Penn St. Nikolaus Bock Bier

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

Tap at Barcade: Pours a very rusty amber with a tan film for head. Decently toasted aroma, with some mildly sweet cocoa hints. Smooth, frothy carbonation. The flavor is a simple malt profile. A bit earthy and peat-like upfront, which leads to a cereal flake sweetness, which I did not enjoy. An unmemorable Dunkler Bock.

Draft. I didn’t know this was a bock, lol. Lots of nuts and maltiness, I guess,really dark, not the best bock ever.

Bottle from SL. The pour was brownish red with a thin initial off-white head, only fair retention, spotty lacing. The aroma was chocolate, light dark fruit notes, some bubblegum, and a grassy/earthy presence. The flavor followed, some chocolate, light roasty dark fruits, some hints of licorice, and a grassy, somewhat dry bready finish, yet with a malt base underneath at the same time. A nice bock for sure.

Draught at Pete’s Waterfront, Brklyn. Dark brown pour, malty aroma with some butterscotch. Toasty and toffee malt with buttered popcorn flavors. Can’t really get much out of this one other than just plain maltiness, which I guess is par for the style. Kind of a dull and uninspired offering for a seasonal.

Date: 12/15/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

clear dark brown, wispy beige head, slightly sweet dark chocolate and caramel aroma, rich malt flavor with chocolate and caramel, just a bit of sweetness from the caramel, light balancing earthy bitterness,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

On tap at FocciaLuna - State College, PA. Aroma is a light dust of hazlenut and toast, running sweet. Pours a mid-mahogany brown, rimmed with a soft slide of off-white. Flavor develops a rich, darker fruit tone, with some toasted breads, candied nuts, and light caramels. There’s some light off-grain notes buried deep. It’s pretty average. And really the story of a bock is a bock is a bock. Finishes with a light noble hop leaf. A touch sweet and some light off notes are the real drawbacks, but otherwise has a decent malt figure.

Sampled at the brewery in Pittsburgh in a pint glass. The beer had a dark brown color with a ruby-red tint and a creamy, dark tan head. The aroma was mostly of figs and some roasty malt. The taste was mostly a mixture of bitterness with some sourness too. A wet and somewhat creamy body, with a smooth effect. Good seasonal brew, probably the best the brewery has to offer.

750ml special bottling: Pours a transparent dark copper with a stringy-lacing ring of light tan head. Doughy aroma of sweet dark caramely malts and a touch of earthy peat and chocolate. Body starts a little thinner with some nice, authentic dark caramely German malt and doughy yeast toward a semi-sweet finish. A true to style beer and quite drinkable.