Marz Community Brewing Company Bubbly Creek Yuzu

Brewed By: Marz Community Brewing Co. in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: American Berliner Weiss, 3.0%

Reported IBUs: 10

Chicago breweries have apparently hit critical mass in the past six months, so I feel obligated to try something new. About the Marz Community Brewing Company:

The Marz Community Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois. The brewery launched in 2014, and was a project started by brothers Ed and Mike Marszewski, along with a handful of professional and amateur brewers. The website credits several "members of the Colletive," including Alex Robertson, Mike Marszewski, Pete Alvarado, Johanna Wawro, Michael Freimuth, Doktor Kazys Ozelis, Eric Olson, Ed Marszewski, Mike Redwick, Malread Case, Tom Piekarz, Eli Espinoza, and Tim Lange. This is like a football team or film credit roll, and I'm sure their list of contributors will expand. The brewery's POV is that they are a collective comprised of home brewers, professional brewers, and artists, that have united to make small, artisanal batches of beer. And that's all you really need to know. For more info, check out their website or Facebook.

Marz Community Brewing Company Bubbly Creek Yuzu

The Bubbly Creek Yuzu is a Berliner Weiss-style beer brewed with yuzu. And it pours into a hazy yellow-orange body, kicking up a finger or two of that perfectly white, tightly packed, Berliner Weiss head. It's a good looking beer, with lasting carbonation.

On the aroma: a lot of mild-mannered lactic funk. The lactic notes in here include some buttery/oaky sourness sans the barrel of course, with tons of lemon, lemon tree, lemon tree leaves, wet rain, a faint pineapple note, some fruited candies, yuzu, and light wheat. This smells vibrant for a small 3.0% package.

This is actually really delicious, with simple and clean wheat, yuzu, and lemon profile, running against appreciable lactic funk. The lactic funk is well done, and there is nice griping sourness here, but it isn't too sour or too funky. 

For 3.0%, this has a surprisingly substantial body. I'd go as far as to call this medium-bodied, thanks obviously to the wheat. Despite the appreciable body, this is incredibly refreshing and drinkable. Palate depth is great for the style, and complexity is good too. There's a lot of juicy lemons and yuzu up front; the mids roll into a softer and sweeter fruit, with some candied lemon notes and wheat malts; the back end drops mad wheat notes, with some faint cracker/biscuit malts. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a nice offering from Marz, and I hope they keep this around because I would happily pick this up again. Noice. 

Random Thought: I have a bunch of Deschutes' shelf turds that I'm debating to review. 

Off Color Fierce

Breewed By: Off Color Brewing in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Berliner Weiss, 3.8% 

Reported IBUs: 3

Tonight's beer makes a strong case for why session beers rock. About Off Color Brewing:

Off Color Brewing is a brewery founded in 2008 according to their Facebook, or 2014 according to their website, or 2013 if you follow their release party and the logical timeline. It really doesn't matter, I suppose. What you need to know is that this brewery is the brainchild of former Goose Island barrel guru, John Laffler, and former Two Brothers brewer, Dave Bleitner. The duo are both graduates of Siebel, and share a passion for brewing exotic, off-color beer. For more info, check out the brewery's ABOUT page.

The Fierce is a low-ABV Berliner Weiss-style beer. This beer is brewed with Pils, Wheat, and Flaked Wheat malts; features "a little" hops; and uses some kettle souring for that slightly tart and sour note. More specifically, this features an "overnight kettle souring with our house lactobacillus culture, the wort emerges furious at what we did to it." This one is fermented with saison yeast. 

Off Color Fierce

This pours into a hazy, melon-yellow color, almost like a murky Reisling. It's hazy and well-carbonated, yielding a finger of white, fluffy head that hangs around after the pour, leaving lacing like my loser kids leave their loser friends around my house. If this mash got the clinic, it looks it. Except that it is a Berliner...the kid gloves wheat beer of soured beers.

On the aroma: big lemon, wheat, big straw, funk/barnyard, faint malts in the form of cracker/biscuit, and some nice pineapple. There's a wet rain note, and you get some of that lactic funk, with some definite sour mash coming through on the nose. 

This is fantastic, with lemon-pineapple and wet rain crashing against that lightly funky lactic mash. It's like drinking Greek Yogurt spiked with lemon. The lemon dives into notes of citrus, pineapple, maybe a dash of orange and grapefruit...it's all rounded out with some wheat and straw notes. 

