Unplugged Smoked Rye Bock
Bottle obtained courtesy of Erdinger2003 as part of a trade extra. I can't thank you enough for raiding your cellar just out of sheer generosity. The beer pours to a nice clear amber color. The carbonation is very active, but it keeps those floaties tumbling around indefinitely. No head on the pour, just a thin film. The smell reminds me of Grape Nuts cereal, although I guess the easy argument would be that it smells like the raw cereal grains this beer was brewed with. Also has some berry esters. The alcohol is surprisingly mute for being a whopping 12% ABV. The dirty rye aroma and the smoke meld seemlessly, but neither are as pronounced as I would have thought, which is a good thing. Just because it says Smoked Rye on the label doesn't mean I need to be beat over the head with it. If there is one thing New Glarus does right, it's keeping things subtle, but not at the expense of keeping things interesting. That is what places them at the Upper Echelon of American craft breweries, IMO. Anyways... The taste is very good as well, just as I would have suspected. The smoke is a little more pronounced, but still doesn't beat you over the head. The rye pokes its dirty little head out in the finish, accompanied by some fruity esters. Fairly dry with only a little bit of sweetness. The alcohol is very mellow as well. Either this beer spent a lot of time in the cellar mellowing out, or it was just that well crafted. Either way, I sure feel like I won the lottery with this one. The body is fairly big and dry. The rye has a decent bite, combined with the alcohol bite. Carbonation is a little on the flat side, despite what the appearance shows off. Typical for a 12% ABV beer, however. Very well done, and quite drinkable for a beer that has so much going on. Too bad this was just a one time deal, because I would love to try one fresh to see how it compares.