Hofbräu Maibock (Urbock) - Hofbräuhaus München

MbpBugeye

Ohio

1.7/5  rDev -56.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Appearance
Clear and pale. The beer is a dark, rusted amber. The head is short, but stays at a thick film.

Aroma
Totally lightstruck. Hooray for green glass and no freshness dating. The skunky aroma seems to fade a little bit, revealing some sweet breadiness underneath.

Taste
Sweet bread dough, soft pretzels kick things off. Then things get weird. The hops are much stronger than what I'd expect. They are very medicinal, bitter and chemical. The taste is good for about the first half.

Mouthfeel
I guess this is the only part that isn't ruined. Its smooth and fluffy. Only trouble is that nagging finish.

Overall
Yick, green bottles and the singles rack at Kroger, and I knew better too.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 02:40:59 | More by MbpBugeye

ultralarry2006

Illinois

2.13/5  rDev -45.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured from a 500 ml. bottle. This left a one finger head that quickly dissipated and left sketchy surface skim. Color is a dark orange-amber.

Smell - Diacetyl ,and more diacetyl ,some phenols, odors of dried dark fruits.

Taste - like the smell. Dominated by diacetyl. some dark dried fruit liked dates, dried plums. A little bit of phenol taste. I do not like diacetyl taste heavy beers, and this is no exception.

Mouthfeel - thin, fluid, medium carbonation.

Drinkabilty - this goes done with some difficulty for me, and I would avoid this.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2006 18:46:45 | More by ultralarry2006

OttoPeeWee

Illinois

2.68/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Green bottles, seriously? I am really disappointed I have to give HB a mediocre at best review, because I have had this on tap and it is hands down fantastic, but the six pack I bought from a reputable store is s-k-u-n-k-e-d. And I know that once beer leaves the brewry care for the beer is out of their hands, but not the effect of uv and no freshness dating. Hoppy beer was invented for the long journey, now it's time for the brown bottle.

I'll try and drink the rest, but you might as well buy a sixer of Heineken if you want this flavor.

I must reitterate if you see this on tap buy a big stein, it is a whole different beer, but I expect HB to get with modern bottle engineering (with a date).

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2011 22:40:21 | More by OttoPeeWee

TheDM

Indiana

2.73/5  rDev -30%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer has a small initial head that is off-white in color with good lacing. The body is a clear amber color. It initially tasted light then built to a small bitterness, something I don't particularly like in my beers. But then I am spoiled by Andechs! Im Himmel gibt es Keine bier darum trinken vir es hier! (In heaven there is no beer that is why we drink it here!)

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2003 17:10:10 | More by TheDM

plaid75

New York

2.75/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured a nice deep copper hue with a one finger head. There was no head retention and no lacing.

The aroma was obviously malty with hits of hop and grass. An overall neutral aroma.

The flavor was consistent with the aroma. Sweet and malty with a hint of hop finish.

Mouthfeel was a bit sticky.

I enjoyed this beer for what it was - an authentic representation of perhaps the world's oldest seasonal beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 23:43:23 | More by plaid75

beeragent

Texas

2.9/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz. bottle, into a pilsner glass. The beer pours a deep copper, forming a creamy 1/2 inch head. Light spots of lace on the glass. The aroma is very skunky, with a little bit of malt coming through. The taste is a little better. Light sweet malt flavoring, a hint of citrusy hops, alcohol, but overall, an uneasy wheaty taste. Its hard to describe, but this tastes like all the other beers that I've had that have come in green bottles. If its green, it always seems to have a very skunky smell and taste. Maybe I'm just not used to the styles, but they just dont do it for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2007 06:45:37 | More by beeragent

keithmurray

Louisiana

2.9/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

appearance - translucent copper color that yielded a tan head that only lasted for about 3 seconds

smell - not pleasant at all, typical euro skunk odor, grass, hay

taste - some more of that euro skunk taste, I can detect a bit of malt and molasses as well

mouthfeel - light to medium bodied, medium carbonation, slightly bitter upfront as well as in the finish

overall - sort of disappointed in this one, also made me think about something, why do breweries even bother putting their beer in green bottles anyways? Everytime I have sampled something from a green bottle, it comes out skunked without fail. I'd love to try this fresh or on tap as this beverage was clearly affected by being lightstruck. If you are new to the style, I wouldn't reccommend starting with this one

