Ramstein Maibock - High Point Brewing Company

Dantes

New Jersey

4.35/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Package: 2 Liter swingtop growler

Presentation: Ramstein fluted glass at ~45º

Appearance: This was a very interesting color: part glowing UK bitter, part tupelo honey. Generated a beautiful, tight, long-lasting barely off-white head (even the plastic sample glasses at High Point). Laced even the plastic sample cups.

Smell: Both strongly malty and quite spicy. This year’s edition clearly leans heavily on the hops side of the scale.

Taste: The malts are more present in the mouth than on the nose, but this year’s version steps more heavily on the hops (to great effect). Greg Zaccardi confirmed this at the Open House. Very tangy, with enough sweetness to moderate the hoppy sharpness on the palate. Less fruity than I remember from last year and more aggressive than some Maibocks, but still round, complex, and authentic. Alcohol is a bit more upfront than usual in Ramstein beers, but not obtrusive or unpleasant. Finishes fully and with medium length.

Mouthfeel: Possesses a medium body, with good carbonation and a palate-warming sensation. Quite smooth.

Drinkability: A very drinkable beer, with enough of a hint of its potency to warn against overindulgence. A wonderful treat on a crisp spring day, but not likely to replace the Blonde or Classic as a sessional!

Backwash: I don’t normally review beers in front of the computer, but after a few at yesterday’s open house and one from the growler last night, I still wanted a “refresher!” This is another big winner from Ramstein, which doesn’t make a bad (or even mediocre) beer. Heaven help its competitors if they decide to stray from their “mission” of make great German-style beer; but I guess that would be a bit like Ferrari deciding to make a station wagon! I had last year’s version later in its life-cycle, so it had mellowed somewhat; but I think I like this year’s even better. In any event, this is a worthy successor to their Octoberfest, Winter Wheat, and Eisbock.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2004 20:08:52 | More by Dantes

DIM

Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: Clear, chestnut amber color. Served to me with a medium sized fluffy white head.

s: Lightly sweet biscuts, green grapes, mild leafy hops. 7.5% is not even hinted at.

t: Moderately sweet, kind of nutty, biscuity grains, some fruitiness ( grapes come to mind), light noble hop character. Again, the alcohol is very well masked.

m: Silky smooth and clean.

o: I don't this style well enough to say if this is a good, true to style maibock or not. I just know I really liked it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2013 18:34:58 | More by DIM

djrn2

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

05-16-2013 18:44:58 | More by djrn2

BushwyckCraft

New York

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

04-23-2013 20:09:27 | More by BushwyckCraft

ufmj

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +1%

03-09-2013 21:54:33 | More by ufmj

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -17.9%

12-31-2012 04:07:45 | More by ejimhof

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Pilsener Haus in Hoboken, NJ

A: Pours a clear golden copper in color with some light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall dense off-white head that reduces to a thick film covering the majority of the surface of the beer and a slightly thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate strength aromas of toasted, bready, and biscuity malts with a lighter presence of floral and spicy hops.

T: Similar to the smell, the beer has a moderate strength malt body made up primarily of bready malts with just a hint of sweetness. There is a lighter amount of floral and spicy hops giving it a light to moderate amount of bitterness which does not linger.

M: Medium bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Smooth with light amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: Another well made German style beer from a relatively local NJ brewery, this one is an enjoyable sipping beer and pairs very nicely with Bavarian style food. While there is a high ABV, the alcohol is well hidden and the beer is easy to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

09-03-2012 18:37:34 | More by dbrauneis

zillo043068

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

07-01-2012 12:46:18 | More by zillo043068

david18

New York

3.6/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had a twelve ounce draft of this at the Amsterdam Ale House recently. I don't have very many bocks or maibocks so I'm not a real conneseur of the style but I did like this ok.

Color was a medium brown. Nice carbonation and pretty clear overall.

Aroma was somewhat complex, of course favoring the malt but pretty balanced overall.

Flavor was a little bit hot but also a nice presence of malt and even a little bit of hops.

Overall a nice beer. I'd have another.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2012 18:55:19 | More by david18

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Traditional, well-crafted Maibock from a New Jersey brewery committed to brewing authentic German Beer. Caramel colored body with good clarity, a small white head that settles fairly quickly; slippery lacing. Malty, bready aroma that’s lightly toasted; some floral hoppiness underneath. Smells simple and straightforward enough.

Tasty enough but not tremendously exciting; again there is a lightly toasted malt flavor with moderate caramel sweetness and some earthy, vaguely floral noble hops behind that. Hints of fruit and toffee. Lightly lingering sweetness in the finish. Somewhat delicate overall.

Medium bodied and carbonated; fairly crisp and refreshing. Basic, well-made lager with a bit of alcoholic punch barely detected in the aroma or taste but felt somewhat in the body after a glass or two.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2012 13:13:32 | More by tobelerone

bigred89

Maryland

3/5  rDev -24.2%

06-08-2012 15:59:59 | More by bigred89

socon67

New York

3.15/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Gold\copper pour. Good lacing, and a decent white foam that settles quickly.

S - Fresh flavors of caramel malt, butterscotch, and vanilla are present.

T - Just hard to make this style exciting. While the scents are very inviting, they just don't translate to the taste. Kinda bland.

M - Easy to drink, but hard to appreciate. This would pair well with Tex-Mex or Indian food as a good change of pace, and to accentuate the malt profile.

O - Not my first choice.

