Good evening :)
Today I got myself one of my favorite beers by far.
Maisel&Friends Marcs Chocolate Bock
I thought I do a little review on it for you guys.
Friends of mine told ne they have seen this in the U.S. as well, so maybe you already know it, or
it is at least interesting for you :)
A little background on the brewery Maisel:
The brewery is based in south east Germany (Bavaria) close to the Czech
border. The city is called Bayreuth (also known for its Wagner festival).
It was founded in 1887 and is best known for there Hefeweizen called Maisels Weisse.
With 400.000 hectoliter output it is a medium sized brewery in Germany.
The Chocolate Bock:
Maisel and friends is a product line to catch up with the current craft beer hype that takes place around the world. Even though it is not really a craft beer, this line is lightyears away from the normally available industrial crap.
The line consist out of 5 different varieties of beer: A Indian Pale Ale, a Pils following a very traditional recipe, the Chocolate Bock, resembling an Irish Stout, the bavarian ale and a chocolate porter.
Maisel states on the bottle:
"My interpretation of an Irish stout, with an extra portion of choice barley, special and aromatic malts to give the beer its distinctive full-bodied flavor. A robust beer of deep, dark color with an aroma of roasted malt combined with the taste of sweet caramel, delicious dark chocolate notes and a hint of wild berries."
Sit back and enjoy a firework of flavors and aroma.
Yours,
Marc Goebel
The beer is delievered in a 0.75l bottle (actually a wine bottle) and contains
7.5% vol. alcohol. The price in Germany is 5.99€/bottle. From my friends I heard it was a little more expensive but they don't remember the exact price.
The look:
When poured in a tasting glass the beer shows a nice deep brown, nearly black color (very much alike coffee). The foam is of a light brown/beige coloration.
It looks very smooth and fine pored. It stays in place for around 2 minutes, then slowly shrinks.
The smell:
When takeing a smell very close to the glass, there is a rich soily and malty impression with some small nuances of fresh grinded coffee in the backgound.
From farther away I notice a very light hint of sweetness also.
The taste:
For me this beer tastes best when drunk at a temperature of 6°C.
The first swig shows some nice and powerful coffee flavor on your front tong.
Then you get this bittersweet taste that tastes originally like some high
quality dark chocolate. After swalloing you still have a silky soft feeling
in your mouth which is incredible. I never had a stout before that was so present during the whole tasting session. It's nearly like a milktoffee.
But its whole complexitiy comes best out, when pushing the beer in your mouth from left to right so you get more of a foamy consistence and it opens
up all the flavors. Now I can taste the roasted malt and a deep soil alike character. There are peaks of sweet caramel and a slight taste of blueberries.
It doesn't have this musty character often tasted im Guiness. Rather a fresher
character like the smell of fresh dug soil. When swalloing this time you get a
faint hint of alcohol. Funny thing is, that alcohol note kind of shapes the taste
to a well rounded flavor. This faint alcohol note in my experience is noticeable in most Bock beers, too, while it is not often noticeable in stouts at all.
My thoughts:
For me this chocolate bock is without debate one of the top 5 best
beers I ever had (so far over 600 varieties). It has many characteristics of
a stout (silky texture, coffee aroma, color, sweet bitterness), but in heart it is a true bock beer. It is powerful and present, it gives you more of a alcoholic feeling and has this nice grounded maltyness to it. It isn't a beer you can have when watching football on TV. This beer deserves your full attention and needs all your senses to cast its spell on you.
In school grade this beer would get an A- from. - because of the high price tag.
Beer and food:
I'll recommend this beer to a nice piece of dark chocolate or some
chocolate cake. This presents you withan extra flavor push.
Also this is brilliant when having some nice game meat such as deer or boar.
Cooking tip:
This makes an excellent base for a beef roast sauce. Some
truffles and a little bit of grinded coffee will make it a sauce to die for :)
I hope you guys liked the review and when having the possibility give it a try :)
Cheers
Matze
Today I got myself one of my favorite beers by far.
