Bison Organic Golden Bock

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Berkeley, California USA

10 ounce sample tasted at Rubicon’s Maibock festival. Floral, sweet, peppery aroma with some light metallic notes as well as some lemony citrus aromas too. Transparent golden body with an off-yellow head that is relatively small. Sweet, metallic, chewy malty flavors to start. Quite full-bodied. Finishes with a nice, dry snappy hoppiness. Lightly bitter and lightly dry. Well-done. The best maibock I tasted at the fest.

22 oz. bottle pours a faintly hazy gold under a medium white head that subsides quickly. Malt dominated aroma of caramel, with a hint of a burnt character, and some piney hops in the background. Medium body and coarbonation, slightly sticky mouthfeel. Sweet caramel taste reflects the aroma, and there is slightly tangy, peppery finish for a certain amount of dryness.

Poured from 22 oz bomber....Cloudy, somewhat golden color, forms white foamy head. Aroma of fruits, hops and malts, a little faint. Flavor is full, carbonated malted hops. A nice lager beer. easily session able on a hot day.

Ehhh, what to think of this granola(re:organic) brew? In the glass I am looking at an attractive, honeyed presence that emits a sweetish, corn/wet grain/hint-o-apple’n’pear aroma. OK, now to the mouth...hmmm. Slick, sweetish malt flavors seem to be tonight’s prom theme. And as all proms, this is carried off poorly in a manner that only leads to disillusionment for the ideal that can never be fulfilled. Sorry, feeling a bit wordy tonight. What does all this mean? Go get another brand of bock if you want sweet nirvana, or stick with this one if you like to drink "green" and get buzzed relatively quickly. Blue pill or red pill, you choose.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a very hazy, old-gold color with a small off-white head. CORN in the aroma! Some sweet malts and coriander in there too. Medium-bodied and a little creamy. I don’t know...kinda tastes like it was made with dirty water. Earthy for sure. Pretty musty with some graininess and herbal notes. Definitely unique.

Ugh, this is a pretty underwhelming beer. Decently lively, solid body, but a train wreck of flavors. Way too hot for a beer with this ABV, marring what little is there in terms of flavor. Some sweet notes, esters, and earthy malt, this comes off like a really bad version of those "high end" malt liquors that so many brewers seem bent on making. Pass.

Bottle: Pale golden, moderate to large white head, fairly nice lacing, light carbonation.   Nose of wort & overcooked vegetables, slight graininess.   Much the same on the tongue, vegetable, wort, but it finishes fairly clean and the 7.5% ABV is well hidden.   Lingering graininess.   Blech, not too bad but likely never again.   Body and mouthfeel were moderate.

Bottle and served in a no-nik pint glass: A clean golden hue with a long lasting foamy white head and very good lacing. The aroma has notes of honey, grainy malts, floral and herbal hops, hints of corn, a slight pear and apple ester and a dusty yeast vapours. The taste is not as sweet as the nose first let on but is still dominated by a grainy and honeycomb overtone. There is a mild dash of grassy hops and even a hint of acidic fruit. The mouth feel has a sharpness and the body is above average for the genre but there is an oily stickiness that should not be there. Additionally the alcohol is mostly hidden. Well a hard to define brew. Reid said it right when he says that this is a "hoppy malt liquor".