Cinder Bock - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

yesyouam

New York

4.1/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Samuel Adams Cinder Bock is a very clear, dense, copper beer with a soft, fluffy, yellowed foam that has great staying power. It's mostly smoke in the aroma, but a tart malt is detected as well. It smells a touch sweet. It's very full bodied and smooth with a creamy, chewy finish. The flavor is much like the the aroma: smoke and tart malt. There's a slightly sweet, herbal flavor that's somewhere between cola and a cough drop. Smoke is the dominant flavor here. When combined with the malt, it comes off as umami. There's a sort of salmiakki aftertaste. This is reasonably bold and complex. It's a sipping beer with a lot of character. There are subtleties to it, but the overall flavor is quite bold.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 01:41:14 | More by yesyouam

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

3.64/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

22oz bottle served in a Allagash cervoise glass

Batch - 1

A - Dark brown tea colored body with 2 fingers of yellowish tan head. Bubbles are fine and stick to the glass quite well. Excellent retention for such a high abv.

S - Toasted bread, faint smokiness in the background, some fruity yeast wrapped in a hefty malt bill, toasted caramel, smokey molasses, candied bacon

T - Sweet upfront followed by salty caramel, molasses, brown bread, sticky dried dark fruits, smoke is very faint is only an accent to the strong malt base. Finishes sticky, nutty, and sweet.

M - Full bodied, creamy carbonation, sweet rich finish.

Sweeter than expected. Wish the smoke showed up a bit more. It needed another balancing component to combat the malts. Drinks very easy for such a high ABV. I would have never have guessed his to be ABV 9.4.
Not sure how old this is but I think batch - 1's smoke has faded.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 22:05:23 | More by StaveHooks

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.7/5  rDev -25%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

(Served in a dimple mug)
Batch #1
A- This beer pours a dense light caramel hued body with a raging carbonation of big bubbles supporting a rocky head of light tan.

S- The mellow cloth band aid aroma has some brown sweet malt notes to follow.

T- The big band aid and salty bacon flavored smoke taste stains the tongue with some slight sweetness in the finish taking on some salty sweet brown malt notes as it opens.

M- The medium mouthfeel has a gentle carbonation and no real alcohol

O- If I have to taste band aids this is the least offensive of the kinds but it grows stronger and stronger with each sip. I think there is a tasty beer in this bottle with nice hints of malt sweetness but it is well hidden in the loud salty bacon, band aid flavors. It was a bit to rough to finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 18:32:24 | More by rhoadsrage

seand

California

3.83/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A: Pours a clear mahogany color with a fair amount of tan head. A spotty thin layer retains, which is enough to leave reasonable walls of lacing.

S: Smoky resin sweetness; it's deeply sweet, hinting at the ABV, but is nowhere near boozy.

T: Not much smoke. Sweet, and full flavored, with nice complexity. There's enough smoke and hop flavors to keep the sweetness from going out of control.

M: Full body, medium carbonation.

Overall, pretty good. It's also dangerously drinkable for nearly 10%.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 02:05:36 | More by seand

MickeyD

Kansas

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured from a 22oz bottle into clean pint glass.

Appearance: dark red glow, one finger width head, good carbonation

Smell: dark caramel, smoked peat

taste: strong peat with roasted caramel and even slight floral hop with bite.

Mouthfeel: nice malt aroma with peat

Overall: I really liked this beer. I actually happen to like peat smoked beer and it is very hard to find and this beer has a good balance of smoked peat and a caramelized malt that I love. I would buy again if I can find it.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 00:38:10 | More by MickeyD

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.06/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Poured from bomber into a strange glass

Appearance- Pours a lightly hazed light brown/copper color with a thick three finger cream colored head. The head has a great level of retention, slowly fading to leave a medium level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The smell is smoky and roasty with notes of sweetness. A roasted malt and lightly burnt aroma is mixed with smoke and nuts and a sweet smell of molasses and caramel.

Taste – The taste begins with a bready and roasted malt flavor. It initially has only a light caramel sweetness, but toward the middle and the end the caramel grows stronger in nature with it being joined by some brown sugar flavors as well. A smoke flavor starts out the taste quite strong only to fade in the middle of the taste and reemerge later at the end of the taste with greater intensity. With the increase in sweetness and smoke toward the end of the taste so too comes a light nutty flavor and a slight warming alcohol flavor. When all flavors are combined in the end, they leaves a pleasant warming toasty sweet flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The body of the beer is quite chewy and thick complimenting quite nicely all the roasted, smoke, and nut flavors of the brew. The carbonation level also suited most of the flavors quite nicely as it was on the lower side with it enhanced both the thickness of the body as well as created a more warming feel when combined with the alcohol flavors of the brew.

