Gordon Biersch Blond Bock: I prefer brunettes
Written: Jun 11 '01 (Updated Jun 18 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting for a lager, fair complexity
Cons: Ran a little too cleanly
The Bottom Line: Very good for a lager, not so exciting for a bock. Has extra malt and strength, but just doesn't achieve anything sensational. Try it once.
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| andaryl's Full Review: Gordon Biersch Blond Bock |
Having polished off two bottles of Gordon Biersch Marzen (read previous review), while watching the Laker game yesterday, I was eager to check out the Blonde Bock, and even find out what a blonde bock actually was.
The Brewers
Gordon Biersch was formed in 1987 with the collaboration of a restaurateur and a brewing expert, Messrs Biersch and Gordon respectively. Dan Gordon is the only American in 40 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at Weinhestephan, the world's premier brewing university in Germany. As a result the brewery’s style is solely based on Bavarian style lagers, the origin of the most complex lagers in the world.
The growth of the company is centered around brewpubs in California, and has been restricted to a few neighboring states (I guess you could call Hawaii a neighbor).
What is Blonde Bock?
The Bock style itself was developed in Einbeck, Germany and became popular in the 16th Century. Originally referred to as einbeckischbier (i.e. beer from Einbeck), the name was shortened to ein Beck, which in Bavaria became pronounced ein Bock. By pure coincidence Bock, means goat, and the animal is used on several Bock bottles
The phrase ‘blonde’ was something that raised a little curiosity, as I only really knew of darker styles of this beer. However as I researched a little I discovered that according to German laws (they’re pretty efficient), a bock can be amber-brown or golden and nothing in between. I have to admit that this is something of a relief, having tasted the disappointing interpretation from Michelob. Furthermore this is a brew to be taken seriously, when you hear of the brewer’s background, as well as compliance with the Reinheitsgebot.
Tasting Notes
It’s quite funny; I don’t know what the laws are in the USA relating to ABV’s being printed on the label. It’s very rarely seen here, whereas in England I believe it’s mandatory. As an inconsistency the ABV was nowhere to be found on the Marzen bottle, but here it was on the Blonde Bock, at 7%. Would this ruin my enjoyment of the game? Well at a pace of one a quarter, I did fine.
The beer pours to a golden color. I actually wrote that down before I read the German laws, so pretty safe in terms of compliance so far. The color in the title was something that had confused me, because blonde’s are usually much lighter than golden. There’s good evident carbonation and a decent, if not dominating, white foam.
The aromas in this one are subtle, but pretty complex. By that I mean I wasn’t getting much at first but eventually picked out various notes including something of a herbal floral hop, a slight light fruitiness, and what I think was a very brief smokiness. The palate is smooth but with a nice carbonation, and works very well as a thirst quencher. The flavors while light and maybe a little subdued are certainly malty, turning into a little citric tang in the second half (of the palate that is not the game).
Verdict
I have to say that this is a bit of a strange one. It’s pretty much what most people expect from a lager, but offers a little more complexity. There’s extra malt and extra alcohol for sure, but overall it just went over a little too cleanly for me and didn’t really convince me that this was something different. It’s a satisfying lager and well worth drinking, but I have to say that I was expecting another 5 star beer, while this rounds out at somewhere around 3.5. It’s the first lighter bock I’ve ever tried and I would be interested to see other comparisons.
Other beer fans ought to give it a try, there’s nothing bad about the beer and it’s better than most lagers. It would work as a good refreshing summer brew, maybe outside with a cobb salad, or as a satisfying accompaniment to a Laker victory. Overall I’d say worth a try but don’t expect too much.
Recommended:
Yes
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andaryl
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Member: Andrew Smith
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