Karl Strauss Bock of America

On tap at Carlsbad location. Dark amber in color with an off white head. Aroma of biscuit, bread and buttery. Too much butteriness in my opinion. Not much toastiness or sweetness. Pretty weak in my opinion; I’m sensing a trend with there beers here.

Sample at the Sorrento Valley location. Pours a clear dark amber color with a medium beige head that dissipates slowly. Rings of lacing on the glass. Toasted malt aroma with notes of caramel and fruit. Medium, clean body with grainy malt and fruit flavors, as well as some hops and caramel. The finish if malty with a sweet aftertaste. Decent overall.

On Tap at Universal City. Pours a reddish-brown with an off-white head. Aroma of banan, caramel and nuts. Taste is sweet caramel followed by a nutty finish. Medium bodied with light carbonation. Best non-standard beer they had on tap that day.

Draft at the downtown brewpub. Dark malt aroma. Near mahogany color. Off-white head that sort of ring laced. Medium in body, with light creamy carbonation. Dark malt sweetness, a little cloying at the finish. It fits the style.

Apparently this one has went through some changes. Talking to the brewer he said that the alcohol content had been upped for this batch to represent the style of beer a little more closely, so we will see. Aroma is sweet and malty with a little cereal in there too. Pours dark orange. Flavor is heavy malt. Very sweet notes of caramel, cereal, biscuits, and some grain. There is also some alcohol notes that peak through. Notes said "good stuff"

On tap at Columbia Street brewery. Deep copper color with creamy tan head. Very light aroma. Taste is rich cream caramel maltiness. Nice tasting Bock beer.

(Draft: Karl Strauss in La Jolla, CA) Wait, a 4.9% bock? That’s what the professionally printed beer menu has listed, but maybe it’s a typo. It pours a very rich-looking, deep-ruby color (a little more brown and it would be mahogany), and is topped by a half-inch-tall, light-tan head that settles to a filmy layer and ring. Not a whole lot to the nose: a bit toasty and caramely, somewhat sweet, pleasant but not nearly aromatic enough. The flavor is toasty, moderately sweet caramel and is very lightly hoppy with minimal bitterness. It doesn’t seem the least bit alcoholic, so maybe the 4.9% isn’t a typo after all. Medium-full bodied with average carbonation. It’s an okay beer, but I must admit that the Coney Island hot dog eating contest on ESPN2 is far more interesting than the beer.

On tap: Beer pours medium amber color with a retained off white head. Nice aroma with some chocolate malt. Flavor is big roasted malt flavor. Quite rich for a single bock; lots of cholcolate malt flavor. Good beer.