Black Abbey "Krampus Nacht" Bock

It's shocking how few bocks I've had since the dawn of this blog in... I'm going to say 2013. I had many bocks before I started taking this kind of thing seriously, and I held them in the highest regard in terms of style. The fact is, there just aren't that many bocks out there compared to the ocean of IPAs, the seas of DIPAs, and the festering swampland of sours.

With as dark as this beer is, I really feel like I should probably have put it in a stout glass. As a bock, I expected it to be dark, but I expected more of a mahogany tone then the stark brown darkness that wound up going into the glass. There was no eruption of head when being poured directly into the center of the glass, but the dusting of small and large bubbles leaves a pleasing and seemingly random pattern across the top of the beer with a very thick ring clinging to the sides of the glass. Just moving the glass around shows that there will be some lacing with the tiny little bubbles. The aroma is caramel and toffee with brown sugar and molasses. It is a thick and heavy aroma, and that is why bocks are solid beers for cold nights. Tonight is cold.

First sip is a very nice mixture of sweet and dry with a wood bringing solidity to the brown sugar and molasses body. Many years ago, I encountered a double bock, and for a while it was my go-to beer. I liked it so much that I moved on to a triple bock, but it is possible it was the brewer, Sam Adams, who overwrought the triple bock just a little too much and soured my taste for both kinds. I have not encountered them all that much lately, but I'm now remembering the sweet, heavy, and inviting nature of the beers that drew me to them in the first place.

Tip-in is light carbonation touch with brown sugar and molasses weighing down the beer. The middle erupts into the mix of wood, molasses, toffee, light orange, a sniff of vanilla, and a soothing dollop of caramel. The finish lays down a dryness for the heat of the alcohol to be felt before the brown sugar is seared and added to the caramel for a sweet and satisfying finish.

Bottom Line: It's a cold night, and this will do.

3.25/5