Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred & Kens Bock

Formerly brewed at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Chico, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Stein

You don’t tend to associate lagers with 750ml caged and corked bottles, much less two-year-old vintages, but that’s exactly how I experienced Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Bock. I tend to be a fan of imperial lagers and "Helles Bocks" such as this, but never experienced a bottle-conditioned vintage before. So maybe this isn’t an entirely fair or accurate review, but since there are still plenty of bottles in circulation this review reflects what you might expect if you buy a bottle today.

I split a 750ml bottle with a friend. We each poured it into lager glasses.

Appearance: Bright orange color bordering on dark gold. Slight hazy at first, but becomes extremely cloudy toward the bottom of the bottle. Fine carbonation bubbles are easily visible and they never stop bubbling. Forms a large, white, foamy head which lingers throughout the life of the beer but doesn’t lace the glass that much.

Smell: Sweeter and stronger-smelling than your average lager, but still has a distinct lager aroma to it. Hints of honey and light flowers with very slight candy or powdered drink sweetness.

Taste: The bottle doesn’t indicate what hops, malts and other ingredients went into the beer, but it is by far the sweetest lager I’ve ever had. Massive honey flavor throughout the palate, but especially on the second half. The head is so big and foamy it’s impossible to take a swig without getting some bubbly, dry, biscuity/almost peppery spice flavor at the beginning of each swig. It’s by not means Belgian-tasting, but there’s definitely some Belgian-like qualities to it (which is both strange and impressive considering this is an American lager).

The second half is akin to something I’d expect in a strong blonde ale - pure honey and caramel, with some butterscotch and other light confectionary flavors (including gold lollipop, which I don’t really like). I can tell this beer was brewed with a lot of traditional West Coast hops as there seem to be residual, almost watery flavors of lemon and orange, but with a drier, less flavorful bitterness. Drinking half of this bottle was satisfying and tasty, but the sweetness becomes cloying after not too long. An impressive and interesting experience, but nothing amazing.

Drinkability: Weighing in at 8.3% ABV, it’s not surprising Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Bock is a thicker, heavier beer all around. Full-bodied throughout with consistent flavor. Even after two years the bottle is still quite effervescent and bubbly. It’s almost a self-cleaning palate due to the fizziness, although the malty sweetness is strong enough to last. While some carbonation does get stuck in the throat, this is not a beer that’s difficult to get down - it’s just not something you drink more than a swig at a time.

Poured from a 1 pint, 9.4 oz. glass into a pint glass. Color was honey caramel. Decent amount of head, probably 1 ½ ounces. Healthy amount of frothy, white lacing on the top. Very little film on the sides. Smelled pungent fruit right up front. Seemed to be plum, pears and raisins. Also a touch of honey and caramel malts. Had some mint in there, too, maybe candy cane? Not much like the nose in the initial taste. I got caramel up front with a dark fruit backbone. Honey seemed to be in there in all aspects. Feel it all on the tongue after, just slightly bitter. Medium-to-light body. Oily texture. Lively (moderate) carbonation. Long finish. Everything about this beer says, “Good.” Not my favorite Sierra Nevada, but one I’d definitely recommend.

Location: 750 ml bottle from Buy Rite, 12/24/11

Aroma: The nose has some caramel, burnt sugar, and toast, with floral and earthy hop notes too
Appearance: This one pours a slightly cloudy reddish-orange color with a frothy, foamy white head
Flavor: The taste is moderately sweet, with toast and caramel flavors, and a crisp, lightly bitter finish
Palate: The body is medium, it is sticky on the mouth, with a long duration, and a fairly soft carbonation
Overall Impression: I thought that this one was pretty solid. The hops may have faded a touch due to a little bit of age on the bottle, but they still do a nice job of balancing out the more dominant malts. The overall components of the flavor profile seem to weld together pretty well. There’s a little boozy heat present in the aroma and flavor, but it doesn’t overwhelm the beer. This was a nice variation on the traditional Heller style.

22 oz bottle on new years eve. Pours amber-orange in colour, nice slightly off white head, big and frothy. Slight haze. Initial mild aroma, sweet and slightly hoppy. A little bit of alcohol as the beer warms.

Name: Charlie, Fred, and Ken’s Bock
Date: August 06, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Pop’s
Appearance: clear orange, creamy off white head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet malt aroma, touch of malt candy, light floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, rich malt, touch of candy sweetness, light earthyness keeps it balanced, light bitter finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

Poured orange-amber, medium bodied, three finger cream head, with malt, light bitterness and honey sweetness to it. I cellared this a little longer than planned over a year and the result was no better of a Heller Bock if I drank it six months ago.

I so wanted to like this more as it is a very well presented bottle from a very good producer. Malty caramel on the palate with no bitterness at all, this beer has good length.

On tap Sierra @ Sierra, from notes. Pours a decent hazy golden color, fluffy white head. Aromas are citrusy, but nothing over the top potent. Palate is decently balanced, a little malty up front and the citrus coats the mid right to the finish, slight bitterness in the finish. I can’t say that I’ve had a heller this strong, nor do i think they should be up over 8. This one could have been less clean, but also wasn’t too cloying. Decent.