Samuel Adams Triple Bock - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Patrick999

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +38.7%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Well I'll be damned. Sam Adams Triple Bock. How in the hell did I ever get here? hahaha - how can I even rate this?

A - Pours deep brown/black into a snifter. Absolutely zero head, maybe one bubble. I punt on appearance...the normal rules of engagement don't apply here. This beer has "legs" like a wine.

S - Holy crap. This is the most aromatic "beer" I've ever had the honor of sniffing. Chocolate. Vanilla. Raisins. Plum. Maple. A little soy sauce, but not as soy-forward as some reviews have led me to believe. Rum. Molasses....like a fine dark rum. Don't see how you fail to rate this a 5. I've had strong beers before but this takes the cake. Of course, this is over a decade old, so maybe that has something to do with it.

T - Crazy. Just crazy. It has all that I mentioned in the aromatics section. Very sweet, like a port. Some alcohol burn, after a full decade. Vinous notes - this comes off as a highly complex dessert wine. I am pleased to note that this doesn't taste like I'm downing a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce. Lots of vanilla, oh yes, lots of vanilla. And rum raisin....it's not too far removed from rum...hahah. Whiskey. You can tell this was aged in whiskey barrels.

F - I can't even describe the feel in any kind of meaningful way. It's a decade+ old extra-strong "beer" with no carbonation. I punt.

D - You can get about half the bottle down in one sitting. But as above, the normal rules of drinkability don't apply. I have to say that DFH 120 Min IPA is more "drinkable" than this, as is World Wide Stout. I can only compare this to other "extreme beers" I've had.

An experience to be sure. I've paid far more for far less of an experience. I just drank half a bottle of extreme beer's history. Incredible.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2008 21:39:33 | More by Patrick999

raffy313

Texas

4/5  rDev +39.4%

05-17-2013 03:19:21 | More by raffy313

BMart

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -4.2%

05-13-2013 17:01:13 | More by BMart

Rock740

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +50.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

1994 that my brother in law discovered in a house that he recently purchased. Turns out that was a great discovery for me since he gave it to me. With the mixed reviews that I saw on here I couldn't wait to try this and I must have got a well stored bottle because this could be the best sipper that I've ever had.
A-dark copper with no carbonation and a flat almost black calmness to it.
S-beautiful port wine smell with a nice smoky sweetness.
T-wow,this just hit my palate and amazing,complex,prunes and some alcohol with a very nice syrup sweetness.
M-smooth,with the same flat calmness that it has in appearance.
O-Amazing beer with more character and overall insane complexities than any beer I've ever had. I'm so glad that my brother in law passed this on to me and thankful to whomever got forced out of that house a couple years ago and left this well stored gem.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 15:57:20 | More by Rock740

dalepryor

Kentucky

1.75/5  rDev -39%

05-08-2013 04:41:31 | More by dalepryor

PHBoiler

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +56.8%

05-02-2013 13:36:55 | More by PHBoiler

tbunting75

Virginia

1/5  rDev -65.2%

04-30-2013 21:02:52 | More by tbunting75

murderofscarecrows

Minnesota

5/5  rDev +74.2%

03-28-2013 01:17:20 | More by murderofscarecrows

DirtyKurt

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +56.8%

03-27-2013 01:18:27 | More by DirtyKurt

egrace84

Illinois

4/5  rDev +39.4%

03-27-2013 01:03:17 | More by egrace84

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

1/5  rDev -65.2%

03-26-2013 04:25:54 | More by Zachtheporter

SuomiHobbit

Connecticut

2.5/5  rDev -12.9%

03-26-2013 02:07:16 | More by SuomiHobbit

writerLJBerg

Oregon

2.18/5  rDev -24%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5

Bottle bought for probably too much. 1994 vintage.

A: Falls out of the bottle like the nozzle is doing its best to expunge the material. Zero head and zero carbonation. Cork broke in the bottle, which is highly encouraging.

N: Nose is rich chocolate, soy sauce, prune and raisin. The oxidation you'd expect is here. Still has an alcohol presence, and honestly this, isn't the worst thing. It smells a lot like Dark Lord.

T: Mint, chocolate, prune, and enough oxidation to rust off a hubcap. Dark sherry and peanuts. Alcohol is muted by now. Port notes. Not the worst thing in the world, though there's too many discombobulated flavors to be good.

