Smuttynose Maibock

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Stein

A hazy amber ale with a thick white head. Aroma of fruity esters, coriander, cloves, very pleasant. In mouth, a sweet spiced yeast malt, with notes of pepper and cloves, warming alcohol. Rich bodied, enjoyable.

22oz bottle pours a hazy color of peaches and cantaloupe. Moderately thick, full, chewy, upright and solid on the palate, with a sweet fruitiness and and a mild but noticeable twang that seems to lighten the entire experience and give the drinking session liveliness. Fresh, sticky, frothy, delicious stuff. Nowhere near a true maibock but pretty good for whatever sort of hybrid style it actually is.

UPDATED: JAN 29, 2012 My Bottom Line:
Soothing floral, herbal hoppiness is perfectly levelled with honeyed cereals in a come-hither mouthfeel where earthy yeast and herbal hop bitterness encourage you to take an even greater sip. This is as authentic a Bock as you can find in North America.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A lingering cloud of foam garnishes the hazy amber.
-Balance is achieved throughout.
-Such authenticity and quality makes me wish they’d brew a Pilsener now!
-The frothy bubbling and healthy mouthfeel are pleasant all the way.
-Alcohol never shows in the flavor profile; this is as drinkable as any other unfiltered lager.
-Close to a year-old, it reveals nice biscuity, caramelized sugars. It changes but does not tire, it seems. A nice evolution.

Bottles; 2008, 2009 and 2011 vintage.

Pours copper with a nice white sustained head. Smells of biscuits, citrus, lemons, a nice caramelly malty backdrop and some rosey hints. Tastes of caramel, mellow malt, light peppery splashes, hints of citrus, some earthiness and honey. Mouthfeel is sugary with a light hoppy finish. This is an excellent interpretation of the style.

Bottle-conditioned, hazy with the yeast shot, earthy amber topped by a generous diminishing, but lacing off-white head. Pleasant fresh deep malt nose. It is even more expressive in mouth, probably more intense than a traditional maibock, but the way those flavors are displayed and coming up together is worth driving a few ultra miles (oh no.. actually ClarkVV brought that to me from liquorinos, thanks Clark!). A blend of citrus (pinneaple mostly, but also orange blossom and other fruits like peaches) and creamy, bready honey. Excellent demonstration of the power of toasted malt. It almost comes out with smoky hints, I truly want to see Smuttynose trying a smoked beer.. Yummy that would be. The toasted aspects shine in here, creating a chewy biscuit aspect working together with the bitterness. Globally sweet though drying out adequately toward the end. Quaffable medium body with excellent moderately high carbonation. 7.7%, are you kidding? I could have downed this bomber in less than 5 minutes. Plenty of earthy, floral and herbal scents from the hops. A soldier worthy of every markmanship awards!

A malt drinkable treasure followed by an expected malted down bitterness, caramel and smooth. More German than if German brewed. Great drinkability. Medium mouthfeel.

Pours copper with big, off-white head. Aroma of malt, fruit, hops. Tastes malty, with some hops and fruit. Medium palate, with a slightly dry, fruity finish. Good complexity and balance.

2008 Bomber. Poured clear light-medium orange with a tall, thicker cap of eggshell head. The aroma picked up toasty leafy notes over an aged caramel and pale malt base.. complementary accents of grassy and fruity hops.. well-presented. The flavor had slightly tacky aged caramel at the core with dry leafy, grassy, and citrusy bitterness all around.. quite hoppy for a maibock, but it worked well.. finished long, toasty, and bitter. Thick, rolling carbonation moved this very well across the palate.. bitterness circled the mouth and rode out the rewarding finish.. excellent beer!