The wheat malts really build as you work through this...they provide just enough density to substantiate the body, but it's light citrusy and incredibly drinkable at 3.8%. Like...it's almost a shame this comes in a 4-pack, but I know that this takes work to brew. This has great palate depth and duration for the style, and it's complex too. Up front is a nice blast of sour mash, sour lemon, lactic punch, wet rain, and big pineapple/lemon; that rolls into wet rain, wheat, straw, some more orange/grapefruit, nice attenuated citrus notes ala a white wine; the back end lays on some nice bread/cracker notes, with malts, and then finishes dry and pleasant. This is really quite nice, and super drinkable and refreshing.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this...I love this style and this is a fun, tasty brew. Would buy again. I mean really, at $9 a 4-pack...you can't go wrong with this. And the 4-pack format means you can take this to a party or barbecue and drink the whole damn thing! And you won't even get that drunk. Nice. Food pairings here include fruit salads, maybe white fish...lighter foods. Good.

Random Thought: Dat glass defect, right?

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock (brewed with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, Florida)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz CAN from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/04/14)
Style/ABV: Tropical Maibock, 7.7%

Reported IBUs: 45

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock

The Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock is a collaboration with the talented event planners at Cigar City Brewing. If you are looking to have a birthday party, cater a large event, or release a limited beer, you know who to call. My can reads: "Brewed in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, FL, Yonder Bock is a Latin-inspired twist on a traditional Maibock. Cigar City finds inspiration in the Cuban roots of their hometown, which is a long way from our home base in Chico, but our friends down yonder in Florida sure can brew a great beer. YOnder Bock blends a silky malt body with bright, fruity hop aromas of guava, mango and passion fruit from the use of Calypso, Azacca and experimental 366 hops as a nod to Cigar City's tropical locale."

This one pours into a hazy, dark orange body, with tons of carbonation in the form of tiny streams (courtesy of the teku). This also kicks up three fingers of big, fluffy, caramel-orange-tinted head. Head retention is good, and there's a lot of active carbonation minutes after the pour. There is good lacing as well. The body retains its deep orange color in bright light.

On the aroma: big lager spice that flirts with bread, toast, rye, and caramel sugars. Beneath that are sweet honey notes that give way to faint tropical fruits and citrus notes. I'm getting oranges, guava, pineapple, and mango.

This is incredibly enjoyable, with deep sheets of honey sweetness and bread that unravel and drop tropical fruits, honey, and rich caramel sugars. The 7.7% is completely not obvious here, but this has a boozy seduction about it. I'm getting cherries, pineapple, super sweet coconut, mango, and orange in here. There are nice honey and saffron notes, and in the back is some faint grain alcohol that is accentuated by mild hop bitterness. 

I'm a little bit at a loss here as far as how to rate this...I haven't had many Maibocks, and this one seems quite unique. This isn't an overly complex beer in general, but for a Bock there's a lot going on here. The palate depth here is great, and this is definitely a full-bodied island treat. I'm not getting any of the 7.7%, at least not in terms of alcohol heat, but some boozy seduction and grainy alcohol does show up. I'm also feeling some warming. Up front: honey and bready sweetness, with toast and Noble hop bitterness; that rolls into more saffron and honey, cherries, tropical fruits, oranges, guava, coconut, pineapple; the back end continues with sharp, quad-like fruits, and leaves some grainy alcohol and faint hop bitterness in your mouth. This could be a little bigger and rounder, otherwise it's nearly perfect.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this beer. This is a really interesting beer...I could see myself pairing this with an upside pineapple cake, mango salsa, white fish, and certainly on a beach somewhere. This is probably the most free-spirited application of a Bock you are going to find, and I commend Cigar City for this one. I could see myself grabbing something like this in a 6-pack. 

Random Thought: Dammit, now I want to go drink on a beach. To live in the Midwest...

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Alt Route Altbier (brewed with Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, Pennsylvania)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 06/04/14)
Style/ABV: American-style Altbier, 6.6%

Reported IBUs: 50

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

Alt Route Altbier is brewed with Victory Brewing Company. My bottle reads: "Brewers are notorious for refusing to take the easy path. Alt Route is a tribute to the stubborn spirit that drove us to dodge the status quo and build breweries of our own. Together we chased the siren song of beer with this revamped take on an antique beer style."

Alt Route Altbier 

This one pours a dark penny-copper color, producing massive, three-plus fingers of caramel-tinted head. The body is reddish-brown in bright light, with lots of lively streams of carb. The head retention is excellent, and so is the lacing.

The aroma here is a bit of a departure from the rest of the 2014 Beer Camp, with spicy bready notes and caramel sweetness. I'm getting rye, cinnamon, caramel, sweet dark fruits, toffee, Twizzlers, aged Doppelbock notes, and deep bready caramels. The aroma is nice.

