Gulpener HerfstBock

Brewed by Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Style: Dunkler Bock
Gulpen, Netherlands

On tap. Had this in a restaurant in Heerlen, The Netherlands. Pours a clear brown/orange colour with a good size head and little carbonation. Smells is just as a good autumn bock should be, nice and strong aroma of dried fruits, earthy and little bit of alcohol. Taste is also quite good, but a lot less exciting than the smell.

Red brown, very small head. Aroma is malty and with molasses. Taste is light bitter, malty, a bit like caramel and molasse. Reasonable finish, It’s nice.

On draught (PINT BBF 09): Clear, ruby-red coloured, small - but stable foamy layer ; sweet caramel and a very faint tinge of hops in the nose and, perhaps, with a touch of toasted malt; mainly sweet flavour, a bit sticky; lingering, not too sweet, taste of toffee and suppressed hops in the finish. O.K., not too great.........

Tap @ The Dutch Bockbier Festival, 2009.
Pours deep chestnut with a staying, cramy, off-white film head. Sweet aroma, light nutty, some barnyard, softly roasted. Medium carbonation, fine and lightly dry mouthfeel. Flavour is sweet, nutty, pretty dry hoppiness. Softly roasted, no real alcohol. Long, lingering aftertaste. Really nice.

On tap at 30e PINT bokbierfestival (Oct 2007 Amsterdam). Dark brown body with white head. Malty and sweet nose. Taste of caramel, sweet. Some bitter. Sweet in the finish. Pretty good.

Bottle 30cl. @ [ Back2Bock Tasting ].
Clear medium amber red color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, nutty, brown sugar. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20081115]

My Bottom Line:
Rich berry-laced caramel malt character exudes from this generous Dunkler Bock, before fading away into earthy hop bitterness.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam tops the clear deep mahogany, drawing beautiful lacing.
-Carbonation is frothy, which alleviates the muscular maltiness and its dextrins.
-The flavor profile works quite well with the oncoming maderization (this bottle was over a year old).
-Herbal, grassy hops cannot balance out the sweet malt profile until the aftertaste.
-Light roastiness and toastiness appears within.

Bottle.

Clear brown with medium beige head. Sweet arom awith roasted malt, caramel and hints of chocolate. Sweet flavour with roasted malt, caramel and chocolate notes. Finished sweet.