Overall – This is a rather enjoyable brew. It has a good blend of toast, smoke, sweet, nut and booze with a chewy and thick body that suits the flavors rather nicely.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 01:25:41 | More by Darkmagus82

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured this beer into a glass, it has a red amber color body with a 2' tan creamy head to it. The aroma is of a smoky, malty ness to it. The taste has a rich deep smoke flavor followed by a sweetness malt on the back of the tongue. The mouth feel is bold and full, it grips the taste bud very well with the smokyness and sweetness. Overall this is a really good beer, great flavor and balance. Great job Saumel adams.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 05:04:42 | More by chefhatt

metter98

New York

3.71/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: The beer is dark reddish amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high beige colored head that died down and left a thin film of bubbles covering the surface and a collar of large bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderately aromas of smoked malts in the nose.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has lots of smoky flavors along with some hints of the underlying caramel malts. There are some hints of sweetness.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied and a little thick on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer definitely feels somewhat filling (like a doppelbock) but manages to hide its alcohol extremely well. It's a good selection if you want something that is like a meal in itself but isn't too smoky.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 04:31:23 | More by metter98

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From: Tenuta's, WI
Date: None on bottle
Glass: New Belgium globe glass

Boston Beer has an interesting brew with Cinder Bock, a heavily smoked lager of nearly triple bock strength. The smoke, fire, and caramel malt elements are strong in the beer, but so is the ethanol, limiting the enjoyment of this beer. While I enjoyed the Cinder Bock, I found the ethanol too dominant in the taste, despite being remarkably absent from the aroma. If this were toned down a bit, I would happily check this beer out again; as it stands, I'm glad I tried it, but would probably return to something more balanced from Schlenkerla for a rauchbier fix.

Pours a substantial 2.5cm tall head of beige to light tan foam, composed of small bubbles that make up a fairly dense-looking combination. Head retention is about average, lasting a minute or slightly longer, fading to a thick ring around the glass with a large island of wispy foam capping the body on the center of the glass. The lacing left is good, if a bit patchy, with thick lines and dots left sporadically along the walls of the glass. Body is a dark brown to very dark copper, with light bringing out orange-brown hues. Body is hazy, nearly opaque from suspended yeast, with carbonation visible streaming along the center and sides of the glass.

Aroma is of beechwood-smoked malt, substantial caramel-like malt sweetness, with a bit of barbecue sauce and very slight hints of chocolate. Very deep, rich, and rather pleasing, the hearty bock components of this beer work well with the complex smokiness.

Front of palate is gently smoky, with rich caramel malts and a touch of milk chocolate. Mid-palate is substantially smoky from the malts, which is richly enhanced by the deep caramel-like malt sweetness. Barbecue sauce aspect adds some tanginess from molasses-vinegar analogues. As the beer warms, ethanol becomes somewhat apparent here, detracting from the other flavors. Back of palate notices spicy ethanol, particularly when the beer is warmer, along with a bit of pepperiness, more modest smoked malt, campfire/smoke, and barbecue sauce-like tanginess. Aftertaste is of barbecue sauce tanginess with smoked malt, campfire, lingering sweetness, and ethanol.

Beer is heavy in body, with carbonation of medium intensity, leading to a slightly fizzy mouthfeel that foams up quickly, leading to a latter-half feel that is smooth and somewhat creamy. Ethanol can be felt in the nostrils and back of throat, which is somewhat disappointing given the malt intensity in this beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 06:14:48 | More by falloutsnow

VALIS666

New Hampshire

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sweet smokiness all the way through from the nose through the taste, like backyard barbeque brisket that’s been smoking under coats of sauce all day. Nice creamy head, deep red color. Not a taste I’d want all the time but a good beer in that style. Sweetens dramatically as it warms.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 06:18:47 | More by VALIS666

Zorro

California

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A clear red colored beer with a medium sized tan colored head.

Sweet and nutty bock with some smoke and medicine aromas. Reminds me a bit of smoked almonds. Good but not overpowering smoke aroma.

Starts out sweet and smoky. Slight sourness and a decent amount of bitterness. Sweetness is almost too much, but there is enough hop and smoke to keep it in check. Alcohol is well hidden but you can feel it in your chest..

Mouthfeel is very full.

Overall, good beer but it could be a little less sweet.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 02:43:40 | More by Zorro

IHyphySF

California

3.86/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Got this beer and haven't had much craft stuff that Sam Adams has put out so this will be a fun surprise. I poured into a pint glass

A - Dark brown, Maple syrup, Dark amber hue which pours out with a thick tan/light brown head which poured 3/4 of the way has a head of the rest of the glass.

S - Upon pouring has tons of smoke, soy sauce/dashi broth and a burnt smell of caramel.

