Cinder Bock - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

Jason

Massachusetts

3.45/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

LOOK: Tawny hue, hazed, superb head and lacing

SMELL: Smoke, birch, ash, spice, rose water, caramel, raisins, more smoke

TASTEL: Smooth, very smoky, slightly cloying, caramel, ash, charred wood, pears, spicy alcohol, bready, mild tartness, herbal, floral, semi-juicy, more smoke, ashy smoky finish

Too much smoke IMO so I can easily say it was not balanced at least for me. Thankfully this is a big beer so it can take a few lumps, good to sip but there is no way I could see finishing this bottle off during a long session. Asking you to try it would be a dare if you are not into smoked beers, even if you are it might be a challenge.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 03:28:13 | More by Jason

Murrhey

Montana

3.13/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 1pt, 6oz standard pressure-cap bottle into a conic pint glass in high elevation Kalispell, Mont. Quite a big bottle. Reviewed live.

A- Three finger cream-colored head with rapidly eroding retention. Lasts about a minute and a half. Sinks down to a half-finger floater with some creamy lacing. Dark orange color with low clarity. Semi-hazy.

S- Bacon, smoke. Smells like breakfast. Typical Rauch smell.

T- Smoky, caramel malts. Some booze. Not bad. Not good.

M- Wet and thicker bodied.

O- Kind of a miss on this one. Not special.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2013 06:20:32 | More by Murrhey

Brew33

Ohio

3/5  rDev -16.4%

06-12-2013 16:43:34 | More by Brew33

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.79/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Looking great with three fingers of tan head on a cloudy, reddish brown colored body.
The aroma has a lot of smoke and a little anise and black licorice. Nice if you like that.
The taste is quite sweet all the way through, a touch of smoke with burnt wood middle to end, fairly complex with good balance.
The texture is soft, slightly sticky with low to moderate carbonation.
Pretty good overall, but a bit too sweet for my taste. I enjoyed the smoke though.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 02:06:10 | More by Fatehunter

jl28r1

Texas

3/5  rDev -16.4%

06-06-2013 00:41:27 | More by jl28r1

gigantor1313

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

smell - smokey, bacon-y, leathery, skin of the potato....y

apearence, red/brownish, almost like a killian

taste - sweet, like alot of bocks to me

mouthfeel - too sweet, smooth, smokey

overall - not bad, but one and done. Not a session beer to me.

Its my first beer into the drinking session. Its great starter. Possibly even better with food like a salty cheese or a salty meat, like pepporoni or salami. Overall its sweetness kills me for making me drink more than one in a session. Would buy again.

Poured into ceramic stein. Allowed head to develop and stayed for a good while.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2013 22:31:23 | More by gigantor1313

secondtooth

Indiana

3.83/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a ruddy, cloudy red. Huge head of off-white bubbles. Stunning, detailed, frilly lace.

Nose is lively smoky bacon, with notes of salted meat and woody goodness. Wow.

Taste is similar, but heavier on the malty bock side. I get some of the woody, cured-meat flavor, but with a heftier sweetness on the palate than I was hoping for. Finishes woody and warming.

Overall, a curious and unique melding of styles, but not of the caliber as the Schlenkerla rauchbiers.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 12:15:27 | More by secondtooth

civicm87

New York

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-30-2013 00:08:57 | More by civicm87

herrburgess

South Carolina

2.75/5  rDev -23.4%

05-27-2013 23:33:08 | More by herrburgess

Beergelden

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

05-27-2013 16:31:20 | More by Beergelden

alaimoa

Connecticut

2.8/5  rDev -22%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Purchased in 2012 - pours a brown light coffee color with not much of a head. Tastes nutty and toffee flavors with thick coating aftertaste. Not the most pleasant on smell, taste or aftertaste.
Overall: I probably wouldn't buy it again but sometimes the Sam single bottles are surprisingly good. Just not this one

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2013 12:14:06 | More by alaimoa

tzieser

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-27-2013 07:39:04 | More by tzieser

Spaz7

California

4/5  rDev +11.4%

05-24-2013 21:34:42 | More by Spaz7

MadWolf

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

05-24-2013 07:23:56 | More by MadWolf

johntfox

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-21-2013 18:02:58 | More by johntfox

seplo

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

05-21-2013 00:24:52 | More by seplo

Dave7500kl

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +11.4%

05-15-2013 00:38:11 | More by Dave7500kl

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -44.3%

05-09-2013 02:25:08 | More by tommyguz

yesyouam

New York

4.1/5  rDev +14.2%
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 +1.4%
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 -24.8%
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

FliryVorru

Alabama

3/5  rDev -16.4%

04-29-2013 17:47:03 | More by FliryVorru

gwiedman1

New York

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

04-28-2013 20:55:33 | More by gwiedman1

rx-beer

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

04-27-2013 18:05:04 | More by rx-beer

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-23-2013 06:08:58 | More by Kelp