Penn St. Nikolaus Bock Bier

Brewed by Pennsylvania Brewing Company
Style: Dunkler Bock
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Pours a dark golden color with a very thin layer of lasting off white head. Smell is good but has no outstanding qualities. A very light citrus/hop scent. Taste is good with a smooth spice taste followed by a hoppy bite and a nice aftertaste. Pretty full bodied for it’s type and leaves a nice coating feeling after swallowing. Very drinkable and even sessionable with the warning that this has a much higher alcohol content than it may let on.

deep clear coppery color. Thick tan head. Aroma is of roasted malt and bread. Flavor is a bit weak, with burnt malt and cola. Blander than expected.

Bottle from pittsburgh. Poured a nice dark amber color with a small head. Aroma is of roasty malt. Taste is nice and roasty with some malt sweetness and some mild hops at the end. not bad

12 oz. bottle. Pours a mostly clear deep reddish amber with a thin tan head that faded to a ring after two sips and left considerable spotty lace. The aroma is malt with a bit of roast and some light stale mustiness, almost like old cigarette smoke. Thankfully, the mustiness is nowhere to be seen in the flavor, which is predominantly malt again with a bit of roast. Medium hops bitterness at the finish that actually grows in the strength after the swallow and lingers in the back of the throat. Not great, but not a bad beer either. As an aside, I like the Thomas Nast portrait of St. Nick on the label.

Batch #001. Bottle from Total Wine. Pours a two-inch tan head and a brown color. The nose is apple and grains. Flavors include subtle cola, wheat, and green apple. The body is watery-thin with medium carbonation. A decent dunkler, but nothing special.

Draft at the brewpub. Dark brown with a thin off white head. Light aroma with a touch of roastiness. The flavor is also on the light side, with some caramel sweetness and a touch of toast. Not bad.

THOUGHTS: It wasn’t far off from a doppelbock. Really nice, even though it really didn’t scream "christmas" to me. It was a warming winter beer though. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark, brownish red with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was moderate to heavy dark bread, grain and caramel malts and lighter chocolate along with cherry, red wine, port, brown sugar and alcohol. The flavor started sweet and finished a little bitter and slightly sour with an average to long duration. There was raisin, liquor, a little chocolate, roasted malt, caramel malt, grain and some balancing hops and fitter coffee. The medium body was sort of oily with tingly carbonation and a slightly metallic, lightly astringent and lightly alcoholic finish.

Dark brown color with light head. Sweet aroma of dark fruits, chocolate and some spices. Taste is a strange sweet, sour, & spicy mix that was OK. Thanks for the trade JB.