Free State Brinkleys Maibock

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Draft: Lacy whisp of foam atop a clear light pumpkin shade. Pale, straw-like malt characteristics atop a fresh blanket of delicate, green, lightly floral hallertauer and subtle notes of soil, leaf, and caramel. Soft, prickly carbonation. Flavors start with the classic hallertauer fresh green, spiciness and delicate earthiness. Beautiful transition to a deep, raw caramel, pale malt middle, which concludes with a wallopingly balanced, complex finish. A very hoppy example, and with them being of the German noble family, it's tough to find anything wrong with this fine beer.

Tasted on the 2009 May 1 release of this year’s batch. Peach/copper pour, lovely dense white head. Floral and delicate bread crust aroma. Spicy, refined herbal hops, crisp, firm underlying malt backbone, a bit of plum skin/grape bite in the finish. This is fantastic beer. With 90% or more of the beer I drink and brew being ales, I forget how subtly brilliant a well-crafted lager can be.

Review for 5/2001 batch: Not much in the way of aroma for this beer, but what is there is pleasant enough. Tempting golden amber color. Flavor is very unusual for a maibock, this is the hoppiest maibock I’ve ever had, by far. Sort of goes against the description here, and precedent for Free State. The sweetness of the malt and the bitterness of the hops create a remarkable interplay on the tongue, as both are fairly intense. A very intriguing and tasty beer.

Releases a modest honeyed aroma at pour. Becomes more bock like, with toasty caramelized malts. Quite attractive too, a glowing copperish amber. Whoa! First taste gives a dry crackly smokines, leafy earthiness, but a sweetish, borderline cloying palate soon appears. Thinnish mouthfeel, if soft, feels naturally carbonated, with a velveteen head. Warming alcohol in the chest arises after about 4 oz.

On tap @ the brewpub. Pours a clear amber with a frothy off-white head. It has a fairly muted aroma, primarily of sweet malts (caramel) and a faint fruity hop presence. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and surprisingly creamy/smooth; quite nice. This is a very smooth and well-balanced beer, with the sweetness of the malts perfectly countered by the bittering hops. I was quite impressed with how consistent it was in flavor from start to finish. I look forward to next year’s batch.

Very hoppy, I could taste every one of the 30 IBUs...the first sample I had of this brew. The second was more earthy and malty, and less flowery. Subtle fruitiness at first. Color of ripened wheat, golden orange. Very little aroma, I'm beginning to wonder if Free State has figured that the smokiness of the brewery will cover up any aroma hops added...

Amber with a thin white head. Aroma is caramel, citrus, yeast, lightly hoppy. Taste is toffee with a light hoppiness, light maltiness, and caramel. Good stuff.

Deep golden amber hue, deeper than the ESB, with excellent frothing head. Slightly grassy aroma, with caramel and fruit. Earthy and hoppy. Quite astringent to my taste. Not bad; very hoppy for the style?