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 18:15:32 | More by keithmurray

rangerred

Tennessee

2.95/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

330ml bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a slightly hazy medium copper with a two finger white head.

Aroma is very malty with a nutty and buttery aroma. Some caramel is in there as well.

Flavor is somewhat buttery at first yielding to some grassy hop flavors along with caramel from the malt. There is a fairly heavy sweetness throughout with hop bitterness only coming towards the finish. Very sticky mouthfeel.

Overall I was somewhat disappointed with this beer. Too much butter and not enough bitterness. I will say that the six pack I bought was marked way down and is probably from last year but nonetheless, it wasn't too great.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 03:36:57 | More by rangerred

amiles

Oregon

3.03/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a goblet just for fun...

A: Pour produce a nice thick 3 finger white head, medium amber colour. Nice looking beer, though the bottle had a couple floaties so I marked it down a bit.

S: I was in Germany last month and this is how I remember things smelling there for some reason. Sweet, and mild hops.

T: Again, sweet... almost too much. Some carmel thrown in there, with malts.

M: Carbonated nicely, though it feels uninteresting apon entering the mouth.

D: Not feeling this beer. That's all I've got to say.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2008 04:38:17 | More by amiles

KlausKinski

Germany

3.13/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Nice amber color with a little read touch. Head is ok, nice, big and foamy.
The beginning is quite average, but the aftertaste is very unusual for the style as this one isn't really sweetish, but has a lot of spicy hop aroma. Very unusual, though not that bad. It has a high drinkability though, but it is not totally rounded and not smooth enough.
An interesting, but not totally satisfying example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2006 13:17:09 | More by KlausKinski

rohrbachsfan

New York

3.15/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: Light amber brown color. Medium head that didn’t last very long with some lacing afterwards.

Smell: Malt.

Taste: Hops bitterness and sweet malt.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy.

Drinkability: Very nice tasting beer but a tad bit heavy. Not a session beer but definitely worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2007 23:39:16 | More by rohrbachsfan

BeerBelcher

Ohio

3.18/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this beer on draft at the Old German Beer Hall in Milwaukee. The overly sweet maltiness was not really for me, and it is significantly sweeter than other maibocks I've had (Summit in recent memory). Blasphemy I know, but I really preferred the Kindl Weisse.

Appearance was a sparkling mahogany brown in a dimpled mug with good head formation. Aroma and flavor were both quite sweet. Mouthfeel was slightly sticky. This beer was rather drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

02-21-2007 16:51:55 | More by BeerBelcher

nickfl

Florida

3.18/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Nice off white head on an amber-orange body with excellent clarity.

S - Aroma of malt and mild spicy hops, otherwise clean.

T - Quite malty with some fruity characteristics. Moderate hop bitterness with a solventy alcohol bite. Slightly peppery in the finish.

M - Medium to heavy body with moderate carbonation and a slightly dry finish.

D - The somewhat hot alcohol flavor combines in an unfortunate way with the harsh hop bitterness to create an unpleasant taste that overwhelms the malt characteristics. Not particularly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2008 06:44:47 | More by nickfl

ramrod666

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

this beer came in a 16.9oz brown bottle. apearence is a medium amber with a nice rocky head that falls to patchy cloud-like forms. smell is sweet and malty. taste is all malt with an alcohol note. also something slightly bitter and mediciney that is taking away from the experience. alright overall. mouthfeel is slightly heavy and thick which is appealing. drinkabilty is ok if you can get over the medicine/bandaid flavor. not bad but would pass up next time. maybe if i saw it on tap i'd give it another try.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2004 22:34:37 | More by ramrod666

