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Sampled GABF 2008
The beer has a nice, frothy, tan colored head that sits on top of a brilliantly clear, amber-hued, brown colored beer. The aroma is very smoky, with an intense Beech-wood derived smoke character that is just beefy and thick. Not much else is noticeable underneath the smoke aromatics, though there is some structured, caramelized malt character here in the background.

This has a nice mix of sweet, chewy, caramelized malt flavors and savory smoke. This has quite a bit of caramel character in it as well as a nice grain-like note in the finish that gets a bit toasty. This beer is quite rich bodied and viscous, the beer coats the palate quite well. The savory smoke flavors keep both the body and the sweetness well in check though as the beer is neither too heavy or too sweet. This is pretty tasty, but it is not quite as complex as I might wish for; I could wish for more of the complex, malty Bock flavors to be noticeable, but I think the smoke would have to be dialed back a bit for that to happen and I am certainly enjoying the smokiness of this brew.

Served In: Tulip