of festering ignorance and political puss. Ok, maybe that isn’t a fair generalization; good people and good things can come from Texas. If you have the chance, give the Shiner Bock a fair chance in your fridge, and if she happens to be sitting next to her sister, the Bohemian Black Lager, take them both home. Good girls come in twos, after all.

Oh joy of joys. I was both excited and a bit sad when I saw this show up as a bottle free for the taking (and thus rating) at BCTC (I think thanks to EDA). Excited because I haven’t had a Shiner Bock in probably about 7 or 8 years, since the last time I was in Texas, and drank a ton of them. Sad because I knew that in that time my palate has grown a great deal, and while back then this was a huge step up from the typical college fare, I knew now it wouldn’t hold up to my general standards. Pours a clear caramel brown with a thin white head. Grain on the nose. Hot grain on the nose actually, with a little bit of roust backing it up. Very thin. Light acrid bitterness. Not so good. Fortunately, I’ll just look back fondly at it and the memory of drinking a lot of these amongst some incredible friends in Texas nearly a decade ago.

First had it on draft at a Copelands in Mississippi years back. Nice tasting beer from a small brewery. They have better beers, but I have a liking for this. Malty, not a great aftertaste, but is passable for something betterthan mass produced.

Experienced from a 12oz bottle in a pub glass. The idea of evening calling this a bock is laughable. The only thing that remotely resembles a bock is the color, which is even iffy. The aroma gives more indications of a premium lager with a percentage point of dark malt thrown in than a German bock. No notes of malt, to speak of, other than perhaps a touch of pilsner malt sweetness. Pathetically engineered and crafted.

On tap at the Flying Saucer in KC. Pours a clear amber body with a finger-width, off-white, creamy head that dissipates quickly and leaves a light lacing. Aroma is mainly muted, sweet caramels. Not much else. Flavor is sweet and malty caramels, some nuts, a light earthy roast, and a little bit of fruit. Finishes slightly dry with no real aftertaste. Overall, it doesn’t taste bad, but its really boring. Not real bockish too.

Pours a deep dark amber with a 1" thick head. Almost no taste at all that is almost like carbonated water. Slight earthy stinch on the nose. I can’t remember this beer tasting this bad. I think the keg is slightly better.

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest the armpits of the clerk that suggested this beer! Looked great in the glass. Not much to it......reminded me of budweiser, natural or miller light ugh!