Archive for the 'Bischoff' category
Bischoff Doppel Bock
This is the fourth offering from this month’s BOMC shipment. I’m glad to see we are transitioning from the darker beers of winter to the light varietals of spring and summer. This means we are one step closer to me playing bocce’ on the beach with a beer in hand while basking in the sun! I agree with all that Ben has written about the other beers in this shipment. This was a quality bunch, let’s hope the dopple bock rounds out a great selection.
This beer pours a clear, goldenish, copper with significant head. It has a sweet, metallic aroma reminiscent of grape juice and licorice. The taste isn’t quite as appealing. Grape/dark fruit flavors are apparent but they are accompanied by a mustiness that overcomes the tastebuds at the back of the mouth. This strange juxtaposition thickens and the flavor rises to the top of the palate before dissipating and leaving behind a bitter aftertaste. I’m sorry to say this may be one of the few BOMC selections of which I am not too fond. The flavor combination seems to be quite abrasive and dissatisfying. I guess I was looking for a refreshing brew and was privy to the exact opposite…not cool.
Bischoff “Falkensteiner” Ur-Weisse
Second up in this month’s batch from the Beer of the Month Club is an Ur-Weisse from Germany that I’ve not yet seen or tried. It’s no secret that I’m a giant fan of the Bavarian wheat varieties – they’re one of my consistent favorites – so I’m mighty excited to give this bad boy a try.
The Bischoff pours a typical hazy mellow gold (note the Beck reference) with a very thin white head that quickly dissipates, but sticks moderately to the sides of the glass. The aroma of this beer is pretty typical Bavarian wheat, with the exception of an interesting sourish paper pulp aroma. I know that this might sound a bit odd, and it is. There are all the trappings I’m accustomed to – a soft sweet wheaty aroma, a light bit of citrus, some mild banana hints. And then there’s this sour papery aroma that kinda kicks it in the teeth – frankly, not too pleasant, but passable. The flavor of this beer is better than the aroma but, frankly, is a bit of a disappointment. The mouthfeel of this is thicker and sticker than most wheat beers, which isn’t a bad thing. There is a good bit of sugar sweetness, a bit of lemon, very little of the banana we sometimes sense. But, then, here we go again, there is this sort of sour flavor at the back of the mouth that tastes like something gone bad. And, frankly, I think this might be the case. The negative flavor here simply doesn’t taste like something that the brewery intended, so I think that I may have gotten a bad batch. So, for that reason, I’m not going to diss this beer – there are a ton of good flavors here that would make for a delicious treat were it not for the intrusive negative flavors. I’ll say that this bottle is a bit of a disappointment, but I have a feeling this might actually be a pretty good beer.
