St. Nikolaus Bock Bier - Brewer's Reserve - Pennsylvania Brewing Company

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

22oz bomber. 2011 Vintage.

Poured into my snifter a ruby-edged chestnut color with hazy translucency. The head was restrained and never really wanted to form. Showing a ring now, after less than a minute.

Musty maltiness with lots of raisin, fig, dark toffee, treacle syrup, bread crumb, and age tang. Smells full and rich with only a small note of oxidation. Definitive German malts. Hints of candi sugar, plum, and nectarine.

Big malty doppelbock with a cornucopia of dark fruits, pomme, breadiness, and caramelly toffee. Held up pretty decently. Some medicinal notes, but they're weak. Raisin, plum, brown bread, toffee, oxidized apple, rye-like spice, milk chocolate, light Band-Aid, and some solvents. Opening salvo of dried fruit. Middle is very bready and the finish follows with a stamp of bitterness and some leftover fusel alcohol. Dextrins very much present. Chewy and still impressively carbonated. Big enough, but I'd still call it smooth and easy. Alcohol has a few bit parts. Body is a tad thin, which is not the preference. Flavors are interesting and wooly.

I recently had a Randall-ed version with rye whiskey-soaked oak chips (2012 vintage) that I thought was excellent. I know this beer rather well. Private Reserve always treats me right and it was fun pulling this from the cellar and seeing what was up. Flavors mellow slightly and the body falters a bit, but the complexity is quite a feat. Recommended for all you German beer lovers out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 04:32:42 | More by thecheapies

indybearsfan

Indiana

4/5  rDev -4.1%

03-10-2013 21:37:31 | More by indybearsfan

banger7

New York

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

02-19-2013 00:18:01 | More by banger7

RJ32S

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

02-15-2013 22:29:54 | More by RJ32S

mkh895

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

01-21-2013 02:11:47 | More by mkh895

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

01-18-2013 01:47:48 | More by yourefragile

JJStorm

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

01-14-2013 03:54:50 | More by JJStorm

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.1%

01-13-2013 22:40:59 | More by spycow

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle received via Growling at the Moon. Thanks for the brew, Dan!

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a teensy 1/4"beieg head over the clear reddish chestnut brew. Head is quickly down a skim, with film around the rimand leggy slow-falling lace. Aroma is dark fruits and malt.

Taste is heartily malty sweet to start, dark fruits in the middle, maybe a touch of fusel closing with a light bitterness and alcohol warmth. Mouthfeel is slickery smooth, and drinkability is good. Nice rep of the style, and an enjoyable brew. Was worried about excessive spicing in a holiday brew, but this one's safe.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 01:26:21 | More by ppoitras

MrRockstar

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

12-29-2012 18:50:50 | More by MrRockstar

bacher468

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

12-29-2012 17:02:00 | More by bacher468

foureyedgeek

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

12-28-2012 03:26:33 | More by foureyedgeek

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

tap

Pours a deep brown, reddish brown glow when held up to light. Minimal lacing for a head.

Smells of mild spice, brown sugar and figs.

Figs, molasses, brown sugar and a hint of licorice in the taste.

Medium to full body with a mild tingle of carbonation on the roof of the mouth.

A pretty tasty beer, a bit cloying but good and manageable. Would have it again around the holidays, but a bit rich to drink a lot of.

Serving type: on-tap

12-22-2012 02:10:46 | More by Cylinsier

mrosenfeld32

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

12-17-2012 15:59:48 | More by mrosenfeld32

wvsabbath

West Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Serving Type - 22oz bottle

Appearance - Dark brown/tan, not much of a head , some decent lacing.

Smell - Dark fruits like plum, rasin, smoked roasty malts, mollasses, brown sugar. Cherry, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate. Some added spices.

Taste - Dark fruits and roasted malts at first. Nice mix of bold chocolate, molassess and brown sugars but not overly sweet. The caramel malts works well with the added spices, which gives a mint like flavor. The finish is malty and really smooth.

Mouthfeel - Malts and sugars really grab the tounge. Palate gets more malts, sugars and spices. Aftertaste is malty, some alcohol , a little thin and watery.

Overall - Excellent, balanced well and super easy to drink. Nothing over the top, straight up soild, and add to the face you can score this for between 4-6$ a 22oz'er, makes it a value also. Worth a drink every holiday season.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 01:20:53 | More by wvsabbath

skaboom420

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

12-07-2012 21:09:39 | More by skaboom420

sneaks2210

New York

3/5  rDev -28.1%

11-17-2012 17:04:03 | More by sneaks2210

heddar33

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%

09-09-2012 01:57:30 | More by heddar33

gjrey

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-20-2012 14:54:18 | More by gjrey

irishevans

Alaska

4.85/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

2010 vintage poured into my O.G. Duke Pilsener glass @ 00:10 on 5/17/2012

A- Dark Mahogany color with a slight orange/light brown hue coming through the sides when held to the light. the head is a light tan/cream color, that formed to just under two fingers width, then settled to a thin film. and that later turns into just a ring around the glass with a trace of the film left in the middle. leaves behind a bit of lacing, not overly thick, but that could be due to the sheer age of the glass.

N- Toasted grain, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, and a bit of date/raisin smell in there too.

T- the Dark fruit comes out right away, along with a bit of boozy heat. the caramel then shows up to the party, followed quickly by the cinnamon coming out. it finishes sweet, and the chocolate taste that is rather subtle in the beginning add itself to the mix more potently. I should add that this is a graduated effect, once one flavor comes out it's there throughout.

M- medium viscosity, but thicker for the style. still nicely carbonated, but not over done. there is a dryness, presumably from some earthy/herbal hops, that don't really seem to affect the taste, but add a nice crispness to the feel. not an overall dry beer though. All in all a great mouthfeel for the style.

O- I'm in love. I think I cracked this it the right time. maybe could have gone longer but I'm quite satisfied with having imbibed it when I did. All this in mind, you had better beat me to the Penn Brewpub this winter, because I intend to get as much of this coming years vintage as my wallet will allow for.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 04:30:37 | More by irishevans

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +13.9%

04-10-2012 00:46:25 | More by ejimhof

TMoney2591

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.1%

04-01-2012 22:33:54 | More by TMoney2591

russwbeck

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Great bottle presentation, complete with a gift-style bag and gold wrapping around the top of the bottle. The beer pours a deep amber to brown color with a few fingers of off-white head. Retention and lacing are both OK.

S: Sugary, caramel malts and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg really take the beer over. Smells pretty sweet overall.

T: Thankfully the spices in the aroma aren't all that present in the taste. This is extremely smooth. Caramel malts, hints of roast, sugar, and a slight amount of spice.

MF: Low on the carbonation, this beer is extremely drinkable for how sweet it is. Medium body.

O: This beer probably has a better value than 90% on the market. At $4 a bottle you would be a fool to not buy it. Wonderful balance, very nice presentation, should age well. Cannot go wrong here.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 00:23:18 | More by russwbeck

kayrex

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-17-2012 22:22:30 | More by kayrex

SarahHealey

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-16-2012 21:07:16 | More by SarahHealey