Samuel Adams Triple Bock
Poured this 8.3 oz bottle into a half pint glass. The thick black mass poured with almost zero head. There was little carbonation to be seen, and holding it up to the light, it was impossible to see through the glass. At the bottom of the bottle, there was lots (can't stress the wad of chewing tobacco like substance) that stayed in the bottle taking up more than your average bottle conditioned beer. The smell was pleasant, and exotic. It had a sweet aroma, and smelled of everything from maple syrup to prune. The taste took me back a bit. It tasted like prune juice with salty overtones of soy sauce. The mish mash of salty and sweet did not work very well. Though the 17.5% bock did not taste nearly as alcoholic, the over all flavor was less than pleasant and even though it was less than 8 oz. (the sediment on the bottom took up a large portion of the bottle), I had trouble getting through it. The mouthfeel was decent however. It was viscous and had a feeling similar to its look. Despite the less than pleasant taste, the over all feel was perfecting for a slow sipping beer such as this. It was tough to drink this, and honestly I don't think I would like to duplicate this experience any time soon (though in the future who knows). Final Thoughts - Sam Adams tried something different and it didn't work. Maybe I am missing the point for this style, but I certainly didn't enjoy it going into it with a taste of the moderate enthusiast. For the price tag (roughly $13), the brew wasn't worth it. For those that want to try it go for it, but I feel money could be spent better elsewhere.