This tastes amazing, with bready notes, Twizzlers, caramel sugars, spicy breads, and big spicy hops. The back end is bitter rye bread and rich pumpernickel, fruit bread, licorice, and Twizzlers. 

You would never guess this is 6.6%....it is one of those malt bombs that could go either way: higher or lower ABV. Palate depth here is the only shortcoming, with some watery moments. Otherwise, this medium-bodied banger is super complex with tons of malts and good hop support. Up front: water to malty, transitioning to big bready notes, rye, pumpernickel, Twizzlers; the mids dial up huge Scotch-Ale like breads and malts, more rye, more pumpernickel; the back is balanced with hops. This finishes with lingering bread and Twizzlers. Toasted notes are all over the place. I love this Old Ale/Scotch Ale/Bock thing. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'll go a Strong Above-Average here. I'd go higher if not for those watery moments...oh well. This was still one of my favorites from the 2014 Beer Camp. Such a fun beer with a small footprint...I guess it's not the size of the ship, right.

Random Thought: I'd pair this one with a pretzel bun burger or a pastrami on rye sandwich. Yum.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: CANfusion Rye Bock (brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, Colorado/Brevard, North Carolina)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz CAN from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/03/14)
Style/ABV: Rye Bock, 7.2%

Reported IBUs: 45

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

The CANfusion Rye Bock is a beer brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery. Do you like to get it in the can? My can reads: "Brewed in collaboration with Oskar Blues, the pioneers of great craft beer in a can, this partnership was a perfect fit - we're mutual members of the canned craft club and North Carolina neighbors. A dry hop rye bock, CANfusion blends features from across the brewing spectrum: spicy rye, tangy wheat and bright citrus-like hops. The complex malt body launches a peppery blast that's balanced by the fruity and floral Australian Ella hop varietal. CANfusion is a true synergy of friends and flavors." 

CANfusion Rye Bock - that's how I roll

This one pours an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous orange color, with two to three fingers of orange-tinged head. The head is hop-fueled, and leaves nice lacing. The body is a hazy orange color, with medium carbonation. The head settles into a nice cauldron effect. 

The aroma here features big tangerine, citrus spice, orange spice, rye, perfumed apricot, caramel, and intense fruity sweetness. There's also big passion fruit, papaya, mango, and tropical fruit. 

The taste here features big caramel sweetness, tropical fruits, and rye. The blast of tropical fruits goes from berries and passion fruit to caramel and Bock-malt sweetness with raisin and apple notes. Nice rye spice comes along for the ride. There's a big range of fruit notes and malt/caramel fruits: cherries, apples, orange, tropical fruits....it's complex. As this warms boozy and bready rye notes come out.

This is medium-bodied and malt driven, with a nice hoppy balance. You do get some booze here, but it's not a bad thing. Good palate depth and crazy divine complexity drives this beer. I would totally buy more of this. Up front: tropical fruits, passion fruit, rye; that rolls into apples, caramel sguars, Bock sweetness; the back end has trailing hops and sugars with fantastic coating on the palate. Wildly complex...truly original.

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this...almost leaning towards that divine brew. Wow, this is just an interesting hybrid beer that is uber complex. The sweeter hop notes in here would pair with lighter spicy foods, maybe a nice shrimp or fish taco. 

Random Thought: I really like the boom in craft canned beers. 

Perennial Artisan Ales Tart Hopfentea (brewed with Hopleaf)

Brewed By: Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis, Missouri  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at the Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Bottled 5/2014)

Style/ABV: Berliner Weisse, 4.2%

Reported IBUs: ?

Perennial is one of the big dicks in the room thanks to their Barrel-Aged Abraxas, but these guys also make other good beers that aren't Abraxas. I think. I'm popping my Perennial cherry with a collaboration brewed with Chicago's Hopleaf...seems appropriate. About Perennial:: 

Perennial Artisan Ales is a brewery based out of St. Louis, Missouri. The brewery was founded in 2011 by Brewmaster Phil Wymore (formerly of Goose Island and Half Acre), with the help of Cory King (who is balling with Side Project). Perennial focuses on brewing Belgian and American craft inspired beers, with the addition of premium ingredients like fruits, spices, and wild yeast strains. They also have a barrel aging program, including the internal start-up, Side Project. Definitely check out their website for more info. 

