So there I was, happily sipping a beer and reading through my favorite Facebook group, Honest Craft Beer Reviews. I was perfectly content with the beer I was drinking, and that I now can’t even remember actually. Anyway, somebody (I think it was Red Rooster; it was!) posted a picture of this nifty new beer he was drinking from Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams Cinder Bock. OK, I thought, that looks cool, I have to find it.
Which means, of course, I couldn’t. I set out right away to find some (the next day, of course, once should not drink and drive). The beer had not made its way to Georgia yet, much to my chagrin. I was persistent, however, and after repeated trips to various liquor stores I finally scored a bottle not long ago. Hooray, beer.
Samuel Adams Cinder Bock is a Rauch Bock, or smoked bock. These beers derived their smoky character from a dry kilning process of the malt that allows smoke to seep in and flavor the malt. This idea harks back to the days when kilning was a less precise science than it is today, and smoke from the fire sometimes made its way in unintentionally. Smoked beers just are not made enough in the good old US of A, at least in my opinion. The Bamberg, Franconia area of Bavaria is their native habitat, and someday I will go there and bathe in them. For now, though, I’m happy to be able to find examples like Cinder Bock.
This is the second rauchbier I have tried from Boston beer, the other being Samuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier. Of the two, I much prefer the Cinder Bock, not only because it is a bigger beer, but because it has so much more smoke character.
Boston Beer says the specs are as follows:
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 9.4% ABV – 7.3%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 315
IBUs: 25
Malt Varieties: Two-row Harrington, Metcalf, Munich, Caramel 60, Munich, and Smoked Malt
Hop Variety: Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams lager yeast
Availability: Limited Release
First Brewed: 2009
My bottle of Samuel Adams Cinder Bock (batch no. 1) pours to a burnt caramel , coppery color with a thick creamy tan head and a subtly smoky nose. A thick layer or Brussels Lace follows the liquid to the bottom of my glass. The palate delighted my taste buds immediately with sticky sweet chewy toasted nut flavor and chewy caramel malt. All that good stuff is followed up in short order by a delightful hickory smokiness that truly permeates the beer from start to finish. That finish is a bit on the sweet side, I think, perhaps the beer’s biggest flaw for me. Some grassy Hallertau hops are readily apparent, though, as well as a warming alcohol presence.
I loved the hell out of this beer. I want smoke in a Rauchbier, and Samuel Adams Cinder Bock really delivered on that score. This beer combines the delightful maltiness of a doppelbock (and an uber-doppel at that at 9.4% ABV) with a smoky rauchbier. Part of the Samuel Adams “Small Batch” series, I hope to see it again and again, so that I can buy it again and again. Happily, this was also a much better bargain than the first few beers in this series at $6.49 for a 22 ounce bottle. Extra credit for that.
What’s that you say? Samuel Adams has now released Dark Depths Baltic IPA in the small batch series? Excuse me, folks. Looks like I’m off on a beer hunt again.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft