Penn St. Nikolaus Bock Bier

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

Fresh 07 bottle. Barely translucent in the glass. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts and dark fruits. Rich, medium to heavy body. Sweet caramel/roasty finish. 7/4/7/4/14 06 Draft at Capone’s. Cloudy copper. Medium head. Aroma of roasted malts, dark fruits and a little spice. 7/3/7/3/14

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.

12oz bottle. Brown-amber color. Aroma is sweet and mild. Flavor is sweet and drinkable, with some chocolate and amber notes. Medium bodied, not unlike a Dunkle. A mild crispy hoppy character helps to balance the beer out. Pretty good beer, certainly an enjoyable seasonal.

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.

Bottle. Very dark. Quite good. Rich, seet and roasty, but no flavor is overwhelming.

This is a great session beer. It’s not much to look at, but it’s tasty and easy to drink... all night.

12oz bottle. Poured a translucent dark chocolate brown with a bit of off white head. It smelled like earthy caramel and sweet molasses malt, with honey wheat and a bit of hops and alcohol. It tasted like roasted chocolate and barley malt, with hops and a bit of sweet yeast. It was very thick with a bit of carbonation, and had a bittersweet aftertaste. Overall this was a tasty beer with clean flavor. It had great body, and it hid the alcohol well.

Pours lucid and red with a thin skin of white. Firm, fruity aroma of cranberry, raisin, and blackberry; scone and biscuit maltiness, syrupy caramel, and bittersweet reduced rum. Noble hops, light vinegar and toffee. Flavor is primarily raisin, rock candy, and thin vanilla; browned bananas, pistachio, almond. Thoroughly straightforward, and fully likeable. Bits of vinousness, pepper and vegetal hop tones flutter with fitting restraint throughout. Palate is easy and sparkly; light to medium bodied, and almost unnoticeable in swallowing. Finishes with some sugary dough, orange and maple. A completely comfortable, fairly complex and refreshing winter sessioner. Thanks Ken!