Sudwerk Maibock

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Heller Bock
Davis, California USA

Delicious body of malty love. For an example of clean lager characteristics and smooth maltiness, try this beer. A fine sweet grain flavor dominates this one. Just a tiny tingle of hop on the finish. Right beer for cool Southern California evenings and bonfires.

On tap at the 2008 Boonville Beer Festival and in bottles. This is a good, crisp, very tasty maibock with a slightly more pronounced hoppy bite than I usually expect. It is light copper gold with a dense, creamy, off-white head steadily shrinking to a thin head. The smell is raisiny with fruity grain and some hops, honey, bread dough, hay, a bit alcoholic, but smoothly so. The tatse is similar, sweetish, but with a light spicey bitterness and bite, fruity, zesty, a creamy feel and grassy-herbal bitterness with a hint of apple peel. Overall, it is clean and crisp yet very tasty.

Thanks for DarkElf for the recommendation! Golden, bright and sparkling. Big malt nose is very clean. Fat malty, bready palate is clean and rich. A little bit of dryness makes this "moreish", to steal a phrase from Jackson. Very good.

Tap at Brewery. This is big maltly but clean tasting beer with a big malt syrup/caramel aftertaste. Easy drinking for so much alcohol.

Bottle. Thanks to Stephen (DarkElf) for thsi stuff. What an aroma. I love the smell of roasted grains and baby they are all over this. Nice, lasting almost white head. Nice malty taste. There is jus a touch of aluminum going on but the sweetness just about covers it up. Nice flavor.

(Draft: Sudwerk Restaurant and Brewery in Davis, CA) I’ve had this in bottles many times, and it’s one of my favorite Sudwerk beers, but I figured since I was at the brewery, I’d try it on tap. Just as tasty as ever. Sweet, caramely, malty nose with a lager feel to it, just like what a good Maibock should smell like. The sweet, caramel is alive in the flavor, dominating all else. Very gently bitter, the balance is very much tilted toward the malty end. Mild alcohol seems to come out in the finish. Full bodied, sweet, rich, and fairly sticky on the long-lasting palate. Bright amber in color and fully clear of course, with a sizeable, off-white head to start. As the head fades to a small halo, it leaves a few wide, intricate rings at the top of the glass. Just an excellent Maibock, probably as good as any I’ve had in this country, either domestic or imported.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear vivid gold color with a fluffy white head that leaves a thin layer of foam. My first impression of the aroma is lots of spicy noble hops, with a light citrus undertone. Then I get a nice malty honey and doughy yeast aroma as well. The flavor is malty with a little sweetness at first, and then finishes with a powerful hop spice and long bitter finish. Simple, clean malt flavors, with a touch of alcohol hotness. This takes the balance and drinkability of a good pils and takes it up a couple notches. The super clean malt flavors avoid the sticky, cloying sweetness that can happen in the style, but there is still a substantial enough body to let you know you are drinking a stronger beer.

Bottled 03/04/04. Pours a red color with traces of orange. Sweet and malty is the best way to describe the aroma of this bock. Very thick mouthfeel. Very malty rich flavor. Some roasted qualities. Some sweetness. Trace of hops and maybe a little bit of alcohol. Lots of flavor. Beer is over a year old and still tastes good. Good stuff.