Big Rock Helles Bock - Big Rock Brewery

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.51/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle poured into tulip 30/1/13

A clear golden copper with bubbles of all sizes feeding a short lived finger of foam that leaves no lace

S dry cereals with honey come out strong with some fruit I can't place, I know I may sound crazy but the yeast profile reminds me of Unibroue and there's some wet hay and slightly metallic

T no Belgian yeast in the mouth but there's more sweet grains and some candied corn with a little booze

M soft in the mouth with just a little weight, strong finish sweet cereal with just a little booze on the way down

O not too far off the style, not my favorite type of beer but I'm pleased Big Rock's attempting something different and its a step int he right direction

One of the better ratings Big Rock's gotten from me in a while but that still doesn't excite me all that much. I wouldn't buy this again considering what I could get for the same price here in Alberta but at least my local brewers making attempts

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 06:29:11 | More by wordemupg

Tom_Servo

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

06-13-2013 01:21:32 | More by Tom_Servo

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

05-20-2013 04:34:59 | More by Kmat10

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-17-2013 20:06:19 | More by BigBry

mattsander

Alberta (Canada)

3/5  rDev -12%

04-04-2013 03:50:53 | More by mattsander

schnarr84

Alberta (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +10%

03-23-2013 05:55:42 | More by schnarr84

mmbeer

Alberta (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

poured bottle into a duvel glass 24/ 02/2013

A: nice liquid honey colour. No head it lost the half finger head within about thirty seconds, even with the etched duvel glass.

S: nothing special here, at least on my first try, I've got another bottle so I may edit this post later.

T: I get a fair amount of apricot and various grains.

M: Very crisp, clean but moderate acidity, fine bubbles that clean the palate very nicely.

O: Clean, quaffable, I could crush the sixer out in one night easily enough. Just not spectacular.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 03:13:15 | More by mmbeer

Muhly

Alberta (Canada)

3.41/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Draft pour into a dimpled mug.

A-a very clear copper. Not sure how the bartender poured it, but there was no head when it arrived, just a wisp of white foam. Everything seems on par with style minus the head, which should have been bigger and fairly sustained.

S-pretty minimal aroma, but sweet bready dark malts are present in the aroma.

T-dark, sweet malts finished with a bit of hop bitterness and astringency.

M-moderately round mouthfeel. A sweet start actually finishes pretty dry with a bit of hop driven astringency. There is a bit of lingering sweetness, but it doesn't overwhelm.

O-This is a nice, refreshing beer, well balanced and clean. I wish the aroma was a bit more preset, but maybe there was an issue with the draft system? I hope we see more traditional lagers being brewed by local breweries.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2013 05:03:18 | More by Muhly

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

341ml bottle. Thanks be to Melanie once again, the northern Alberta rep, for the sample. I am a bit underwhelmed by the deliberate themed misinterpretation of the German word for 'bright', even if the ABV finished up just as the brewery claims it did.

This beer pours a clear, bright (I suppose) pale golden amber hue, with one fat finger of foamy, bubbly ecru head, which bleeds away at an accelerated rate, leaving some streaky specks of stunned lace around the glass.

It smells of semi-sweet grainy cereal malt, a prominent white grape juice fruitiness, and somewhat spicy earthy, leafy hops. The taste is more sweet breakfast cereal malt, mixed with some wet toast, to extend the metaphor, some indistinct fruit bowl melon to go with the lingering white grapes, and some mildly edgy, leafy hops.

The bubbles are weakly frothy, but equal to the task, the body on the lee side of medium weight, and mostly smooth, a bit of prickly alcohol mussing with that metric. It finishes off-dry, the cerealised (heh) malt jousting easily with the increasingly timid fruit and hop notes.

An agreeable enough bock, and bright enough to justify the rest of its overloaded name. Fruity and warm, a generally welcome respite to winter's return - forget this talk about springtime and lent! Also looking forward to trying this on tap at the release party next week in E-town.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 03:48:31 | More by biboergosum