The Tart Hopfentea is a collaboration brew with Hopleaf. This beer is a Berliner Weisse brewed with a tropical tea blend. The bottle reads: "A wave of tropical fruit and spice brighten this lively, tart wheat ale, taking the German Berliner Weisse tradition on an island run. Hopfentea pairs well with light appetizers, fish, and high humidity."

Perennial Artisan Ales Tart Hopfentea (brewed with Hopleaf) 

This beer pours into a radiant, melon-pink color at first, but once the body fills into the glass the beer takes on more of a hazy orange body. The beer produces two fingers of the most dense and beautiful head I have seen. I'm not one to gush about a beer's appearance very often, but this beer is simply stunning to look at. The head is white and dense, and retains well with nice lacing. Bright light confirms that this is very much a hazy orange beer, with a white head. 

The aroma here is really nice, with assertive tea, tropical fruits, and hops standing out on the nose. I'm getting lemony tea, iced tea, peach and melon tea, floral/peach/earthy hops, and big flower notes. I get some big rose petals here, and mild hop spice. I don't know what hops are used here...maybe Saaz or something? As this warms up a bit, a huge papaya note emerges, with big papaya tropical fruit.

This is more tart than I was expecting, especially based on some of the reviews calling it mediocre and lacking lactic character. I'm finding this to be quite tart up front, with moderate lactic pull. I'm definitely getting some sourness pulling on my gumline. Along with the nice lactic character is some really nice tea notes. The tea notes are floral and lemony, with rose petals, flowers, iced tea, lemon, and some peach. The papaya note from the aroma shows up as well, which is super refreshing and nice. The back end has that wheat density, and despite this being sour/tart, it cleans up nicely. 

I'm really enjoying this. This is super drinkable at 4.2%, with a refreshing, light-bodied mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is tart and lactic-driven up front, but finishes with some nice creamy wheat towards the back. This has good palate depth, and is fairly complex. I don't understand the reviews ball-busting this. I think this accomplishes what it set out to do: this brings nice tea notes and tropical fruit notes to the style. Up front: lactic funk, sourness, tropical fruits, papaya; the mids roll into big tea, with flowers, rose petals, iced tea, more papaya; the back end is lingering tea and fruits, and then some of the creamy wheat kicks in to round things out.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a simple but elegant beer. This beer would pair great with papaya, mango salsa, fish, lightly seasoned fish tacos, fruit salad, and sushi. I'm a huge Berliner Weisse fan, and I'm a huge tea fan. I think this is a good fusion of the two, so ignore the haters and check this one out.

Random Thought: I need to go and pick up more beers from Perennial. 

Hair of the Dog Adam

Brewed By: Hair of the Dog Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon

Purchased: 12oz bottle generously gifted to me in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Batch #91)

Style/ABV: Dortmunder Adambier / Old Ale, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: 50

I don't know what it is, but this Spring/Summer I have been on a heavy beer streak and I ain't even mad. About Hair of the Dog Brewing Company:

Hair of the Dog Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Portland, Oregon. The brewery was founded in November of 1993 by Alan Sprints. Sprints, like many brewery founders, began as a home brewer through the Oregon Brew Crew. In 1991, after an inspirational trip to Belgium, Springs turned the hobby into a profession. The brewery is family owned and operated, and was one of the first breweries in America to specialize in high-alcohol and barrel-aged beers. 

Today's beer, "Adam," was generously gifted to me by an Adam. Small world. This bottle conditioned, "hearty old world ale," is described: "Adam is made with Northwest hops, Organic Pilsner malt and a variety of specialty grains. The flavors in this beer have been compared to chocolate, smoke, leather and figs. Brewed in loving memory of Adam Kerchival 11-30-69 | 01-26-05 Brewer and friend." 

If you check out Hair of the Dog's website, Adam is categorized as a recreation of historic beerstyle. This historic beer was originally brewed in Dortmunder, Germany, and is described as a dessert beer. The not-mentioned beer style is an "Adambier" or Dortmunder Altbier[?]. Ron Pattinson has a write-up on his blog about the style, noting that the traditional Dortmunder Adambier was a "strong, sourish, top-fermenting beer...9.4% ABV." The Adambier was heavily hopped, unlike other sour beers like Gose and Berliner Weisse, and acquired its sourness through a long secondary fermentation. HomeBrewTalk has a wiki on the style: they note that Adambeir was a strong, dark, sour beer, aged in wood for long periods. Unlike sour Belgian beers, the Adambier was very hoppy. Having noted all that...