gmfessen

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

After reading that this beer is a spring release (Maibock duh!) and I bought this in mid February doesn't sound good. Also, at the LHBS this green bottle was stored directly under the lighting... but alas. Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, beer is a clear amber-orange color with a fine bubbly, one-finger head. The smell is malty sweet, slight fruitiness and obvious skunking (which I had expected from above). The taste is very much the same, malty backbone - slightly toasted, very skunked and no perceivable hop flavor but there is some perceived bitterness. The mouthfeel is light in body with a minimal amount of mouth-tingling carbonation. Drinkability is still relatively decent because of the light mouthfeel and low carbonation but that doesn't make it desirable. I would love to try this a little fresher, I'm sure it's much MUCH better. Also, for 7.2% it's not really very noticeable - even in full skunk form.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2008 17:28:25 | More by gmfessen

laituegonflable

Australia

3.25/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear amber colour with slightly off-white head, not much bead, not much retention. Lace is alright. Doesn't amaze me, but it does just look lagery and a bit heavy.

Smell is very grainy, quite sweet with vanilla, lots of puffed rice and barley notes. Enjoyable enough, but very simple.

Taste is similar; lots of grain upfront, barley with puffed rice, vanilla notes and some booziness that doesn't have much character, just kind of hot with not much flavour. Could use longer, more complex graininess. As it is, it's a bit simple and unbalanced, sweet upfront and hot on the back and nil in the middle.

Feels okay, but with a bit of a syrupy texture, could use more carbonation to cut through.

It's decent as far as style is concerned, but not really a masterful palate. The beer just doesn't really interest or impress me.

Serving type: on-tap

05-20-2011 02:02:57 | More by laituegonflable

BucBasil

South Carolina

3.28/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This is a good beer, pure and simple. Poured this from a bottle into a conical pint glass. The appearance is a nice amber color. My only gripe here is that it's hard to get a good head on the beer, although that didn't detract a lot from my rating. Smells ranged from fruity to floral, which matched the "spring" characteristics this beer is supposed to have. And they're right, this beer fits right in for drinking in May - I had this relaxing on a late spring day in hot Florida, and it really hit the spot. The real draw here is the taste, which was really good in my opinion. Some people have likened the taste to warm bread, which I tend to disagree with, although I guess I can see where they get it from. There is some bread in the taste, but it was a bit sweeter than I expected. It hits your mouth with an interesting richness and just slides down your throat, leaving a nice sweet aftertaste. The beer is incredibly drinkable, but the alcohol content will slow you down a bit. I had 3 in one sitting, and was really feeling it after, but in a really good way... I'll recommend this beer for anyone looking to unwind after a long hot day, but I'm not sure I'll pick it up again anytime soon, especially out of season.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2007 00:21:14 | More by BucBasil

Frozensoul327

Michigan

3.3/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

German for sure. Pours out to a reddish/brown amber color with a head of about 1/8 of an inch that quickly bubbled away. Medium low carbonation, no lace. Aromas of rotting hops and roasted malts fill the nose, with traces of grass and grain. Taste was fair and medium/full bodied; lots of roasted malt, vinegar like hops, a definite note of alcohol and some fermented grain. Not bad. Mouthfeel was a bit heavy and the carbonation played a fair role in the experience. Drinkability is average. This brew is probably best fresh from the source.

THE BLOODHOUND FACTOR: An unimpressed Benjie left the brew on it's own. Peaches was intrigued with the odd complexity, and happily comsumed her and her brother's portion.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2006 03:19:41 | More by Frozensoul327

DavidST

Texas

3.3/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a pilsner glass.

This pours a dark amber color with a nice off white or very light tan head. Lots of very small bubbles on the carbonation.

