Mahr’s Brau Christmas Bock

By John & Dad on February 19, 2007 @ 8 PM (No Comments)

Note: The Bamberger Original Mahr’s Brau Christmas Bock was reviewed by both John and Dad on different days and originally posted as two separate reviews. We usually do our combined reviews together in one post, so this post has been edited to bring you both reviews on one post.

Son Beer Love Review (February 19, 2007):

This is a delicious beer. Pour is amber – cloudy and unfiltered, with a nice head that seems to go away fairly quickly, but laces well on the glass. Passes the smell test with flying colors – a doughy, bread-like smell.

It has a sweet edge to it – toffee and caramel perhaps – and you can taste the malts. The finish is a little bitter, but not unpleasant – a good balance between smooth and bitter capped off with some good hops. Would definitely do again.

Father Beer Love Review (August 24, 2007):

Tragedy has struck the The BeerFathers house (west), sob. In the back of the ice box I have kept 2 beautiful .5L bottles of Ayinger beer – one Jarhundert and one Brau Weisse for about 6 months or so. Last week I decided to celebrate something or other, I believe Tuesday was it (I don’t have to look to hard for something to celebrate) uncapped the beautiful brown bottle of Jarhundert and made a good pour. As I admired the color and smelled the wonderful aroma something seemed slightly amiss. I tasted it warily and discovered that it had turned into a Milwaukee’s Best. While Belgian strong ales and barley wines can improve with age, Dortmunder/Helles styles don’t. So keep an eye on your stock less this happens to you. As a side note the next night I drank the Brau Weisse and while it might have lost a little bit of flavor it faired much better.

This one is made by Bamberger – .5L 6% ABV beer temp. 44.9F-6.9C. Pours light amber brown with a nice off white head, somewhat cloudy. Aromas of caramel, wheat and a touch of sweetness. Head faded slowly and laced well. First impression is of sweet caramel and a touch of toffee and butterscotch. The bitterness of the hops is a bold counterpoint to the sweetness. The mouth feel is good but not the rich butter feel of some. It is milder than the double bocks. This could be a nice compliment to rich Christmas foods (Think the feast of the seven fats).
This one is worth a try if only as a single. It’s bolder than a Shiner Bock or an Amber Bock. Use it as an occasional treat and keep it in mind around the holiday season.