Hair of the Dog Adam

Pouring this one out must have been a relief for the bottle..this one gushed out carbonation. Bottle conditioned beers do strange things. Aside from the mountain of cola-brown head that this beer produces, I'm getting a nice cola-brown body. It looks very much the part of an Old Ale...kind of raw and dark....there's some lingering head sticking around, and lots of lacing. It's not exactly a looker, but most beers in this genre aren't.

The aroma here is kind of like heaven in a glass. Wow. There's a rustic, leathery element, lots of dark fruits (cherries, figs, prunes), dark caramel, strawberries, wood, chocolate, mild soy sauce, and tons of pleasant sweetness. The aroma here is rich and pleasant...just fantastic. 

Mmm...this is blissful, if not a little young even. I'm getting a lot of nice hoppy character on the back, but up front this rides that sweet malt train with lightly smokey leather, dark fruits, prunes, figs, dates, sweet caramel, and big sugars. I'm getting woody aspects, mild soy, light licorice, and impressive burnt sugars, wood, and hops on the finish. It kind of reminds me of a Scotch Ale meets Belgian Dubbel meets Old Ale. 

This is full-bodied stuff, but the booze is surprisingly well integrated into the beer, even at this point in time. I'm not getting much of the 10%. Palate depth here is good, and complexity is not far behind. All things considered, I think this is probably Above-Average right now, but this is hoppy and malty in all the right ways. I bet this holds up nicely down the stretch. Up front: dark fruits, leather, molasses, hints of smoke, chocolate, and leather; the mids roll into more dark fruits, you get some burgeoning hops, licorice; the back end layers on the hops and finishes with nice, lingering malts. Complex, big, and likely going to age well (although I have some concerns with the carbonation issues).

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a huge, complex, Old Ale type beer...good stuff all around, and would pair well with a cigar, some creme brulee, or in a snifter on its own. I'd love to be in Hair of the Dog's distribution net, because this seems like a fun beer to pick up regularly and lay down. I feel like this is a strong candidate for the cellar...such is life out here in the Midwest. 

Random Thought: Is it Sunday night already? Fuuuuccckkk.

New Glarus Back 40 Bock

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2014 

Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 5.5% 

Reported IBUs: ?

Mmmm mmm love those trips across the border. About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Back 40 Bock is a seasonal release (winter???), and is described as a Dunkler Bock. Or a "Wisconsin Bock." Whateva. 

This one looks the part of a Dunkler, pouring into a dark brown/amber body, with hints of orange tones. The body is clean and and quiet, not a lot of carbonation up in here. The beer produces three fingers of creamy, white/off-white head. The head reminds me a Cream Stout for some reason, and as the head drops off you get nice lacing coating the glass. It looks good.

New Glarus Back 40 Bock

The aroma is clean, malty, and moderately spicy with that Lager yeast. I'm getting caramel, bread pudding, bread, cake, fudge, and hints of banana bread. Behind the malt sweetness is some nice floral and earthy hops. The hops, little as they are, provide much needed contrast and balance to the malts.

This is really good...it's simple and quaffable, and never overbearing. There's a lot of mild toast, cake sweetness, caramel, dried berries, and light hops balancing things out. There's some mild hops providing hints of spice and bitterness. This is super clean...and it makes the stuff that Sam Adams rolls out look janky like homebrew extract nonsense. That in itself is worthy of some accolade, I think.

There's not a lot to say. This is medium-bodied, well carbonated, and features hops that turn into malt sweetness up front; the mids dial up big malt sweetness, with more hops; and the back end is malty sweet and hoppy. It's clean with good palate depth, and like most Dunklers doesn't have a ton of complexity. It's very refined and I dig that.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. This one is not very memorable, but it's also a really good take on the style...it's just kind of par the course, but nevertheless, I'm digging it. I would pair this with lighter dishes, maybe turkey or chicken, pizza, a stew, soups. It's not a bad beer, especially at the price, but I probably wouldn't seek this out regularly...I dunno.

Random Thought: I appreciate New Glarus' huge lineup, but this beer doesn't really differentiate itself and I wonder if it is a victim of "Bock fatigue."

Gnarly Oak Winter Bock

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 25

The past few weeks have been busy. That's the operative word. And then to cap it all off, I came down with a nasty cold. Having a cold sucks...it makes it hard to enjoy food, beer, and life. You can't work out, and sleeping is interrupted with bouts of dry throat and blowing your nose. As if that wasn't crappy enough, the one day of warm weather in Chicago is being followed up with a 4-to-8 inch March snowstorm that is starting right now. 

