“At long last, the flowers bloom, sunsets linger, and bock pours sweet like springtime itself. This golden lager, an elusive fan favorite, is back to mark the season with rich, complex malt and easy drinkability.”

Glassware: Half Stein.

Appearance: Honey golden complexion with a billowing three finger head. It gradually recedes but not a lot of it clings to the glass as it subsides.

Aroma: Literally smells like a brewery that has just mashed in and we’re pretty sure everyone here knows how freakin amazing that smell is. Extremely bready/doughy as well. Lots of honey coming off, spicy and kinda old-school Lager hops, earthy tobacco, old cedar, cereal grains and floral pot pourri. We’re getting a caramel sweetness from it but it’s much drier and fudge-like. Nice depth and complexity.

Flavour: First thing we notice is that somewhat cloying syrupy sweetness that is overly strong retronasally. Although initially it comes on with a lovely blend of sweet honey malts, cereal grains and old world hops (herbals, spice and florals). It holds this line until it develops a semi-rich bready sweetness which really rams home all of the doughy adjuncts like bread crusts, buckwheat and raw grains in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Pretty chewy. A little creamy but it still holds a typically crisp Lager texture. Medium body, mild-moderate Co2. The 6.8% ABV is slotted in nicely.

Overall: We went through patches of like and dislike throughout the whole beer so it’s a little difficult to summarise. Essentially it’s a well structured Bock but the slightly cloying and syrupy features get a bit much by the end. Not bad though.