The smell has a slightly skunked smell at first reminds me of Heineken, perhaps from the green bottle, also a little grassy and a little bready. The body is medium to light. The initial taste is a little sweet and bready followed by a long bitterness (not quite a good hoppy one, its also slightly metallic), I'm guessing this is skunked which is disappointing. This isn't a bad beer but not great either. If this ever starts to come in a dark brown bottle I'll try it again, otherwise there are just too many better beers to drink to have this again.

-- Edit --
I gave in and tried another one of these and this one wasn't skunked and it is a much better beer, my initial review isn't bad but this is definitely better, a nice caramel / toffee flavor with a bitter after taste, hopefully they change the bottle. I'd change taste on this to 4/5, but I'm going to leave it for now.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 22:10:38 | More by DavidST

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.33/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Upon second tasting, it's over strained grain flavor gave off an apparent astringency and harsh bittering. Light caramelizing can't mask.

Looks brightly golden and straw. Active carbonation forms a white head that faded to a trace, but laced nicely. Smells sweet malty. Spiciness and lightly fruity. A bit grainy and yeasty to the nose. Tastes sweeter than expected. Sweet fruits of pears and plumbs arise. Spiciness or coriander and ginger hide behind. Thin, resinous sweetness of honey and powder sugar remain throughout. Firm, consistent body holds mild hop flavor and round mild textures. Finishes clean and slick. Alcohol persists in the aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2005 16:50:04 | More by BEERchitect

klewis

Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Dark golden in color with a modest white head. Not much lacing.

A: Malty smell with fruity and grapey aromas

T: Sweet taste with strong flavors of honey and malt. Not bad, but a bit sweet for my taste.

M: Light-bodied with moderate carbonation. A bit sticky.

D: Meh. Nothing unpleasant here, but nothing to write home about. Easy to drink, but I'm not quite impressed with this.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2008 19:31:16 | More by klewis

MrKennedy

Australia

3.33/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

300ml serving purchased from the Bavarian Bier Cafe, O'Connell St and served into said-sized dimpled stein.

See through, peachy-apricot colored appearance poured with large foam (pushing an inch and a half) that died relatively quickly. Good lacing of the glass.

Smells sweet, coffee and light, sweet cereal malt. Enticing if you.like sweet things.

Flavour is of toffee and caramel, a touch one-dimensional, even for a German beer.

Mouthfeel finishes a little boozy even for the strength if the beer. Body is about right.

Overall, quite ok, sessionable, but the boozy finish will be a constant reminder of how a session is going.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2011 08:38:21 | More by MrKennedy

drpimento

Wisconsin

3.35/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured with a light tan head and some lace. Most of head faded. So did lace. Lovely clear copper color. Light, malty aroma with some esters. Taste was surprisingly dry and a bit roasty with plenty of malt and a bit of acid from its full carbonation. A bit over carbonated for me. A tad boozy too. Nice body. Drinkable, but maybe too drinkable due to strength. Nice finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2007 22:09:45 | More by drpimento

jasonjlewis

Texas

3.38/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice head with good retention and a nice amber color.

Big whiff of caramel malts on the nose.

Taste is of caramel malts with a contrasting pale malt sweetness and some dry tannins and off flavors.

I wish the taste of this beer was like the nose. I wanted the big malts on my tongue instead of the off flavors that interfered with the caramel malts. Other than that, this beer is light and has some decent maltiness.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2008 03:18:14 | More by jasonjlewis

CMW

Missouri

3.38/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a clear dark brown with lighter carbonation than I expected. Two finger off white head formed but dissapeared quickly.

S - Roasted malt and some mild nuttiness. A very slight skunky smell was a turn off.

T - While the roasted malt is still the strongest flavor, the alcohol is much more present than others in this style. The nutiness is also present but fades into the background.

M - The light carbonation almost makes this taste a little of the watery side, but not bad.

D - The higher alcohol makes this a little harder to drink than others in the style, but still fairly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2009 03:53:26 | More by CMW