Dogstalker April Bock - Grand River Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Cambridge)

Dogstalker April Bock - Grand River Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Cambridge) 6.0%

Pours a orange, reddish amber in a glass without much of a head; some sediment at the bottom of the bottle. The aroma has caramel sweetness, actually more like toffee, brown or even molasses bread and some, nay lots, of apple-ey red fruit as well as some dark fruit (prune) notes.

The aroma is a bit like malt syrup used in homebrew but isn't nearly that sweet. The occasional roasty smell drifts in and out but it never shows up in the flavour, instead it is well on the sweet, caramelized, red ale side of the Maillard process. Lots of brown bread and toffee. There is some underlying tartness and syrupy sweetness reminds me of sherry and unfortunately it is the cooking kind that springs to mind not the drinking kind. When combined with overly forward red fruit flavours it kind of ruins this beer for me. 

The difficulty for me with invented (or at the least styles I haven't heard of and don't show up in my beer encyclopedia) styles like an April Bock is that I'm not sure what the brewer was going for. It could be that they nailed this and it is just not to my taste because I have liked other Grand River Brewing products but I am not really a fan of this one. If I am on the right track with what the concept, an April Bock would be pretty good if the fruit flavours had been a bit more subdued and if the sweetness was less syrupy and more malty. 

Hogan's Goat - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Hogan's Goat - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.9%

A deep copper colour with a head of off white foam that faded to the edges of the glass fairly quickly. A typical bock aroma (think lager but a bit sweeter with a darker caramelization and a hint of higher alcohol) accompanied by hints of citrus (orange peel the label says), cloves and cinnamon that are prominent on one hand but subtle on the other if you compare Hogan's Bock to a spiced Autumn Ale for example. Or not, apparently autumn and its delectable Autumn Ales and Pumpkin beers are far enough in the past that I've confused juniper berries with the aforementioned spices. Ahem

The flavour is pleasantly malty and sweet with a continuation of the spices as described and a bitter finish. It is a tasty spiced bock, I'm not quite sure why this particular Beau's ale is as expensive as it is (juniper berries cost more in the real world than Skyrim I guess) but the beer is quite tasty. I'd have bought more but at more than $7 it's not too expensive I'm too cheap.

Oktobock (Wild Oats Series #24) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Oktobock (Wild Oats Series #24) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 7.0%

A deep gold in a glass, crystal clear with a head of white foam. The aroma is sweet, lightly malty with a distinctly lager yeast touch as well as that dry, lightly spicy hoppiness of Czech or German hops.

Drily bitter and spicy hops continue in the taste but are rounded out beautifully by a robust malty body and also have a slight herbal touch. Touches of caramel, a roast glaze and grain are highlights of a malt character that suits the style perfectly to my taste. Ocktobock's has a bitter finish (again, entirely appropriate) and a malty, roasty aftertaste.

Oktobock is just about exactly what I expect when I drink a Bock: that ineffable lager taste, drily bitter and barely spicy European hops, malty sweetness (an emphasis on roasty, sugary or caramel tasting malt as the brewmaster chooses), a refreshing feel even though the mouthfeel is thicker than a lager and marginally syrupy.

In a way my expectations are a little coloured by the travel time it takes for German bocks to arrive in Canada which can cause the hops to become a bit attenuated. With a beer brewed just outside of Ottawa the blush isn't off the rose, so to speak: the beer is fresh and the hops flavours have more depth and variety. Also since Oktobock is a Maibock interpretation, it is expected to be somewhat more bitter than a Bock or a Helles Bock.

Waterloo Iron Horse Bock - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 5.5%

Waterloo Iron Horse Bock - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 5.5%

Gold in a glass with a nice head of white foam with a very sweet and creamy aroma that reminds me of sugar cookies and has just a touch of something ineffably lager-esque. It's a very appetizing smell.

The taste is also sweet at first, with a touch of grain and a creamy mouthfeel but it has a bitter finish and some vegetal hops too. Waterloo Iron Horse Bock does not exactly have the typical Bock flavour I expected however they call it a Spring Bock (a variety I hadn't heard of before) and there is something appropriately like Spring in the moderate hops bitterness and the lower than typical (for a Bock) alcohol content. Keep in mind that there is more hops to this beer than there are to other Bocks and I think you'll find it quite enjoyable.

The Hoslten Three

These certainly aren't the only three Holsten brews but they are the only three sold in New Brunswick. All three are quite good and very cheap. Not a bad choice at all when served at the correct temperature. I like these beers and can design also: it seems very German and I like how similar each can looks and yet each can be easily distinguished from the rest so you know what you are picking up.

Holsten Premium (Germany - Hamburg) 5.0%

A dry hops and fairly malty aroma - sweet as well. Some fresh green hints.

Malty flavour with more of a hops character than I expected, though not extremely hoppy. Bitter flavour with a malt-house touch and bit of apple - a toasted bread and bitter finish. Holsten Premium tastes like it is higher in alcohol than 5%.  A shade paler than full gold in a glass.

A nice hops flavour that is greenish but still dry in the Euro lager style. The hops is dry as mentioned and while slightly musty it is also greener and fresher than many Euro lagers. Now the question is: is Holsten Premium hops character different than other Euro lagers because they used a different variety of (or just more) hops or did this can simply reach the shores of NB & my mouth faster? Hard to say.

All in all, a Euro lager with more hops and a more bitter flavour than most and that tastes more boozy than it actually is.

Holsten Maibock (Germany - Hamburg) 7.0%

An sweet slightly appley, malty aroma with hints of dry, musty hops and alcohol. A full gold colour in a glass with a full head. Very sweet, distinct fruit tones and the alcohol comes through quite, maybe even too, clearly when served cold. A little closer to room temperature and the alcohol seems to mix better with the rest of flavours rather than dominating them; roasted yet blonde tasting malt tones. A nice tasting strong beer when served warmish. Served cold, the alcohol plays too much in the forefront to the detriment of the other flavours.

Holsten Festbock (Germany - Hamburg) 7.0%

A sweet, somewhat appley, roasty and sticky aroma of figs. Initially very sweet with maple and caramel but it soon became dominated by more fruit (especially apple) and roast malt flavours with some faint wood notes; still quite sweet but not overly. Quite red in colour in a glass. Its high alcohol content delivers a chest warming finish.

The combination of sweetness, apple flavours and high alcohol result in a beer that is somewhat sherry-like. For a beer that is strong and cheap Holsten Festbock isn't bad at all. Where some beers in this class (cheap and strong) are simply alcohol delivery devices, I find Holsten Festbock to be quite good: not overly sweet, a nice blend of flavours and the warming alcohol feeling seems to bring it all together not push the flavours apart {like it does in some other cheap and strong ales}. Should definitely be served on the warmish side of a lager-serving temperature to ensure you can taste the other flavours over the alcohol.