M: Placid and slimy. Not good.

O: Seeing as this was the 1994 vintage, I knew there was a chance this could be fairly decent. I was kind of hoping for a travesty rather than something merely bad and unpalatable because a travesty would be memorable and this really wasn't. That said, it was a great joy to me to watch peoples' faces shrivel when they tried this unpleasant concoction. I gather this was one of the 'good' bottles.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 22:24:39 | More by writerLJBerg

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.88/5  rDev +70%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Small blue bottle of the 1994 vintage, shared very kindly by our brewing lecturer with his class after a long brew day. My guess is that this was a particularly well-stored bottle, because this was still a very excellent beer when I drank it.

Pours dark and viscous, but, unsurprisingly given it was 19 years old, completely dead, with no head, no bubbling, no retention. Yeah. Pretty much nothing going on here. The colour is in fact a slight reddish brown hue, as seen when the glass is tilted. It looks thick and dangerous, but certainly dead.

Nose is gorgeous, despite of, or perhaps because of its age. Sweet/savoury combinations of kecap manis, smoked fish, dusty, oxidised chocolate mingle with the true characters of dusky oak and maple syrup, which still smells sweet after all this time. It all blends into a magnificent wholeness, a huge fragrant intensity still coiled up and dormant. It's insane.

Flavour is amazing. Big characters of cherry chocolate, stacks of booze, and a rich, juicy sweetness that tastes almost exactly like chocolate mudcake. More booze, sultana booze, kirsch soaked soft doughy cookies, booze, sweetness, booze. Holy moly. What an intense and insane experience. This is so complex and lovely. So rich and full even after 19 years sitting in its little blue bottle. Wow.

Feel is smooth and thick. This doesn't need any damn carbonation—this is perfectly happy as it is.

Overall, this is insane. It's big, boozy and rich, but with structure that stands the test of time. This was truly phenomenal stuff, and I'm not ashamed to say that this was one of the best beers I've ever had the pleasure to taste.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 02:44:43 | More by lacqueredmouse

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.11/5  rDev +43.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from little 8oz blue bottle into schlafly tulip glass to celebrate the last brew/last night in our place. Purchased at DeCicco's Pelham; no paper flag remains, so I dont know what vintage this is. Cork was so dried out it broke on opening and had to push it in...
Pours a viscous oily black...no head and thick/oily.
I can see the confusion of why many people say it smells like soy sauce...it kind of does; but more dried fruit and sweet chocolate than soy.
Taste of dried fruit, some slight heat and chocolate; but is somewhat salty and vineous. Its actually quite drinkable and one of the more intersting flavors ive had in a while.
Strange that it has such low reviews. Really cool brew and glad to have had.
Crazy to think this was brewed when I was in high school!...maybe even middle school.
With something that old, its really hard to pass up trying...dont let the low reviews scare you on this. Id like to have again.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 16:48:28 | More by DrinkSlurm

beertardis

Rhode Island

3/5  rDev +4.5%

03-18-2013 12:49:40 | More by beertardis

tectactoe

Michigan

2.95/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

1997 vintage, huge thanks to Kevin for graciously opening this one - definitely something I thought I'd never get to try. And based on the reviews, not so sure I would ever want to, haha. Triple Bock pours black as night with dark brown edges; thick as hell - the bottle is left with a sludgy residue all over the sides and at the bottom. No head forms and there are maybe four carbonation bubbles visible after an aggressive, down-the-center pour. To be expected, for an ale this strong and this old - 16 years.

The aroma was poignant as could be... So goddamn strong it almost knocks you on your ass as you go in to take a whiff. Heavy, heavy, sugary molasses, rich brown sugar, bittersweet chocolate, graham crackers... Lots of stuff to try and wrap your head around, here. I pick up a bunch of licorice, and it's weird because not only am I getting black licorice, but I'm smelling red licorice, too - something I've never gotten from a beer before. The alcohol isn't really contained well, this thing smells pretty hot right out of the gate. Despite being on the border of almost "too strong", the aroma really isn't that bad. Lots of sweetness and a hefty dose of alcoholic heat, but lots of clashing flavors; rich, powerful, prominent.

