Harvestmoon Maple Bock

Brewed by Harvestmoon (Japan)
Style: Heller Bock
Maihama, Chiba, Japan

[2216-20090605] Sample. Heavy wood floral sweet maple candy aroma. Clear, medium orange body with a medium-lasting foamy white head. Sweet maple floral caramel malt flavour. Medium body has noticeable alcohol. A little boozy, a little chewy.
(4T @ Mondial 2009; Montreal, QC)

Bottle @ Mondial de la Biere 2009
Appearance: Clear golden ale with mid light fizzy top. 3-
Nose: Strong sugary character , maple , caramel with woody hint , late smooth alcohol.7+
Flavor/Palate : full bodied. Plenty if heavy sugars , maple bit overexposed. Sappy. Even higher alcohol would be welcome to balance such sweetness.

Bottle @ Mondial 2009. Aroma is a heavenly sweet maple syrup, a bit of fruit, golden amber, small tiny white head. Taste is maple syrup, a vague background of other flavours? Light bodied, sweet, but it’s to be expected. Good.

2009-06-05. Orange body with a small off-white head. Melange of various things in the aroma is tough to decipher, light fruit, very light maple if I look for it? Something pleasant that is not floral but not quite vegetation (6+). Flavour is similar, light fruit melange, pleasant grains/wheat undertones. Vaguely saison like? (6+) Average to light palate is refreshing. Decent but a bit dull considering the abv. Bottle at Mondial 2009, Montreal

My Bottom Line:
Light maple sweetness wanders around wooden hops and faint alcohol in this lean and unmemorable Heller Bock.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the clear golden amber.
-My bottle showed no signs of infection; in fact, it was so clean it was rather watery.
-The wooden hops provide some bitterness.
-The small bubbles were comfortable and the body rather slender, making this quite drinkable for its size.
-All in all, there is really not much going on for an 8% specialty brew.

From the bottle at the Mondial de la Bière.

Aroma:light maple aroma,citrus and sour... Appearance:gold-orange,small head.. Flavor:good maple flavor but a sour infection aftertaste....