It's not all doom and gloom, though. For one, I got perspectives on the horizon. I'll talk more about those at some point. Second, the mother fucking NFL draft is coming up, AND the Blackhawks and Bulls are playing on a high level that is fun to watch. Third...I got some plans for this shitty blog. I don't know exactly what or when, but I'd like to bring Shitty Beer Tuesday back, and I'd like to mix up the review format a bit. So yeah, perspectives. 

Oh, and I also have me this $2.67 bomber of "Winter Bock." That doesn't hurt either. About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

There's no website for tonight's libation, but the bottle reads: "Premium Beer. A classic lager made in the traditional German style. It has a malty sweetness, a dark rich color and is lightly hopped. Made with select caramel and black roasted barley and a combination of Columbus, Zeus and Cascade hops."

Gnarly Oak Winter Bock

This one pours out very much like a typical bock. The beer kicks up three fingers of sandy/bready, off-white head. The head is foamy and slowly drops off into the beer's dark brown/reddish body. The body looks to be both transparent and filtered...clean like a Lager. Shining a bright light through the beer confirms the orange/red body, and reveals some fairly volatile streams of medium-sized carbonation. A pinky of head is hanging around, and there is nice lacing.

The aroma plays things pretty straight too...at least for a Dunkler. Now here is where I get to test my theory. This smells A LOT like the Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout. Even with my lingering cold, I'm picking up aromas of cocoa, artificial sweetness ala cream soda, S'mores, ash/campfire, dried berries and fruits, and big toast and bread and bread crusts. This one dials up the toast/bread thing, which is kind of what you'd expect or want in a dark Bock. There is a light pine/maple note...maybe toffee...certainly some suggestions of Noble hop character, except this beer doesn't use any Noble hops. #YOLO

Eh...this beer is pillowy and heavy with a lot of residual sweetness. It's not at all what I was expecting for a 5.5% Dunkler Bock...it's like the janky homebrew extract kit version of the Sam Adams Chocolate Bock. I'm getting the chocolate and the cocoa, with a little fruity molasses character, and some bread/toast. There are hints of coffee in here, and some nondescript hop character shows up. There's maybe a hint of roast or the so-called "black roasted barley" in here. But yeah.

It's kind of hard to fault an inexpensive beer like this for [likely] using extracts and sugar. It really does have an extract vibe, with some serious balance issues. At 5.5% the lingering sugars and full-bodied mouthfeel are in contention with the cleaner Lager yeast and high final gravity. I mean...the bottle says the OG is 15, so the FG has to be around 4.9. I don't know, I'm not a fucking beer scientist. You're barking up the wrong blog, neckbeard. Even with the balance issues, this is drinkable. But I chug even the most cloying shit these days. I'd probably reserve this Walgreens bargain for a cold winter night like tonight. This beer is the cheerleader of one-dimensional. Complexity is low, but that expansive mouthfeel would make any football team happy. You get sugary chocolate and cocoa up front with fruity molasses; the mids have more sugary chocolate and cocoa, with hints of toffee and toast, some hops; the back end has more sugary chocolate and cocoa, with some hints of coffee/roast. The finish is sugary, with Tootsie Roll candies and that feeling you had when you were a kid and got lost at Walmart. 

Rating: Below-Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

IDGAF if this beer costs $2.67 or if it was free. This is for sure a Light Below-Average, just missing the median that is average for the style. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, but this beer makes me appreciate other Bocks that I have been somewhat critical of. It just lacks balance...and the cloying sweetness doesn't work for this style. I gave the Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout a pass because the Dry Stout/English Stout can work with some of these fake cocoa flavors, but brewing a good Dunkler Bock is evidently harder than people think. It's probably a good lesson in "Lagers are harder to make than you give credit, you Yankee wanker." Anyway...this beer is best paired with spontaneous Walgreens purchases, ice cream, and cold winter nights like tonight. It's also a good beer to drink while you bridge the gap between being sick and not being sick. 

Random Thought: Not that I care and nor should you, but the spineless fartbox that no one cares about known as the Brewer's Association just updated their craft beer guidelines. Millions of beer nerds everywhere suddenly started to care. People LITERALLY left their Goose Island Black Friday lines, forgoing an opportunity to acquire Proprietors Bourbon County, now empowered with the knowledge that Goose Island are a bunch of InBev shills. Angels began to sing and jizz everywhere, and the president of the Brewer's Association, ....????..., made a speech that everyone listened to. Anyway, congratulations to Minhas "Craft Brewery." You guys are officially a craft brewery now. You can officially charge more than $8 for your gift set of mediocre beer. But seriously, the glass is pretty nice. 

New Glarus Uff-da Bock

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013

Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 7.3% 

Reported IBUs: ?