T - Interesting and tastes completely different from what it smells like. Little smoke flavor up front which then the overwhelming flavors of fruit like a Belgium style would hit and the 9.4 abv really shows. The Japanese soup broth comes out on this because of the smoke and reminds me of shaved smoked bonito taste. The malt comes out and has a sweet aftertaste of honey which makes this really nice

M - Misleading from the initial pour which i would think it would be more carbonated but drinks really easily. It leaves a residue that sticks around in your mouth.

O - Was pretty surprised how easily this is to drink and the sweetness at the end. This has been one of the best bocks i have tried and if i saw this on tap i would venture to try it again. The smoke and initial taste on this is kinda strange but when the aftertaste hits it starts to become pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 04:28:26 | More by IHyphySF

drabmuh

Maryland

3.78/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

At the time of this review, this is #27 on the "Top Beers - Rauchbier" list on beeradvocate.com. Not a great location but I thought it was a decent beer. Beer is ruby red with a thin tan head of small and medium bubbles, no lacing, moderate retention, looks fine.

Aroma is smokey and a little sweet with a nice body behind it.

Beer is medium in body, a little sweet, a little smoky, not over the top, a decent beer by my estimation. THe finish is nice as well, not dry. I'd consider having it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 16:20:41 | More by drabmuh

chinchill

South Carolina

3.48/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bottle pours orange-red-amber with a large and very durable tan head.

Smokey aroma allows a fruity and malty base to come through. The flavor is more smokey, however, and ultimately, only the smokey flavor remain.

M: medium-full body with near perfect carbonation. Creamy smooth.

O: a bit too smokey for my taste, but certainly not over the top for a rauchbier.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 04:02:22 | More by chinchill

Ford

Texas

3.45/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Holy smokes.... plenty of smoke in this beer. I poured into a normal pint glass.

Lots of smoke flavor and caramel.

I like this, but it's not love. I probably won't purchase again as I'd be more attracted to a Dopplebock over this beer.

Glad I tried it, it's good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 19:31:48 | More by Ford

lstokes

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nice ruby color but no head to speak of. My main impression is that this is a very sweet Bock! The smell is sugary instead of smoky--not ideal--and the base beer is also too much caramel and booze for me. Nice hickory-beech smoke, but I would turn the sweet-sticky characteristics down a LOT before I would drink this beer again. Glad to see the attempt at the style, though!

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 03:07:06 | More by lstokes

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

2.93/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes.

Pours out a ruby-tinted mahogany color with good clarity but a disappointing single finger of fizzle-foam for a head that leaves behind no real lacing and only sticks around for about 60 seconds. Medium-light body and medium carbonation levels, chewy texture.

I get a good blast of hickory and beechwood smoke over solid and beefy caramel / toffee malts. The flavor is much more boozey than the nose, I think the smoke may be covering up the ABV vapors. I'm liking the doppelbock and chocolate malt profile in the mid-sip. Sadly, the ashen aspects of the smoke and the herbal hopping are combining in a strange way in the finish to make a sweet-and-sour stomach bile off-flavor that makes the aftertaste a chore instead of a pleasure.

In summary, a promising nose that leads to disappointment in the mouth. My best suggestion would be to dry it out some more by about 20% with additional noble hopping, so that the malts present less like a milk chocolate bar with a pile of cigarette ash on top. The breadiness that exists needs to be brought into the foreground and accentuated with the smoke. I'd give this one a pass unless you are morbidly curious what controlled cellaring smoke degradation would do for it.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 17:39:45 | More by WastingFreetime

bonkers

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured from a bomber into a tulip, dark pour with a very large white head, light lacing. Ton of smoke on the nose. Lots of roasted, smokey flavors, thick and chewey. Full bodied, good carbonation, the 9% abv is well hidden. A very enjoyable rauch beer from SA.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2012 01:30:13 | More by bonkers

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a Gale Sayers shaker pint glass.

This was possibly my most anticipated of the single batch releases thus far, save for Verloren. Let's get our smoke on, shall we? This stuff pours a clear russet-amber topped by a finger of ashy cream foam. The nose comprises mild beech smoke, light caramel, and a twinge of cocoa. The taste is a surprising barrage of sweetness, with caramel, light cocoa, and buttercream melding with some mild-though-substantial booze to form a harsh assault on the tongue. Throughout, a vein of mild smoke pervades, a mixture of hickory and beech, but it never comes close to even matching the sweetness nor does it ever get to stand on its own. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation, a lightly syrupy feel, and a fairly dry finish. Overall, a decent rauchbier, but one that comes across too sweet and not-smoky-enough for its own good.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 15:02:58 | More by TMoney2591

Suds

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I love a good smoked beer. This one is a dark amber color with an off-white head. Nice clarity. The aroma is fantastic....campfire...wood, smoke, charcoal, and some underlying roasty malts. Sweet at the foretaste, with more malt character. Great balance. This beer avoids the pitfalls of a lot of smoked beers...that is, it's not hollow, astringent, or acrid. It's a really enjoyable and well made smoked beer. Great body, and very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 01:59:37 | More by Suds

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

I decided to go the tulip glass route with this one. I'm a little shy after reading some of the reviews. I hope Cinder Bock isn't going to be a chore. Hard to say, as I love a good rauchbier.

