Bison Organic Golden Bock

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

I generally don’t really care for Bison’s beers. So when I saw a brewer I’m really not into making a style that I typically don’t care for, I almost passed on the bottle. Then my "spirit of adventure" took over, and I bought it anyway. Good decision, and a great illustration of why I pick up stuff I don’t think I’m going to like sometimes. I’m wrong on occasion, and this was one of those occasions, happily enough. Clear deep gold, nice, very long lasting compact white head. Aroma of honey sweet malts, followed by a spicy hop note. Perhaps a bit too hoppy for style, but that is probably why I actually liked it. The flavor matched, with sweet, honey accented light malts and a fantastic spicy, floral, noble hop finish, bitter and lingering, drying out the mouth. I really enjoyed the hopping of this brew. Probably even overrating it a touch just because I’m so surprised that I liked it, but, this was really quite good. Smooth mouthfeel to boot.

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.

Poured a slightly hazy golden-copper body. Mildly sweet, yet bitter and floral. Crisp and bready. Some caramel notes in there, but nothing to scare me away. Mild bodied brew with some earthiness. Pretty good beer!

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.

Grassy malt aroma. Good bottle and label, mostly cloudy, pollen-colored with a big fluffy oatmeal head. Tastes like a pretty big beer. Well-hopped, bitter, caramel, light astringency, seedy/grassy. Finishes off with lots of sunflower seeds. Grain sweetness. Slightly heavy body, long lightly bitter finish. Burns the windpipe a little.

Bottle. Hazy light honey colored pour with a white head. Aroma is sweet caramel and pleasant noble hops. Flavor is more caramel and noble hops with a hint of honey and some kind of spice, perhaps from the hops. Nicely put together.

Cloudy, amber/gold appearance with an average size off white head and good lacing. Sweet malt aroma accented with some fruitiness (pears) and a mild spicyness from the hops. Yeasty, fruity, mildly sweet taste, with a bit of a briar patch aftertaste. Hops were noticable but not intrusive. Medium-bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel leading to slightly dry, lingering finish.

[Tap - North American Orgnaic Brewers Festival] A good flavored bock. Thank god it was cold and a good warm weather brew. The coloring was crisp golden and the aroma was awesome. I really liked this brew. The hops where noticable and the spicies where also very prevalant in this brew. Good Beer.