Sunday, August 11, 2013

VT Pub & Brewery - Bocks of Chocolates

The Bocks of Chocolates is just another wordplay marketing label for the base style of beer, Bock, taking on the characteristic of chocolate malt. This is not to be confused with the addition of chocolate, of which is not used for this batch of beer. I believe they recently had a chocolate infused beer on tap, whereas this one refers to the type of barley malt.

Alcohol Content: ?
IBU: ?
Malts: Chocolate, ?
Hops: ?

Price: $1/ 3oz sample; $2/ 8oz; $4/ Pint
Medium: 3oz snifter

Aroma: Slightly oxidized from the tap line? I have yet to come across this so what I did was immediately order another 3oz sample for a buck and compare the two. They were a perfect match so I ruled this out. I detected some sour notes (also found in the flavor). Overall the deep malty aroma is comprised of rich toffee and melanoidins, with a mildly sweet and alcohol character. Deeper inhalations are met with harsher malt and alcohol qualities.
Appearance: Another super dark offering from the brewpub, with hints of deep red/ garnet only towards the bottom of the glass. An off-white/ tan head billowed up fast but then quickly faded back into the beer and only the slightest bit remained.
Flavor: Very rich, malty, with hints of toasted and roasted grains. Mild chocolate flavors can be found in the style but this one strays away from mild; I also get hints of roasted coffee from the dark grains. Bitterness is relatively low and adds no profound flavors. The finish is met with hints of vanilla. Aftertaste remains a bit roasted with dark chocolate flavors and grains favored over any hop presence.
Mouthfeel: Mild astringency from darker grains. Its full body goes down relatively smooth along with a warming effect from alcohol. Some sour notes detected in both the flavor and sides of the mouth. Not as pleasant as expected for a dark lager. Like all of the beers on tap at the brewpub, they keep the carbonation levels down - as I found in this example.
Overall Impression:   Our homebrew club recently had a growler of it for a study group session on Bocks - we all agreed that unfortunately this is not a Bock nor does it represent anything even close to a Bock. Clearly this one is driven by the brewpub's marketing efforts. I would also like to see more carbonation for this style.

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