More Bocks? More New Glarus? Heck yeah. About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Uff-da Bock is a Winter Bock brewed in the tradition of the Reinheitsgebot. New Glarus describes this as complex but smooth, with deep chocolate and coffee undertones.

New Glarus Uff-da Bock

In lower light, the Uff-da pours a dark amber, almost brown/red/mahogany color. The body is transparent, and kicks up two or three fingers of amber-tinted head. Head retention is nice, and there's some nice lacing. Bright light confirms the amber/copper body, and there's quite a bit of carbonation rising upwards in this. The body looks like pennies. Dat currency color.

I'm getting a surprising amount of aged Barleywine-esque pine and pine sap on the aroma. Beneath that is some serious Brown Ale-esque cocoa and dusty chocolate. I'm getting big cocoa/chocolate aromas, hinting at toffee and molasses. If there is coffee in the aroma, it's a nutty, hazelnut variety.

This one is pretty sweet up front, with bready and sugary cocoa dustings. I'm picking up some hints of earthy/bitter hops in the mix, and along with that is some hint of coffee. There's big malts, with bread/toffee/cocoa/sugars, but the finish is clean with some Noble-hop bitterness and a hint of Lager spice. There's some pine sap and tons of nuttiness and pine nuts in the taste. It has some balance, but this is definitely a hearty, Winter-esque Bock.

This one has a medium-full to full-bodied mouthfeel, and feels substantial like a Bock should. I wouldn't butt chug this beer, and you can definitely sip on this. Palate depth is great, and this has nice complexity. You get a wash of bready malts and cocoa dustings up front; that rolls into toffee, more sweet malts, and some hop bitterness; the back end is nutty, and you get some pine nuts. It's a nicely balanced and refined beer. The finish is malty-hoppy-dry. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average beer, and something you can sip on on a cold Winter day. The balance here is very nice, with intense malt sweetness, cocoa, nuttiness, and some mild piney hops. You could pair this beer with meats and cheeses, chocolate, or hearty winter dishes. You can also sip on this, preferably by the fireplace or on a cold Winter night. Good stuff, would by again.

Random Thought: This is a great outdoor hot tub beer. 

Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from the 2013 Sam Adams Winter Classics variety pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 5.8%

Reported IBUs: 11

Continuing with tonight's twofer, I have the main attraction in the 2013 Winter Classics variety pack...the Cherry Chocolate Bock. About Sam Adams:

The Boston Brewing Company/Sam Adams is, of course, the brain child of Jim Koch (and Harry M. Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid). Founded in 1984, Jim Koch got the ball rolling after college when he decided to resurrect and brew his favorite family recipe. That recipe belonged to his great-great grandfather, Louis Koch, and dates back to the 1870s (where it was brewed in a St. Louis brewery). That infamous family brew is the Sam Adams Boston Lager, of course. You can read more about the history of the Boston Brewing Company HERE, or check out their website HERE.  

The Sam Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock is a cherry-infused twist on the brewery's traditional Chocolate Bock, which has become a holiday favorite. This beer is brewed with a malt base of two-row pale, Caramel 60, and Munich 10. It's hopped with Tettnang Tettnanger and Spalt Spalter hops, and features the addition of cocoa nibs and cherries. The beer is aged on a bed of cocoa nibs, and cherries are added during the mash. 

The Cherry Chocolate Bock pours into a cola-black body (with lots of ruby red and brown tones), and kicks up a finger of tan/brown head. As the head drops off, you're left with some nice lacing. The beer retains its opacity in bright light, with a dark black/brown body. I guess we'll go on to the aroma...

Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

SPEAKING OF cola, this beer smells like Cherry Coke. It's been a looooonnnngggg ass time since I've cracked into a non-diet Cherry Coke. And that's what this smells like. Now, full disclaimer, I'm one of a handful of fuckin' weirdos that really likes the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. That beer is hated by most and loved by few. The Cherry Chocolate Bock has the same type of cherry aroma. In addition to the cherry on the nose, you also get rich chocolate, cocoa, malty sweetness, caramel sugars, and molasses. The nose is super sweet. There's a hint of vanilla on the nose as well. 

While I wasn't a huge fan of the Chocolate Bock, I have to say...this beer is amazing. It's a total guilty pleasure, like fruity drinks and mojitos. There are layers upon layers of decadent, sugary cocoa in this beer. It's sooooo sweet, like Cocoa Krispies meets Count Chocula sweet. They should serve this beer with a complimentary bong. You get rich cocoa, chocolate, caramel, comforting white chocolate and vanilla...and the whole thing is accompanied by that artificial-tasting cherry that you get in the Cherry Wheat. It's a cherry flavor that would make the Lambic-producers of Belgian cry. It's offensively artificial, but brilliantly plays things Cherry Coke straight. If you can't extrapolate some childish joy from this over-the-top-Saturday-morning-cartoon of a beer, then you are a no-fun mother fucker and I don't want to get high and watch cartoons with you. 

