Gordon Biersch Winter Bock
WinterBock is a strong, dark beer that was used by eleventh century Bavarian monks to help sustain themselves during winter fasts. These creamy bocks ensured that the monks would fast frequently. Gordon Biersch WinterBock is a classic dark double bock featuring 4 different types of malt: Munich malt, pilsner malt, dark roasted caramel malt, and black malt. This is a big beer with a lot of body, and is available seasonally from November through January.
3.3
265 reviews
San Jose, United States
Community reviews
On tap at some bar in Louisville on December 27. Enjoyed while watching the Kentucky-Louisville game. The pour was a heavily carbonated dark brown color with that light beige head that falls down slowly. There is a lot of carbonation here, almost too much. The aroma is heavy on malt. There is a light funk before it moves through to come darker fruits. It’s a little nutty as well. Surprising for a dopplebock. The flavor is also pretty sweet. There is a little more spiciness happening here with some good malts and a little burnt toffee. The mouth feel is pretty thin. That carbonation should help, but it doesn’t, and it falls off the tongue. The aftertaste is lingeringly sweet and roasty with a little funk happening as well. It was a strange one
Aroma of malt funk, odd caramel, cinnamon, carbonated dark malts, and sugary oats. Very dark auburn in color with fair carbonation. Taste is strongly carbonated cinnamon, maple sugar, sugared caramel, brown sugar and maple flavored malts. Overall, not bad. funky flavors with brown malts, cinnamon and sugar.
On tap at Gordon Biersch Harbor East. Pours dark but brown with a fizzy bubbly beige head. Tastes like very roasted malt, chocolate, toffee, and a hint of dark fruits. Medium body and low/medium carbonation. Smells like roasted malt, nutty, toffee, and burnt toast.
On tap @ Gordon Biersch San Jose. Dark amber pour with a small khaki head. A lot of grape, raisin, and caramel. Slight chocolate and prune. Good orange zest and some raisin. Pretty decent, but just kind of sweet. There’s a lot of sugar to this...brown sugar, caramel, and a ton of dark fruits. Some chocolate and a hint of citrus. A bit of booze and tartness on the finish. Kind of grassy in the finish.
very nice beer. Spicy, with good balance, and long length. The best I tried from GB.
Mug at Gordon Biersch Arena District after the Blue Jackets game on 12/18/14. Dark red to brown in color with a thick tan head. Aroma of malt, caramel sweetness, toffee and light roast. Malty flavor with sweet caramel before a slightly roasty finish. Good stuff. Could use a bit more roast for my taste, but pretty good.
Sample at Strong Ale Festival 2014. Comes reddish brown with an average beige head. Aroma of malt, fruit, and caramel. Taste is malt, dark fruit, and caramel. On the sweet side. Nice.
possibly the best GB i’ve had...still not great, but it was fairly cheap, drinkable...had a pleasant malty flavor and was actually quite smooth (if a little thin)."
Transfer from BA review on 12-25-13-
Served on tap in a dimple mug
Appearance- The beer is served a deep mahogany color with a one finger of tan colored head. The head has a great level of retention, very slowly fading to leave a lighter level of lace on the sides of the glass
Smell – The aroma of the brew is heaviest of a nice caramel and toffee smell infused with aromas of toasted malt and some bready smells.
Taste – The taste begins with a roasted malt taste along with some flavors of caramel and toffee. The caramel becomes more buttery in nature as the flavor advances further taking on a more toffee like nature. Along with the toffee so to comes some flavors of darker fruits. The fruits are mainly of raisin and fig, but have a little bit of an apple flavor mixed within. Toward the end the roasted flavors of the brew increase along with a very light spice flavor coming to the tongue, in the end leaving a nice blend of roasted and sweet malt y flavors to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the slightly thicker and creamier side with a carbonation level that is on the lower side. The thicker and creamier body are fantastic for the malty, roasted and sweeter flavors of the brew, allowing all the nice malty and sweet flavors to soak into the tongue.
Overall – A very enjoyable doppelbock with tons and nice smooth flavors but yet maintaining a nice easy drinking feel.
Draft in VA Beach. Hazy brown color, massive tan head with good retention. Aroma of burnt caramel on toast. Taste is similar. Very sweet.
Sampler at the Seattle location. A little bland, but still the best of the bunch. Toast, toffee, nuts and dried fruits. Smooth and warming.
Very dark copper/light brown, clear, fluffy beige head. Aroma of Munich malt, toasty and bready, touch of toffee, some nutty notes, clean. Flavor: more Munich malt, bread crusts, toffee, raisins, light chocolate note, clean lager character. Mouthfeel is very thick.
