Brewers Den Uwes Birthday Bock (aka Anniversary Bock)

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

The beer has a concentrated amber, deep brown color and is topped by a light tan colored head that is fairly creamy in consistency and pretty thick for a draught beer. The aroma is rich and malty with lots of concentrated, caramelized and Maillard browning notes that make this beer a solid combination of lightly sweet and savory smelling. There is just a hint of toasted, almost roasted character in the finish that is a bit out of style, but adds a nice addition to the other aromatic notes.

This has a nice medium heft to it that provides more richness than the light sweetness might suggest. Really it is that the rich malt character is complex enough that instead of adding a bunch of simple sweetness it adds a rich, savory tasting malt character that is a mix of caramelized malt flavors, lightly toasted grain notes. This has a nice clean hop character to it that has a touch of herbal notes and a light, but noticeable bitterness to it in the finish. The bitterness in the finish is also accentuated by a light roasted grain note that also provides a touch of burnt malt flavors.

I really like that this has a light roast character to it, this adds a little extra dimension to what is already an excellent example of a rich, meaty Bock. The texture of this beer is especially nice when you consider that this beer is not overly sweet. This is not anything near the richness of a Doppelbock, but still achieves the texture and heft that a great example of a Bock should have.