Sierra Nevada Pale Bock

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Chico, California USA

[draught at GBBF 06]Sweet malt, peachy fruit, some citric notes. full bodied, sweet, a little alcohol.

(Draught at GBBF, London, 2 Aug) Colour is golden yellow with small head. Nose is fruity and sweet with tropical fruit (pineapple, apricot). Same goes for the taste: fruity, sweet with tropical fruit (mango, pineapple). Full body, malty sweet finish. Tasty, but to be honest way too sweet for me.

Cask at GBBF 06’: yellow banana like colour, medium-full bodied, soft mouthfill, swettish aroma, extreamly fruity with loads of tropical fruits and banana in the flavor. Sweet, way too sweet for me and a bit cloying, apart form this, a bit one dimensional. some might like this, not the beer for me.

On tap at GBBF, August 2006. Day 1, beer #6. Blonde colour. Sweetish, slightly bready malt, aroma with some honey notes. Much the same on the palate, with more fruity character (peaches?) coming through. Soft and smooth drinking. OK, but I couldn’t really get too excited. Perhaps the fact that most of the interesting US beers ordered did not turn up and this was one of the few that did jaundiced my view. ABV given as 7.7% in the programme.

On tap - GBBF. A clear yellow gold coloured beer with a slight white head. Te aroma was lemony and yeasty and there was maybe a little funk (or was it vinegar?). The taste is spritzy and yeasty with some citric quality. The alcohol comes through. Drinkable but nothing special at all.

Draught at GBBF 2006. Gold colour with thickish lasting off white head. Niceish creamy hop aroma. Bit of expected alcohol from a bock. It’s ok, but not the best of the SN range.

Draft at Collins Pub in Seattle. <!-- p --> Lovely light cracker malts and a hint of alcohol mix on the aroma; the flavor is mildy sweet, toasted crackers with a hint of bitter on the long end, transitioning to a marvellously smooth, creamy finish. Wow, lovely mouthfeel on this one despit the hint of alcohol burn in there.

Draft at GBBF ’06. Golden with a frothy head. Sweet, alcoholic aroma. Sweet, agreeable malty taste with a touch of fruit and honey. Hard to find a more easy drinking beer. The faintest of dry aftertastes.