From a bottle at Whole Foods Beer School. Pours a clear light cola with a tan head. Aroma of roasted nuts. Flavors of dark cherry , light smoke and caramel. Medium bodied , moderate carbonation , bitter roast finish.
Draft. Pours a dark cola brown with a thin khaki head. Nose is malt, coffee, caramel; flavor follows. Somewhat watery mouthfeel with a malty finish. No half bad.
Aroma is raisin sweet malt forward. Appearance is brown ruby red clear with small tan head. Taste is Sweet malt raisin forward along with a bit of roast. Hop bitterness is firm and high for what I am used to for the style. Palate is crisp and hop bitterness lingers as does a bit of roast. Overall I do not prefer the level of bitterness in this beer. To me it detracts from the malt and also does not blend well with the roast.
This is an excellent beer! On tap at GB in Fells point in Baltimore. Taste of cereal, honey chocolate malts, banana, clove and the slightest bit of hoops at the end. Pours a golden amber with a healthy head the dissipates on sip. This is quite well done.
On tap at the DC location near the Verizon Center. Pours a dark brown with plenty of light showing through and a small brownish white head. Aroma of some light roast and molasses sweetness but not much else. Flavor follows with watery sweet malts, a hint of roast, some dirty lager finish, then leaving some surprising sweet citrus on the palate. Light to medium bodied, not super crisp but goes down easy enough with adequate carbonation. Overall not exciting but not terrible.
From a growler (awesome neighbors). Intriguing color golden hue that changes in the light. A little filmy on the tongue but a good taste.
Light malt aroma with a dark caramel color. Malty flavor with hints of fruit and a clean hop bite at the end.
Sweet/dark caramel, dark fruit aroma. Sweet, caramel flavor, with raisin-like fruit. Kind of a weird bitter aftertaste.
Pours a dark amber color with a thin khaki head. Malt, toffee and caramel aroma. Caramel, toffee, toast and malt flavors. Medium body and a malty finish.
A: Amber/Brownish Hue, Passes Mild Light, Off White Head, Decent Lacing
S: Mild Dark Fruit, Mild Sweet Bread
T: Chocolate Malts, Sweet Dark Fruit, Sweet Bread
M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Semi Sweet
Overall, other than the lack of nose (even after letting it warm up for 15 minutes) it was a pretty tasty winter bock with nice malty, fruity balance
Mild aroma of malt, milk chocolate colour, without much of a head. Sweet taste of malt with a palate of skunky beer.
Poured from a bottle. Clear Auburn color, short lived off white head. Syrupy yeast smell with malt. Slight malt medium body beer with a mild sweet finish.
Serving type: on-tap
Appearance- Pours a reddish brown with a tan head that went down perty quickly light head floating on top sticky lacing.
Aroma- Sweet malt aroma with a hint of caramel and nuts
T/P - A nice mixture of a caramel nuttiness, with a slight alcohol undertone.
Overall- Very drinkable winter brew. Perfect on a warm night. This is one of the best beer I feel that Gordon Biersch brews. Very nice Especially on tap.
12oz bottle. Pours a dark ruby-brown color with a medium thick and foamy light beige head. Malt aroma is very pronounced, and there is some caramel as well. Taste is creamy with a fair amount of malt flavor, along with some chcolate and caramel. The finish is mostly sweet malt, with a pinch of hops. Medium body and softer carbonation.
Brilliantly clear Crimson red when held to the light with a thick, creamy head. Smells of raisins, prunes and chocolate, has a faint alcohol hint. tastes of the same with a big creamy mouth feel and warming finish. Very good beer
Looks, smells and tastes like toasted caramel. Lacking in depth but not bad for an American doppelbock.
12 oz bottle bottled on 26 Sept. 2012 and served in a snifter.
GB Winter Bock pours a dark mahogany color with a small but attractive tan head. The head has poor retention but there’s decent lacing.
Smells like a mix of caramel, medium and dark malts with some sherry/alcohol overtones. Very good malt complexity.
Taste: follows nose, but tilts towards the darker malts and show a moderate level of bittering hops.
Medium-full body; creamy up front but a bit harsh in the alcohol-laden finish. Proper carbonation.
O: A relatively big dopplebock, in terms of flavor. Worthy of the Bavarian references.
Deep rich bronze coloured body with a thin tan head and both ruby & brown highlights - very nice looking! Aroma of caramel, toffee, malt, alcohol and some light spices. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong potent malt and sugars up front with a caramel overtone and a subtle spice at the end. Overall, a pretty good beer for the style - considering what it could have been! Nice at the airport before a flight. I sampled this pint on draught at Gordon Biersch in SFO, California on 21-March-2009.