Maisel&Friends Marcs Chocolate Bock
I thought I do a little review on it for you guys.
Friends of mine told ne they have seen this in the U.S. as well, so maybe you already know it, or
it is at least interesting for you :)
A little background on the brewery Maisel:
The brewery is based in south east Germany (Bavaria) close to the Czech
border. The city is called Bayreuth (also known for its Wagner festival).
It was founded in 1887 and is best known for there Hefeweizen called Maisels Weisse.
With 400.000 hectoliter output it is a medium sized brewery in Germany.
The Chocolate Bock:
Maisel and friends is a product line to catch up with the current craft beer hype that takes place around the world. Even though it is not really a craft beer, this line is lightyears away from the normally available industrial crap.
The line consist out of 5 different varieties of beer: A Indian Pale Ale, a Pils following a very traditional recipe, the Chocolate Bock, resembling an Irish Stout, the bavarian ale and a chocolate porter.
Maisel states on the bottle:
"My interpretation of an Irish stout, with an extra portion of choice barley, special and aromatic malts to give the beer its distinctive full-bodied flavor. A robust beer of deep, dark color with an aroma of roasted malt combined with the taste of sweet caramel, delicious dark chocolate notes and a hint of wild berries."
Sit back and enjoy a firework of flavors and aroma.
Yours,
Marc Goebel
The beer is delievered in a 0.75l bottle (actually a wine bottle) and contains
7.5% vol. alcohol. The price in Germany is 5.99€/bottle. From my friends I heard it was a little more expensive but they don't remember the exact price.
The look:
When poured in a tasting glass the beer shows a nice deep brown, nearly black color (very much alike coffee). The foam is of a light brown/beige coloration.
It looks very smooth and fine pored. It stays in place for around 2 minutes, then slowly shrinks.
The smell:
When takeing a smell very close to the glass, there is a rich soily and malty impression with some small nuances of fresh grinded coffee in the backgound.
From farther away I notice a very light hint of sweetness also.
The taste:
For me this beer tastes best when drunk at a temperature of 6°C.
The first swig shows some nice and powerful coffee flavor on your front tong.
Then you get this bittersweet taste that tastes originally like some high
quality dark chocolate. After swalloing you still have a silky soft feeling
in your mouth which is incredible. I never had a stout before that was so present during the whole tasting session. It's nearly like a milktoffee.
But its whole complexitiy comes best out, when pushing the beer in your mouth from left to right so you get more of a foamy consistence and it opens
up all the flavors. Now I can taste the roasted malt and a deep soil alike character. There are peaks of sweet caramel and a slight taste of blueberries.
It doesn't have this musty character often tasted im Guiness. Rather a fresher
character like the smell of fresh dug soil. When swalloing this time you get a
faint hint of alcohol. Funny thing is, that alcohol note kind of shapes the taste
to a well rounded flavor. This faint alcohol note in my experience is noticeable in most Bock beers, too, while it is not often noticeable in stouts at all.
My thoughts:
For me this chocolate bock is without debate one of the top 5 best
beers I ever had (so far over 600 varieties). It has many characteristics of
a stout (silky texture, coffee aroma, color, sweet bitterness), but in heart it is a true bock beer. It is powerful and present, it gives you more of a alcoholic feeling and has this nice grounded maltyness to it. It isn't a beer you can have when watching football on TV. This beer deserves your full attention and needs all your senses to cast its spell on you.
In school grade this beer would get an A- from. - because of the high price tag.
Beer and food:
I'll recommend this beer to a nice piece of dark chocolate or some
chocolate cake. This presents you withan extra flavor push.
Also this is brilliant when having some nice game meat such as deer or boar.
Cooking tip:
This makes an excellent base for a beef roast sauce. Some
truffles and a little bit of grinded coffee will make it a sauce to die for :)
I hope you guys liked the review and when having the possibility give it a try :)
Cheers
Matze
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