Penn St. Nikolaus Bock Bier

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

Slightly spicy with warm alcohol and chewy malts. . .take note, this hits a bit harder than it appears. Citrusy, sticky finish. Quite nice.

Bottle from Jungle Jim’s. Poured clear dark brown with a large frothy brown head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Solid balanced toasted malt aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth sticky texture. Moderate balanced roasted flavor with a medium sweet finish of average duration. Good brew with spicy food.

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!

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.