Serving type: on-tap

06-07-2012 18:57:10 | More by socon67

mdillon86

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

05-29-2012 12:31:57 | More by mdillon86

gvacca

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -11.6%

05-27-2012 13:26:14 | More by gvacca

lauries444

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +7.3%

05-19-2012 21:41:43 | More by lauries444

wrath98

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +1%

05-12-2012 19:29:42 | More by wrath98

jk3

New York

4/5  rDev +1%

05-11-2012 00:56:32 | More by jk3

whartontallboy

New York

4/5  rDev +1%

04-28-2012 16:16:33 | More by whartontallboy

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This one pours out as a clear looking yellowish gold color. The head is fluffy at first and leaves a decent lacing on the glass. The smell of the beer has plenty of malts on the nose. The taste is also full of malts and has a sweeter flavor going on. The mouthfeel is in he lighter side. Overall this beer is a pretty good brew for this style, light, refreshing and sweet. Not bad.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 22:36:32 | More by Knapp85

claspada

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Aromas begin with light biscuity and bready maltiess. Second wiff allows you to identify the European spicy, floral and slightly earthy hops.
The tastes begin with the same pale and lightly toasted bready malts. Hops are fairly prevalent soon after with a definitive spicy and earthy bitterness with lesser amounts of floral and earthy hop flavors. Nothing too complex here as well.
The mouthfeel is medium with adequate carbonation. Finishes fairly dry and bitter despite the prevalent breadiness of the malts. Overall this is an average beer at best in my opinion. There's no memorable qualities here although it's a fine tasting beer. Maybe I just think this style is boring but I have had much better Maibocks/Helles Bocks. I would definitely classify this more towards the Helles side. Quite light in flavor profile, like a good sessionable German pilsner. At such a high ABV, you can't/wouldn't want to have more than one. This would be enjoyable to session on a hot day because of the freshing qualities it offers, but at 7.5%, I won't be "wasting my consumption limit" on this brew.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2011 16:45:48 | More by claspada

drtth

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a shaker pint glass. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: The beer as served is a clear copper/bronze color with a ½” off white head that recedes visibly and evenly. As the head recedes it leaves no lacing on the sides of the glass, but sipping results in a ring of foam and some patches and legs of lacing that slide back down the glass into the foam. Most all of the head is gone by about midway through the beer.

Smell: The aromas include some toasted bready/biscuity malt with floral and spicy hops well in the background.

Taste: The flavors are much as expected from the nose with the bready malt playing nicely with the floral, spicy hops. There is no real sign of the alcohol here except possibly in some of the sweetness early on in the sip.

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied and quite smooth with lots fo fine bubbled carbonation. The finish is medium length and works well in that it begins in the sweet maltiness and slides into some spicy dryness as the malt recedes and the hops come into play.

Drinkability and Overall Impression: This is an easy sipper of a beer and each sip follows the earlier one quite naturally. I’ll certainly be having this one again. In addition it was an excellent counterpoint to the seafood gumbo that was lunch. The paring worked well in that the malt countered the spiciness of the Gumbo and both played off of each other quite nicely. My overall impression is of a well made maibock that demonstrates nicely that good German style beers can be made in the US.

Serving type: on-tap

04-27-2011 18:11:40 | More by drtth

donniecuffs

New Jersey

4.47/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Into a pint glass, it poured an amber/golden hue, with over two fingers of white head, generous amounts of carbonation, great head retention, and very good lacing. Smelled very malty, with caramel, apple, and some herbal noble hop notes. The taste was a little more pronounced than the nose, with a very nicely balanced fruit/maltiness, and finishing on a crisp dry note. Medium- to thick-bodied, but when mixed with the generous carbonation, it creates a nice mouth sensation. Very feint hint of heightened alcohol content makes this yet another dangerously drinkable beer from these guys. I think I see a trend here...

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2010 01:40:07 | More by donniecuffs

outdoorbrewer

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Spring's here and so is the the new Ramstein Maibock, now let's see what we have...

Well, this beer poured yielding a large white head that lasts for quite awhile then reduces to lace the glass and cover a clear deep golden brew with an 1/8" layer.

A moderately malty toasted aroma that blends well with a noble hop presence.

Rich, clean, malty and a balanced hop bitterness/malt flavor
Flavors I think that could only develop by using German malts and hops.
Initial pale bock taste followed by a light sweetness then finishing medium body, creamy texture with a soft fizz

I like this beer and feel it is a great example of this style.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2010 00:36:07 | More by outdoorbrewer

dasenebler

Maine

4.45/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Growler filled at the brewery and consumed on release day, 3.13.10. Super fresh.

Pours a gorgeous stawberry blonde with a modest creamy head that dissipates quickly, but hey, it's a growler. Good lace.

Aroma is of earthy noble hops, biscuity malts, and a touch of alcohol.

Flavor is an exercise in balance. This maibock is definitely somewhat of a malt bomb, because you can taste the sweet, bready character, but it never seems heavy. A nondescript bitterness and hop flavor balances the malty character. Alcohol is not apparent until the finish, which is decidedly bitter and tea-like. Carbonation has held well, medium-low. There's something about this beer that keeps you wanting more and more: so satisfying and yet drinkable in large quantities. This growler might not last the night!

High Point did something extraordinary with this maibock: that is, they brewed a beer in New Jersey that tastes like it could have come from Bavaria. A pleasure to drink. A.

Serving type: growler

03-14-2010 03:19:28 | More by dasenebler

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.15/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Growler from Big Z's. Pours a deep burnt orange with a small white head. Aroma of bready lager malt and some sweet fruits. Flavor of sweet malt, a touch of cardboard, and bready malts. A little sweet and on the bland side. Not bad just uninteresting.

Serving type: growler

07-11-2009 14:50:45 | More by LilBeerDoctor