Sam Adams did this one proud. I think the quoted caloric content per 12oz bottle is like 237 calories. At 5.8% (DAE beer math???), that means this stuff is loaded with sugar. Yum. This beer is super drinkable at 5.8%, but has a medium-full mouthfeel. Sure, it's clean like a Lager and supported with lots of carbonation...but there's residual sugars that coat your lips so you can give unsuspecting people who are hanging out under the mistletoe some unsolicited kisses. Like my drunk uncle. Palate depth is good, complexity is pretty much sugary cocoa and artificial cherry fuck-all. You get malt richness, cocoa, and caramel up front; that rolls into sweet cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, artificial cherry; the back end is all about the chocolate and Cherry Coke. This is way better than Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, and twice as sweet. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

YOU WHAT A Light Divine Brew?!?1 This is a Dunkler Bock me and my dong could get down with. This beer is going to be polarizing, just like Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I can't think of a better addition to the holidays though. This beer would make a great dessert, or pair well with some dry chocolate cake or cherry pie. And we all know cherry pie is the worst pie. A lot of people are going to shit all over this beer for being one-dimensional, or too sweet, or for having that obnoxious artificial cherry flavor. And you know what? They might be right, but if you want to see a bunch of no-fun neckbeards, roll over to BeerAdvocate and read the reviews for this beer. You can practically hear the man titties slapping together with each keystroke pressed. 

Random Thought: And t-t-t-t-t-that's all, folks! My final thought is this: the Sam Adams variety packs are hit and miss, but this year's Winter Classics is a good investment. Now I just need to find a 6-pack of the Cherry Chocolate Bock.

Hinterland Maple Bock

Brewed By: Hinterland Brewery, Restaurant & Lounge in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Purchased: 16oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 6.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

Now we're drink beers from Green Bay...yuuppp. Actually, I have high hopes (and expectations) from my cheese heads up north. About Hinterland: 

Hinterland is a is a restaurant and brewery based out of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Founded in 1995 by owner Bill Tressler, more info can be found on their website or Facebook page.

The Maple Bock is a German-styled Lager brewed with maple syrup.

Hinterland Maple Bock

In lower light, the beer pours into a dark brown, near-black body, and kicks up two to three fingers of tan/khaki head. There's some hints of dark brown or ruby red on the edges of the glass, and lots of carbonation can be seen rising up in this. In bright light the beer takes on a really nice ruby red color, with a murky brown center. There's a lot of carbonation visible in this beer, and a finger of creamy brown head is sustaining nicely. It's a good looking beer.

The aroma here is, as you might expect, very sweet and easy-going. I'm getting a lot of caramel, toffee, big bread/toast sweetness, and big maple syrup. It's a sweet, inviting nose...but you almost wish it was a freezing Winter morning.

Given the super sweet aroma, you almost expect something like a dense Imperial Stout...but this drinks more like a Brown Ale, and even more like a clean Lager. The front end of this beer is loaded with maple sweetness, but the middle is cut with bready notes and light sweetness. The sweetness veers into that fruity/berry thing, with hints of tea/apples/berries. There's even some light hoppiness to round things out towards the back end...but you also get more maple syrup on the finish.

This is light, drinkable stuff. If this really is clocking in at 6.8%, it is hiding the alcohol very well. The mouthfeel is medium-light, with good palate depth/duration and surprising complexity. You get a lot of sweet malts and maple up front; that rolls into some toast/bread, hints of nuttiness, some fruity notes, and some hops; the back end features trailing hops, and more of that maple syrup goodness on the finish. The finish is malty and clean, but not drying. This one has surprising depth and complexity.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Decent Above-Average. I could see myself ordering this at the pub, and this would be a dynamite beer to pop open on a cold, Winter morning. I would love to pair this beer with some breakfast, namely pancakes or even an omelette. The clean finish and lighter flavors in this beer would also work well with turkey or a soup. You could also pair this beer with dessert. I paid 4 dollars for this beer...not a bad deal, and I'll be trying more from Hinterland if I can.

Random Thought: In two days hockey season starts, and now that baseball season is behind us we can focus on WHY Jay Cutler is throwing freebie interceptions when there is no need....