I count three fingers of well-maintained peachy-beige head. The beer itself is a hazy scarlet-brown. After the foam subsided a bit, we get a nice patchwork ring of lace.

Smells rather lager-y. Hint of smoked malt and robust caramel grains. Actually, there's quite a bit of malt; seeping with sweetness and burnt toffee notes. For a rauchbier, this nose is tuned way down, however.

Holy jeebies. Very boozy in the mouth with decadent bready malt flavors of burnt caramel, maple, smoke, and dried fig. Has an Imperial Doppelbock profile to it, with a ripe smokiness and fruity esters. Can't get over how oppressive the alcohol comes off here. That, and the sweetness. Thank God I put enough arugula on my sandwich to balance out this little meal. Some chocolate comes through. Lots of dark bread, steak butter, brown sugar, and roasted fruits.

An autumn warmer for a cool night. Very warming, in fact. The alcohol is a stranglehold for a beer style such as this is brewed for. Cloyingly sweet with sappy stickiness. Hard to equate this with a brew that is rather medium in body. Lazy carbonation is an afterthought.

Sorry, Jim. This is not my idea of a rauchbier proper. A bruiser of a bock, sure. A lot of flame, but no meatiness that I'd enjoy. It didn't blend.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 03:08:45 | More by thecheapies

JayQue

Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pretty good!!! If you like smoked beers, this one does not disappoint!! Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass. Hazy amber/reddish color, aroma of smoked beer and bready and caramel malts.

Taste is good. The smokiness has a meat or fish quality about it like so many of the better smoked beers. The smokiness is most apparent before the beer warms up. Still a good smoky beer but the bready malts and caramel malts become more prominent, closer to room temp.

Mouthfeel is fairly rich. not much alcohol presence for a beer so high in abv.

Overall, pretty rich and tasty. Would go great with cheese and snack foods.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 04:09:21 | More by JayQue

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.28/5  rDev -36.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Portion of a 22 oz bottle poured into a New Belgium snifter. From notes.

A: Pours a dark burgundy color. The head is a one finger offwhite color with acceptable retention.

S: Wow this smells sweet - lots of caramel and brown sugar coalesce in the aroma, with only a hint of smoke. Still a nice smelling beer.

T: At first, this is a decent bock, with pleasant caramel and only a touch of smoke...only for it to finish in an awful manner; this honest-to-God tastes like a damn fart on the back end. After a few sips (or, as many sips as I could handle), it becomes less farty and more chocolaty, but it's still rather unpleasant.

M: Really heavy on the tongue, with unpleasantly lingering flavors. This could have been acceptable if it finished just a touch cleaner, anything to kill the aftertaste.

O: These SA small batch beers have been pretty damn hit or miss, haven't they? This was pretty bad, to the point where I couldn't finish it - hell, I needed something to clean my damn palate with just to get the taste of fart out of my mouth. On the plus side, it's a few tweaks away from being OK...so...uh...keep at it Sam Adams, I guess.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 00:21:36 | More by ThisWangsChung

Vierenner

Ohio

3.05/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer started out well but lost its lustre as consumption contunued. I'm not exactly sure what it is ... perhaps the yeast? I'm not a fan of belgian beers and this seemed to have some of those belgian taste qualities. I certianly don't get any "rauch" flavors as the style catagory would suggest.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 23:50:02 | More by Vierenner

DirtyPenny

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This one is really hard to review because it's great in smll doses, but also becuse the "a" key on my keyboard is broken and I keep having to hit ctrl+v to insert a copied letter "a" into various words. I refuse to correct any I've missed.

Poured in several small doses into a Sam adams tasting glass and then a Medieval Manor glass.

a: Woody brown with 1 finger of light beige head. Slightly hazy. Leaves weblike lacing on the sides of the glass.

S: Smoky, nturlly. Just a touch nutty as well but the smoke dominates the nose.

T: Very savory with sort of a smoked sausage flavor to it and a harsh tang. Smokiness gets overpowering as this one warms, and it takes on a little sweetness nd a bit of a medicinal taste. Too much at a time nd it just ends up tasting like that bottled liquid smoke stuff that never quite seems to work in any recipe you try.

M: On the heavy side of medium. Just viscous enough to let you know it's a hevyweight, but not so much that it becomes cloying.

O:I had it with marshmallow. Makes sense, right? Smoky cmpfire beer and a marshmallow? Don't you judge me.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 00:18:38 | More by DirtyPenny