Cinder Bock
Samuel Adams in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
Smoked / Rauchbier Series Out of Production|
Score
7.15
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Sam Adams has just released 4 beer in the brewery’s new Small Batch Series, and aren’t stopping there. Cinder Bock looks to join the crew next year. Cinder is billed as a “rauchbock” or smoke bock.
Unusual and playful this half-breed brew begins with a rush of smoky, almost savory, aromas and flavors. The distinctive campfire smokiness of a rauchbier lingers and beings to reveal the rich and velvety malt smoothness of a double bock with a notes of toffee and caramel. This roguish brew transforms from its bold start to a hearty and satisfying finish.
Unusual and playful this half-breed brew begins with a rush of smoky, almost savory, aromas and flavors. The distinctive campfire smokiness of a rauchbier lingers and beings to reveal the rich and velvety malt smoothness of a double bock with a notes of toffee and caramel. This roguish brew transforms from its bold start to a hearty and satisfying finish.
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7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Total Wine & More, Fairfax 650ml: Pours a very nice looking redddish body with a well-proportioned head. Aroma is smoky BBQ and sweet malts. In my opinion, this beer was not quite smoky enough. Additionally, I think that it was too much on the sweet side. Body is pretty smooth. Alcohol is well-covered, but the bigness of this beer is plenty evident. Not all that well-balanced, and not one of my favourite rauchbiers.
Tried
on 12 Apr 2012
at 07:09
6.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 2
Overall 6
Tinny smoke aroma, slight corn note. Clear copper, thick yellow head, some lacing. Sweet, smoky, and full bodied. Honey and maraschino cherry flavor, cloying with smoke just in the background. The amount of smoke is great, but the problem is the base beer. It’s simply too sweet even for a bock. It comes across syrupy and hot. Alcohol is magnified by both the sweetness and the smoke. Bocks and smoke just don’t work for me. It speaks to my dislike of molasses or sugar based BBQ sauces. Having roots in Eastern Carolina, I prefer spicy vinegar. Hey, now there’s an idea. I bet a smoked oud bruin or red would be good.
Tried
on 08 Apr 2012
at 13:48
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bomber. Aroma is not smoky enough. There’s a hint, but it could be more forceful. When I buy a smoked beer, I want something that smells and tastes like a campfire, dammit. Other than that, there’s caramel, bread. Pours clear copper with a medium beige lacy head with decent retention. The smoke comes through a lot better in the taste, although it’s still not as prominent as the best examples of the style. There are also some fruity esters. Mouthfeel is creamy, carbonation soft, body medium to almost full. A good brew but I was hoping it would smoke my balls off.
Tried
on 31 Mar 2012
at 22:43
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Mahogony-bronze beer with a dark cream head. Smoke/bacon aroma with malt. Sweet malt and smoke/bacon flavor with light toffee. Medium bodied. Smoke and bacon lingers with sweet caramel and toffee.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Mar 2012
at 12:33
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Pour is a clear dark copper with a small tan head. Aroma is baked ham with some caramel malt. Flavor has more of a bacon meatyness to it. Finish leaves a nice smoky bacon on the tounge. A good smoked beer for those that don’t really like smoked, like me. A decent meatyness and smoke flavor but not overpowering.
Tried
on 24 Mar 2012
at 17:43
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle sample at a Samuel Adams tasting at kerenmk’s place. Thanks beerandbeyond. Very dark reddish color with a white head. Aroma of smoked sausages, malt, caramel and a bit of alcohol. Sweet malty, caramelly and smoky flavor with alcohol. Medium to full-bodied. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Mar 2012
at 16:12
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pours bright mahogany into a Sam glass. Tan head with medium retention recedes hug rim. Smoky sweet caramel aromas. Sweet dark thick molasses upfront turning smoky in the lasting warm toffee finish.
Tried
on 10 Mar 2012
at 16:35
7.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle from Beverages 4 Less in Santee, CA. Pours ruddy copper with a 3 finger creamy beige head which does some ring lacing. Aroma is smoke. Not harsh, but very present. Full bodied. Flavor is smoke, and it’s fairly strong. There’s some treacle. It’s malty. The smoke sort of comes and goes. Strong, but not among the strongest. No heat. There are some hop/herb flavors, but they at best support the smokiness. Well done, and compares very well with the German rauch beers. Arguably among the best of American smoked ales. With time the smoke lets loose of the taste buds and nose a bit (fatigue!) and the rich malty bock can be sensed.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Mar 2012
at 21:02
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
24 ounce bottle from Bottle Revolution in Raleigh. Pours a clear amber with a monstrous frothy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of smoke, stone fruits and caramel. The taste is caramel, stone fruits and smoke. Faint hops. Medium bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Feb 2012
at 21:04
6.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark caramel-brown color with a huge creamy orange-tan head that lingered and left good lacing. The aroma was sweet caramel, molasses, and a strong bock presence but no noticeable smoke. The flavor was faint hickory with sour caramel with a solid bock presence and faint dark fruits. The finish was long and tangy bock with faint hickory. Medium body. The alcohol was well hidden. Decent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Feb 2012
at 16:44