Beer Review: Cinder Bock
Apr. 12th, 2012 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feste_sylvainSmoked. Doppelbock.
Rauchbiers can be done delectably or really badly. When done right, there's the hint of wood-smoke that makes certain fish or meats just about the closest thing to paradise. When done wrong, there's a sour tang that makes you wonder whether it's possible for an active beer to turn into malt vinegar.
Bocks, the pride of spring, the "goat that knocks you on your butt", tend to have sweet notes like "caramel" or "toffee" or, in extreme cases, chocolate.
Blending these two in one beer would be crazy, right?
Y'know those chocolate-bacon bars that have no right to work, but instantly become your favorite thing ever? This is like that.
First pour has far more head than I expected; perhaps I should have chilled it rather than going for cellar temperature. But I didn't want to chill the flavors down to where I couldn't detect them all. Well, forget that; this thing is so complex, there is no way you're going to distinguish them all unless you're the kind of person who can detect both vanilla and garlic notes in a whiskey you like.
Which brings us to the body: this is just shy of being called "thick". Perhaps "full" is a better word. This is where the double-bock shows its stuff. This has good mouthfeel, which allows the smoked malts to deliver a coat of flavor. (This is odd for a rauchbier, which tend toward the light-bodied lager styles.)
I like this.
Despite the dual German characters of this beer, I could see this going with an English meat-pie or even a French-Canadian tourtiere. Best drink this before the weather gets warmer, because it will warm you all by itself.
Oh, did I mention the 9.6% ABV? As they say, "the goat that knocks you on your butt". Sweet. Smoky, to the point of savory. I'm going to have some more.
Rauchbiers can be done delectably or really badly. When done right, there's the hint of wood-smoke that makes certain fish or meats just about the closest thing to paradise. When done wrong, there's a sour tang that makes you wonder whether it's possible for an active beer to turn into malt vinegar.
Bocks, the pride of spring, the "goat that knocks you on your butt", tend to have sweet notes like "caramel" or "toffee" or, in extreme cases, chocolate.
Blending these two in one beer would be crazy, right?
Y'know those chocolate-bacon bars that have no right to work, but instantly become your favorite thing ever? This is like that.
First pour has far more head than I expected; perhaps I should have chilled it rather than going for cellar temperature. But I didn't want to chill the flavors down to where I couldn't detect them all. Well, forget that; this thing is so complex, there is no way you're going to distinguish them all unless you're the kind of person who can detect both vanilla and garlic notes in a whiskey you like.
Which brings us to the body: this is just shy of being called "thick". Perhaps "full" is a better word. This is where the double-bock shows its stuff. This has good mouthfeel, which allows the smoked malts to deliver a coat of flavor. (This is odd for a rauchbier, which tend toward the light-bodied lager styles.)
I like this.
Despite the dual German characters of this beer, I could see this going with an English meat-pie or even a French-Canadian tourtiere. Best drink this before the weather gets warmer, because it will warm you all by itself.
Oh, did I mention the 9.6% ABV? As they say, "the goat that knocks you on your butt". Sweet. Smoky, to the point of savory. I'm going to have some more.
