Fort Collins Spring Bock

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Dunkler Bock
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Poured a clear chestnut color with a small beige head. Sweet amlty caramel. Some aged notes but nice. The flavor was also sweet and malty. Caramel and some fruits. Dry finish with a light bitterness. The alcohol is very well hidden.

Spring 2006 bottle from Crosling, drunk on 2/25/07, thanks Nick!
Lovely, light-garnet with light auburn and darker mahogany hues as well. Beige head forms quite small, despite a vigorous pour, but is retained nearly perfectly throughout the entire glass. Light to moderate lacing is left behind in small patches with a fair amount of carbonation in the liquid and high clarity, leaving some moderate sediment in the bottle.
Plenty of melanoidins show a true bock-like character, with just a touch of grainy roast giving the hint of singed wood. Boisterous strawberries, raspberries and light melon notes combine with sweet medium malts and pale malts to give a bit of toffee-caramel and lots of sweet cream aromas. Moderately acidic, punchy yeast character on the finish is very authentic and still characterful after almost 8 months in the bottle. No alcohol or other flaws perceivable. Fairly high strength of aroma.
Fruitiness and very sweet malts are the mainstay in the flavor, adding lots of fruity tartness and moderate acidic character on the finish. But the moderately-heavy, sweet malts balance soaking up most of the acid. A bit mushy at this point, but the gentle, low carbonation makes it seem borderline creamy. Cinnamon, vanilla and some spicy hop bitterness all are layered atop a light breadiness. With every sip, vanilla cream-like malt sweetness mixes with very bright fruit flavors to give an enticing (though tending sweet) balanced flavor. Nice and drinkable if you’re in the mood for something on the hearty side. No alcohol perceived in flavor, no flaws. Body could stand to be a touch more crisp/dry.

Pours dark brown with red tone and medium beige head. Aroma is varied with toasted malt, sweet caramel and vanilla notes. Flavor is slightly subdued version of the aroma and body is smooth. Flavors mask the relatively high alcohol content well.

Pours with an initially two-finger thick, amber tan colored head that is frothy and with a touch of staying power. The aroma is dominated by Bock-like concentrated malt notes. The beer itself is a brilliantly clear, dark amber brown color. Heavy on aromatic Maillard browning notes, I get notes of caramel, toasted grain, burnt brown sugar and succulent prunes. Speaking of plums, there is even a tart note here that seems to be clearly derived from the ample use of malts. This beer just screams malt, exactly what I want to see in a bock.

Somewhat light up front, lightly sweet with heavily caramelized malt notes. Despite being fairly light, this beer is big and chewy, meaty even beyond the relatively light palate. This beer does have some lingering power though; concentrated malt notes linger on, stuck to my mouth, even after the beer has passed down my gullet. Towards the finish of this beer it really does start to pick up a heft, a rich bodied character, that was not initially apparent to me. The beer is so malt forward as to almost have a certain fruitiness to it; this is of course, the entirely wrong descriptor and I am using terms such as meaty and "fruity yet not" to capture the richness of this brew. It is almost like a gravy made from malts, by which I mean malt that has been stewed and concentrated and made into, instead of a sauce, a rich brew.

While at first I was surprised at how dark this was for something described as a Spring Bock, as I work my way through this beer it becomes clear to me that it is indeed an apt title. The beer is light up front, akin to the promise of summer, but still rich and satiating at the same time, like the winter just passed. Definitely fits nicely as a spring time brew; it has all the malty goodness of a Bock, yet still strikes a lightness at times on the palate that makes this ever so quaffable.

Definately clear with a dark, ruby-brown color and a average beige head that diminishes. Nose is pleasant, but not great; nutty, with vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. Also toasty with some faint rauch notes. Slight roast hits the tongue with the smoke now emerging with a definate toasty, chocolate, toffee flavor. Palate is appropriate, medium-light body, moderate carbonation, with a clean lager feel. A decent amount of hops follow to fill out the maibock, however the finish quite short. Very intriguing brew; like a maidopplebock with some rauch to make things interesting. A good all-around beer.

12 oz bottle from Arctic Liquors website. Average size beige head. Beer is a clear dark reddish brown. Very nice aroma with hints of cherry, toffee, vanilla, and caramel malts and alcohol. And it tastes just like it smells. Light bodied though, quick finish and fleeting aftertaste.But what is there is quite tastey! You would never guess it is 9% alcohol? Wow...

Hazy copper, off-white 1cm cover. Bready nose offers gentle whiffs of smoke. Toasty malts and slight fruitiness reminiscent of peach and orange completes the aroma scope. Juicy palate suggests tangerine and gentle floral, fruity hops. The malt mostly displays graqiny and starchy flavours. Medium bodied, moderately high carbonation. Fair.

Nutty, starchy aroma has some notes of grape and raisin. Clear ruby-tan coloured body is topped by a low white head that recedes to ring. Strong fruity esters evoke grapes and plums while mild bitterness does little to undercut a lingering sweetness. Somewhat watery texture to the medium-light body with fair carbonation. There’s nothing really offensive here, but nothing really enjoyable either. Bottle sampled with MartinT, muzzlehatch and Rastacouere.