Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Winter Classics mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 5.8%

Tonight I am finishing off the last review for the Sam Adam's Winter Classics mix pack. That makes me a little sad, because I love winter beer and I love Sam Adams. So far I've really enjoyed the Holiday Porter and the Old Fezziwig. The Winter Lager is good but average; since a lot of restaurants keep the Sam Adam's seasonal on tap, I would get it out to eat. And we already know that I love Boston Lager, although I'm not a huge fan of it being included in the Winter Classics mix. 

So that leaves the Chocolate Bock. Last year I had the Chocolate Bock with the Winter Classics pack, and I enjoyed it. But things have changed in a year. I've drank a lot of beer, and I feel like I have a slightly more mature palate. 

According to the Sam Adam's profile on their Chocolate Bock, their Chocolate Bock is smooth, rich, dark, robust, and is brewed with cocoa nibs from Ecuador, roasted malts, and Noble hops. The beer is brewed using Noble Tettnang Tettnanger and Spalt Spalter hops, as well as a number of darker, caramel and roasted malts. The beer is then aged on a bed of the cocoa nibs to impart the beer with big chocolate profiles. According to Sam Adams, they also add vanilla to the beer. 

Bock = Billy Goat

There is a lot going on in this beer, and it is a big beer. Clocking in at 237 calories per 12oz bottle, and packing 11 IBUs, this beer is 5.8% ABV and was first brewed in 2003. You can pick this beer up between November and January; I've only seen it in the Winter Classics mix pack. 

Before we dive in, let's just quickly touch on the fact that this is a Bock. I already touched on Doppelbocks, which are strong, malty lagers. In general terms, a Bock is a strong German lager. There are four styles of Bock as laid out by the BJCP. Maibock/Helles Bock, which is a pale, strong, malty lager beer; Traditional Bock, which is a dark, strong, malty lager; Doppelbock, which is a very strong, rich lager; and Eisbock, which is the strongest and most extreme of the Bocks.  

Now, I don't see "Chocolate Bock" represented by the BJCP, so obviously this is a specialty beer or a beer that fits within one of the above categories. BeerAdvocate has lazily dumped the Chocolate Bock into their catch-all "Bock" category. And RateBeer has me genuinely confused, because they dumped the Chocolate Bock into their "Dunkler Bock" category. A Dunkler Bock, according to Ratebeer, is a dark Bock with a deep copper to dark brown color. They suggest it is medium to full-bodied, with lots of malt sweetness, nutty, and toasted flavors. I was intrigued by the categorization, since it is not recognized by the BJCP. I did some research, and according to the German Beer Institute:

"There are several traditional types of Bockbier, each with its typical color and strength, which seems to vary almost in rhythm with the season. With the arrival of frost and the shortening of days in early December, the soul needs something more nourishing then a blond lager, especially after a frigid day of shopping for Christmas presents. Weihnachtsstarkbier (Christmas Bockbier), which is popular in the south of Germany, is often a darker version of the regular Bock. Sometimes it is also called a Dunkles or Dunkler Bock. In addition to the rich malty finish, these rewarding Yuletide brews have a slightly chocolatey taste from the addition of some roasted malts." 

And that, right there, is my beer epiphany for the night! So now I know what a Dunkler Bock is, and now you do too. So onwards with the review! 

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

The Chocolate Bock comes in a pimped out Sam Adam's bottle. This beer does not come with the typical Sam Adam's blue cap, and features a fancy label that looks a bit fancier than your standard Sam Adam's affair. The beer pours with a nice one-finger, tan/brown head. The head is very, very silky. As the head dissolves into a great cauldron effect, I can swirl up a nice silky coating in my snifter with ease. There's good lacing, and maybe even some alcohol legs. This beer looks black in low light, but in reality there is a lot of red escaping this beer in bright light. I would guess this is a dark, ruby-red colored beer. This beer is filtered, and you can see into the beer enough to notice the carbonation, which there is quite a bit of. 

The aroma on this one is Sam Adam's Lager yeast, which definitely has a distinct smell. I'm picking up dark roasty malts; pulls toward coffee, smoke, and meat. There are hints of velvety chocolate and vanilla on the nose as well. As the beer opens up a bit, I'm also pulling a sweet note out of the smell; sweet caramel or sweet mollases. 

The taste is velvety, smooth, and super chocolatey. I'm tasting roast on the front end, and lots of dark malts. There is some grain in the mix, and lots of lingering cocoa. There is a slightly fruity note dancing on my tongue: very sweet raisin or very sweet plum; maybe grape? This is very carbonated, but sort of thin. The thinness imparts an almost watered down chocolate flavor; like not mixing enough cocoa powder into water. Lingering grain, thin, very sweet; I'm not really getting vanilla? Some hints of roast on the back end cannot round out the thin sweetness.

Rating: Average
Score: 55% 

Carbonated...thin...waves of chocolate, roasted malts, and hints of dark fruit. The medium-light and thin mouthfeel cannot sustain the big flavors in this beer. This is not at all complex either. The front is: carbonation, chocolate, and roast; the middle is roast, sweetness, dark fruit on the tongue; the back end is lingering roast, grain, and really sweet cocoa.

Let me say: WOW. I'm a little surprised, because I remember enjoying this beer a little bit more last year. I feel like I need to re-review this down the road just to make sure I'm not crazy. But I don't think I am.

This is an okay beer. There is definitely chocolate in it, and it definitely is about the malts. But the thin mouthfeel, thin carbonation, and sweetness work against the big roast flavors and the big chocolate build.

All-in-all, this is kind of average...but it works in the Sam Adams Winter Classics mix pack. I would definitely serve this beer with dessert, or with a really raunchy cheese burger, or something with a thick and heavy barbeque sauce. Worth checking out, and okay addition to the Winter Classics, but not a life-changer by any means.