Aufsesser Bock Bier

Brewed by Brauerei Rothenbach
Style: Dunkler Bock
Aufsess, Oberfranken/Bayern, Germany

(swing-top-bottle) Clear, amber to copper colour with a rather short but also persistent and slowly lacing off-white foam. Sweet and chewy toast-malty aroma, with caramel, melanoidinic molasses and notes of herbal hops and a faint alcohol. Sweet flavour, full bodied with a mellow mouthfeel. Aromatic, well attenuated slightly roasted malt-character, nutty and minimal-fruity with herbal notes coming along early. Malty, sweet-bitter finish with distinctive herbal hoppy and well-integrated alcoholic notes. Superb, world-class Bock.

Flip-top bottle (from Landbierdealer) : Clear, amber coloured, small and stable white head; complex nose: sweet caramelly maltiness and a resinous hoppy touch; medium bodied, well hidden alcohol, robust bitter-sweet flavour; soft MF, low carbonation; lasting bitter-aromatic, sweetish-toasted-malty, nearly a bit fruity finish with a lingering hoppiness in the aftertaste. Very well rounded and balanced Bock, extremely well quaffable. A splendid time is guarenteed for all......

flip-top-bottle nearing the best before date: auburn colour, caramelly aroma, full, but not too sweet body, dried fruit (plums) and a roasted, almost smoky note with intense bitterness in the aftertaste.

Beautiful red-orange-amber colour; with yellowish, fast gone head. Earthy, chocolate, caramle, esters & some kind of heavy, dark & syrupy liqueur, ending in freshly kilned malt. Very good nose! Taste is again very earthy, leafy, lightly burned - at the edge of smoked - like very hotly, unsalted peanuts. A bitterish, more liquid version of Malay peanut sateh-sauce. A bit of sesam and chestnut cream mash flavours mixed in. No trace of the oversweet bready mold we’re used to; much more to the bitter side: part hops, but more roasted. Medium bodied, slightly silky texture, neither thick nor watery. Slightl burning MF. Superb example of Bockbier - great, Sebastian! Only one remark: either this is not a Heller Bock, or I’m getting colourblind...

Swing top bottle. Dark brown color. Cacao, chocolate, toffee and malt in the aroma. Malty sweet flavor with dark chocolate and toffee. So thick you can almost chew on this beer. Low on carbon. Hint of laurel in the aftertaste. I just love this bock!

Pours a clear amber color with a thin white head. Very good and pleasant aroma of malt, candied fruits, caramel and smoke. The flavor is also very good, the candied fruits and smoky malt are there but there is also a bitter and dry finish, I noticed also that the malt is earthy. The palate is light and oily and the carbonation is soft. This is a very interesting bock.

Any first impressions?
-A ring of head circles the clear orange-brown.
-Earthy caramel, cranberry and baccate fruitiness, and bean-like bock maltiness make up a sweet, confident aroma.
-Smoked nuts are laid out on wet earth, as fruity sweetness almost uses some oxidation to its advantage.
-The silky mouthfeel is never heavy, yet showcases a round maltiness to satisfy most malt heads I’m sure.

What if you dig deeper?
-A trail of smoke is even perceived in the aroma.
-Grass blades offer flavor and bitterness in the back.
-A classic dunkel bock, well-crafted and flavorful, which must be a fine, fine product when released.

Bottle; best before May ’06.

plopp-bottle. dark-red colour, solid head. starts astonishingly dry, nearly bitter. malty tones in the middle, ends up with malt and hops. quite untypically but therefore interesting.