BBB Beer of the Week: Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock

Before I visited Germany earlier this year, I dabbled in German beer but was never really fully taken by it. Compared to American Craft Beers there just isn't a whole ton of flavor. But during my time there I fell in love with their straight forward flavors and I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough. It's so simple. It's so clean. In my mind's eye, it's what beer really should be. Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock, the BBB Beer of the Week, is a great example of those clean flavors I've come to love so much.

 

Appearance: This beer is beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't find anything online that does it justice. In fact, I even tried taking a picture of it myself and I couldn't get it right. I'd rather leave it up to your imagination then post a picture that doesn't convey just how pretty this beer is. The beer is a golden straw color that pours perfectly clear. It's so clear it could give some of the top notch Pilsners of the world a run for their money in the clarity department. And on top of this beautiful liquid rests a head that is like a huge thick cloud combining for one of the most picturesque beers I've had stateside.

Nose: My bias for German beer is extreme. With that said, this beer smells amazing. It's not all old school batman with the BOOM POW WACK smells you get with a lot of American craft beers. If you're looking for that, you're sure to be let down. This is all about the Malt. It smells absolutely delicious and is typical of most of the beer I sniffed in Germany. I could literally sit around for hours taking in the aroma of a beer like this.

Taste: Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock drinks clean and crisp. Every time I drink a beer like this I think it tastes like the farm. It's all about the malt. I get a touch of citrus and a bit of some other sort of fruit. Nothing over the top. Just classic German flavors. Toasty.Sweet up front and finishes with a tiny bit of hop bitterness to bring it all together.

Style: Christmas Bock
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: Not sure, but I wouldn't imagine it's above 15

Final Verdict: Like you even had to ask. There is a chance you might still come across a bottle or two now, but be sure to note this one for next winter. When describing a German beer I like to say that it's awesome in its simplicity. This Christmas Bock lives up to that description. Don't sleep on this liquid perfection.

Beer Tastings: Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager

I've been on a hot streak with Lagers lately. Just a week or so ago I had an excellent Black Lager in Union Craft Brewing's Blackwing Lager, and today I picked a winner when I came across Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager at the local distributor.

 

 

Barking Squirrel is the flagship beer of Hop City, a brewery located in Ontario, Canada. The beer pours a clear amber color with a head that sticks around for quite some time. Visually, it's really quite beautiful. If I were tasked with finding a picture of the prototypical beer, Barking Squirrel would be in the running.

 

In addition to the great appearance you're also treated to a beer that stand outs aromatically as well. I couldn't get enough of the delicious malt aroma. Without much effort, you can find yourself in a field full of grains just by taking a little whiff of Barking Squirrel.

 

But we all know everything boils down to flavor. Well, my friends, Barking Squirrel Lager does not let us down. Initially, you're hit with excellent earthy malt flavors. There is a little sweetness there followed by a subtle toffee or caramel flavor on the finish. All of these flavors are balanced perfectly with the perfect amount of hops. There's also a unique mouthfeel to this beer. Middle of the mouth there is slightly dry feeling, but by the time you've swallowed the beer you're left with a very smooth and refreshing lager.

 

True, my Canadian beer portfolio is rather small, but I'm going to declare this the best Canadian beer I've ever had. Looks like I've found a new Canadian beer to watch hockey with.....well, if the NHL ever gets their act together.

 

Style: Lager

ABV: 5.0
IBU: 24

Beer Tastings: Union Craft Brewing Blackwing Lager

Finally, I got my hands on a Union Craft Brewing beer after many months of hearing nothing but good things about these guys. And after hearing that they won a gold medal at the GABF a week or so ago I knew I needed to get my act together and hunt some down sooner than later.

Tonight, I got my hands on their Blackwing Lager. I don't know what my expectations were pre-sip, but as soon as the beer touched my tongue I automatically became a fan of Union Craft Brewing and will definitely be making their beer a bigger part of my life. B the site just put out a Top 20 list of Maryland beers and I can say with full confidence that the Blackwing Lager could easily hang with anything in the Top 5. It's that good.

Enough pumping them up, though, let's get on to the taste. The Blackwing Lager lives up to it's name and pours a beautiful black color with a fairly substantial creamy head. The aroma is wonderful. Initially, I thought it smelled a lot like a Stout with roasted coffee coming to the forefront. Not surprisingly, once you're done taking in the color and aroma and finally taste the beer you get a bitter coffee flavor with dark chocolate notes. At times I even thought I was picking up hints of black licorice. And while this beer is full of delicious flavor it lives up to the Lager name and drinks very smoothly.

If you live in the Baltimore area and you see Union on tap, do you yourself a favor and try them out. Considering the Blackwing Lager was a winner and their Gold Medal winning Altbier is already getting national attention I think it's safe to assume that this new brewery is top notch.

Style: Black Lager
ABV: 4.9
IBU: ?