Schell's Bock

Minnesota Sunday mornings; a time when we get to shovel Saturday’s gift from mother nature (again).  While I was moving said mother nature with my snow blower, showing her who's boss, it hit me.  Bockfest 2014 is two weeks away!  This year it falls on Saturday, March 1st at Schell's Brewery in New Ulm.  I figured since my snow removal garb and Bockfest garb are one in the same, I would make my first review for the blog on August Schell’s Bockfest 2014.  Every year, Schell’s brews a new edition of Bock beer.  While the recipe stays the same year after year, some differences in the flavor can be noted.  

Beer

Brewery: August Schell

Beer:  Bock

Year:  2014

Alcohol:  6.1%

Look  

First thing’s first here...lets look at the beer.  As I poured the Bock from its bottle, a rich amber, almost caramel color, appeared in my glass.  The head was about two fingers tall and had a tannish color with nice lacing.

Smell

Now for the smell. People may look at you funny when you put your nose up to your beer but believe me, it’s a must!  The majority of your beer enjoyment is based on your sense of smell.  From the moment I placed my sniffer to the glass, I could smell all the different malts that were present in this Bock.  I could also pick up a slight smell of caramel.  Oh the anticipation!  

Taste

As I took my first sip of beer, my taste buds were overwhelmed by malt.  Schell’s uses ten different types of malt to achieve such a rich flavor.  Riding shotgun with the malt is a distinct caramel flavor.  As the beer warmed up, the caramel flavor became more and more prominent.  My mouth was also surprised to taste a slight bitter note from the noble hops.  I was little off put with the alcohol aftertaste.         

Overall Rating

Price:  $ out of $$$$

Rating:  4 out of 5

I enjoyed drinking this beer, however I believe that last year’s Bock had a better overall flavor.  Would I drink it again??  Well, yeah!  As I said, Bockfest is but two short weeks away!  You don’t have to take my word for it though; check out the Schell’s Brewery website at www.schellsbrewery.com and order your tickets.  Come check out how true New Ulmites party in style; six layers of clothing, double fisting the beers, listening to some good music and enjoying the company of folks who know how to have a good time!  Hope to see you there!