I take a sip and I immediately begin to feel my heart pump faster, my teeth shiver, and my lungs almost collapse. This is the sweetest fucking beer on the face of the earth. I know I've said that before (I'm sure) and there are tons and TONS of "sweet" beers out there... Dark Lord, Darkness, Chocolate Rain, etc.... It's not even close. This is sweeter than all of those beers combined. It would be like melting an extra pound of sugar into a half a pound of molasses. I really can't overstate the sweetness here; if you manage to get your hands on this beer, make sure you take an extra shot of insulin before ingesting. It may just save your life.

In all seriousness, though, the beer has lots and lots of flavors going on, despite the coma-inducing sweetness. Tons of dark fruits; dates and prunes being the heaviest with some raisins and figs in the back. Syrupy licorice, brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, sugar, sugar, and more sugar. The alcohol is pretty hot, but the extremely sweet nature of the beer does a lot to cut down that heat. I've read through many reviews for this and people often describe it as "soy sauce", which absolutely makes no sense to me. Soy sauce is salty. This beer isn't salty. At all. It's sweet. Over-the-top sweet. Cavity-causing sweet. Nothing like soy sauce. As already mentioned, carbonation was nonexistent, mouth feel was thick, oily, chewy, and heavy all around. The aftertaste was a collaboration of molasses and dark fruit with an adhering boozy sweetness.

I'm super excited I got to try this and it made for a fun experience. Lots of heavy and robust aromas and flavors, but in reality - this beer was far too sweet for me to really enjoy it all the way through. I will say, however, that it maybe isn't quite as bad as most people make it out to be. It may depend on how old it is and what vintage you have, too. I also got no soy sauce or saltiness from it as many people have said. I need to go brush my teeth now.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 11:44:57 | More by tectactoe

leedorham

Washington

3/5  rDev +4.5%

03-11-2013 15:02:00 | More by leedorham

kencarman

Tennessee

1.36/5  rDev -52.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.25

I have had this many, many times and, to be honest, it always reminds me of motor oil. Retired? Praise the beer gods. In fact a few of my many samplings was at an annual barleywine bash where they are aged bottles: intentionally. Seems to get worse. Bering a lager, (Bock) that's NOT surprising, but you would think the complexity would help. Syrupy, rotted figs, almost greasy on the palate... what's to like? Sam usually does better than this, and maybe this was a grand adventure on the way to Utopia (haven't tried), but I view it like the Toyota Crown was to the Toyota Cressida... having to do it wrong to get it right: eventually.. Higher alcohols quite evident. As a beer judge I'd have to be careful what I say and try to NOT go below 13.
The aroma was where the rotted fig sense started, going on into the taste. Slippery, slick: YUCK.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 22:21:09 | More by kencarman

JDizzle

Indiana

1.5/5  rDev -47.7%

02-21-2013 00:48:22 | More by JDizzle

troegaarden

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +56.8%

02-16-2013 01:07:18 | More by troegaarden

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

1.6/5  rDev -44.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

God, why?

First had: bottle, presented to me at Stone Soup '13. Not sure what vintage this was, but I don't think it really matters.

So Lauren handed me this glass, filled with a viscous liquid, with a color I can best describe as what you get when you mix all the Easter egg food colorings together in a cup of water. There was no head and no visible carbonation. "What is it?" I asked. "Just drink it," she said. The aroma was, I admit, not too offensive, there was quite a bit of soy sauce going on, heavy with booze, and some hints of concentrated prune juice. Upon the first sip, and in the first few milliseconds of the first sip, it wasn't too bad. I got more of the soy sauce and prune juice I detected in the nose, mainly, and there was even some sweet chocolate malts in there. But much like the Big Bang, after those first fleeting milliseconds, the universe really began to take form, and I got a huge hit of naphtha/rocketfuel spiked with what I imagine prison-radiator-fermented fruit juice must taste like. Gnarly stuff to say the least. At this point its identity was revealed to me. I took another sip for novelty's sake, but that was about all I could handle. And at this point, this beer--or whatever it has since 1997 evolved into--is pretty much a novelty and nothing else, so take caution if and when you attempt to drink any.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 07:00:31 | More by Rifugium

Shoo65

Indiana

1/5  rDev -65.2%

01-21-2013 14:45:18 | More by Shoo65

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -30.3%

01-09-2013 13:05:41 | More by xnicknj

rowingbrewer

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -30.3%

01-09-2013 12:47:15 | More by rowingbrewer