bock class

last night i took a class with a local brewmaster about bocks. it was really cool, 2 hours long and only 5 people ion the class. we talked a lot about the history of bock beer, which was very very interesting, and did some tasting.

we started with a 'bock lite' of sorts, AKA shiner bock. well i grew up on this beer, so that part wasn't so interesting for me, but it was cool to taste it side by side with german bocks. then we went to a paulaner marzen/oktoberfest. this was only in there because he couldn't find a maibock, and he said the overall profile was similar to a lighter bock. tasted right after a shiner you realize just how good this beer is, which is one i haven't drinken in years. then we went to doppelbocks. we started with spaten optimator, which was 3rd on my list of the 4 doppelbocks. then the salvator, which was very good, not as sweet as i remembered, but not as good as the next beer, which was celebrator, hands down the best doppelbock i've had. last of the doppelbocks was an american bastardized version of the style, sam adams double bock. didn't like this one, to sweet, too heavy on the caramel, almost like a cough syrup consistency, with a little wet cardboard on the end. my least favorite and a beer i hope to never taste again. we ended with a green version of the brewers X-rock bock pulled right out of the secondary. this was nice, a little sulfury/eggy, but its gonna be good in a month or so. this was a great evening, next month is IPA's, which should be even better.

i've only had salvador's dopplebock, and i love it. i am going to brew up a dopple when i get a fridge converted over for lagering.

yeah the class convinced me to try a 'doppelmock' i.e. a doppelbock recipe but brewed with clean ale yeast and lagered for a long time. maybe first i'll try a maimock or a mocktoberfest.

try the celebrator, well worth the 10 bucks for a six (or is it 4?) pack.

I've seen the Celebrator at the local fancy gourmet grocery...I'll have to try one. Sounds like a great series of classes!

That Celebrator comes in 4-packs where I've seen it, with those nice little plastic goat charms around the neck. Delicious beer. Anyone ever see it in larger bottles?

I wish there were classes like that around here!

4 packs, thats right. thats why i never buy it...10$ for a four pack is something a poor college kid like myself can only afford once or twice a year. i've never seen it in larger bottles, just the four pack.

the class was awesome, it was a anninversary gift from my girlfriend, and i was really glad that it was all about bocks and the next one is IPA. the ad just said one lager class, one ale class, and i wasn't particularly enthused about the lager class, that is until i found out it was just about bocks. i hope the class will continue on with more styles...its not a bad deal for 20 bucks a class.

The original doppelbock season starts this year on March 1st (Ashwednesday) and ends on good Friday, wich is the time of lent for catholic christians. Definately a great beer style.

Kai

kai

looking at your sig i can tell you must hate german beers.

i love Optimator, so I must try celebrator

drengel said:

kai

looking at your sig i can tell you must hate german beers.

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Sure do

The only american style beer that I currently have, the SNPA clone, did not come out good at all. The bitterness is way to hash. This might be a problem with the Perle hops that I used. But this is certainly a style that I want to improve on as well.

Kai

drengel said:

we started with a 'bock lite' of sorts, AKA shiner bock. well i grew up on this beer, so that part wasn't so interesting for me, but it was cool to taste it side by side with german bocks.

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I tried a Shiner Bock on tap for the first time the other day and I found it quite good. I will admit it wasn't huge on flavors but all in all I enjoyed it very much.

I wish I could find some classes like that. Sounds interesting and fun.

King Kai said:

... the SNPA clone, did not come out good at all. The bitterness is way to hash. This might be a problem with the Perle hops that I used. But this is certainly a style that I want to improve on as well. Kai

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Warning: Try and get your hands on some Magnum hops I did one that used Perle, but mostly Horizon (a Magnum sub), and Cascade and it turned out well. When it came to hitting the SNPA clone on the head, I'd rate it about 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Magnums are available now and I'm getting some for this purpose!

Rhoobarb said:

Warning: Try and get your hands on some Magnum hops I did one that used Perle, but mostly Horizon (a Magnum sub), and Cascade and it turned out well. When it came to hitting the SNPA clone on the head, I'd rate it about 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Magnums are available now and I'm getting some for this purpose!

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Yep, that's what I will have to do. But there is also this nice floral finish, that SNPA has, which is completely missing in my version. I used Cascade as finishing hop. Maybe it's something that partially stems from residual malt sweetness and I have to try this clone as AG.

Thanks,
Kai