Smuttynose Maibock

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

22oz bottle-pours a big foamy off white head that laces and slightly hazy gold color. Aroma is light malt-some caramel, grain. Taste is light/medium malt-caramel/honey, grain, fruit, secondary/faint hops bite and alcohol. Finishes with earthy/spicy/flat hops. Right on style. Medium body. OK carbonation.

Bottle-conditioned, hazy with the yeast shot, earthy amber topped by a generous diminishing, but lacing off-white head. Pleasant fresh deep malt nose. It is even more expressive in mouth, probably more intense than a traditional maibock, but the way those flavors are displayed and coming up together is worth driving a few ultra miles (oh no.. actually ClarkVV brought that to me from liquorinos, thanks Clark!). A blend of citrus (pinneaple mostly, but also orange blossom and other fruits like peaches) and creamy, bready honey. Excellent demonstration of the power of toasted malt. It almost comes out with smoky hints, I truly want to see Smuttynose trying a smoked beer.. Yummy that would be. The toasted aspects shine in here, creating a chewy biscuit aspect working together with the bitterness. Globally sweet though drying out adequately toward the end. Quaffable medium body with excellent moderately high carbonation. 7.7%, are you kidding? I could have downed this bomber in less than 5 minutes. Plenty of earthy, floral and herbal scents from the hops. A soldier worthy of every markmanship awards!

Bottle… Clear golden lager with a huge, fluffy, white head. Fantastic retention. The nose is a tantalizing blend of peppery hops, toffee and a hint of menthol. Medium to full-bodied with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. The flavor provides sweet honey, toffee and caramel - balanced a bit by spicy hops. The finish is bittersweet, although the bitterness lingers longer than the sweetness. Pretty good take on the style. Thanks to scraff for shipping this beer to me!

Pours a clear dark copper with a nice off-white head. Aroma boasts plenty of rich caramel malt with a nice lager yeast background. Starts syrupy sweet and thick with nice complexity, light toffee and butterscotch with a hint of light fruits and a hoppy bitterness showing up at the end. Fresh, bold, sweet, and flavorful, a very nice maibock. Thanks boto!

My Bottom Line:
Soothing floral, herbal hoppiness is perfectly levelled with honeyed cereals in a come-hither mouthfeel where earthy yeast and herbal hop bitterness encourage you to take an even greater sip. This is as authentic a Bock as you can find in North America.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A lingering cloud of foam garnishes the hazy amber.
-Balance is achieved throughout.
-Such authenticity and quality makes me wish they’d brew a Pilsener now!
-The frothy bubbling and healthy mouthfeel are pleasant all the way.
-Alcohol never shows in the flavor profile; this is as drinkable as any other unfiltered session lager.

Bottles; 2008 and 2009 vintage.

Pours copper with a nice white sustained head. Smells of biscuits, citrus, lemons, a nice caramelly malty backdrop and some rosey hints. Tastes of caramel, mellow malt, light peppery splashes, hints of citrus, some earthiness and honey. Mouthfeel is sugary with a light hoppy finish. This is an excellent interpretation of the style.

22 oz bomber. Hazy deep golden colour, white head. Very fresh malty aroma, pale and sweet, light herbal hop aroma as well. Flavour is quite grassy and freshly herbal with a bit of sweetness and light honey character. Nice tasty maibock.

22oz bottle pours a hazy color of peaches and cantaloupe. Moderately thick, full, chewy, upright and solid on the palate, with a sweet fruitiness and and a mild but noticeable twang that seems to lighten the entire experience and give the drinking session liveliness. Fresh, sticky, frothy, delicious stuff. Nowhere near a true maibock but pretty good for whatever sort of hybrid style it actually is.