Holsten Festbock
A taste festival! Holsten Festbock is a full- bodied dark beer, aromatic and flavourful. Brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law it contains only natural ingredients. This beverage is characterised by its high original gravity and strong 7% alcohol content.
2.8
197 reviews
Hamburg, Germany
Community reviews
Festbock presents a very nice blend of caramel, chocolate and coffee tones, with a nice blend of malts and hops to make this more than just a little enjoyable. As mentioned earlier, there is a slight hint of the alcohol coming through, but the above characteristics help to gloss over that minor drawback.
pours clear dark copper-reddish with a nice creamy light beige head, some retention and lacing. brown sugar, maple, fruity grassiness, some dry caramel and toastiness, sweetness. average carbonation, light to medium body
Appearance: Clear deep nutty brown color with an off white head that leaves an ok lacing.
Aroma: A bit sweet malty and fruity.
Palate: Medium + body. Slightly sweet and a moderate bitterness. Average carbonation.
Taste: Malty and fruity. Well hidden alcohol.
Overall impression: Not very fancy. But Ill have another if somebody gives me one.
Personal stats: Can Espen brought with him from Dortmund.
Poured from 500mL can. Clear copper brown with off-white head. Aroma right out of the can was almost like 7up, but became more like mild caramel and molasses after sitting in the glass. Taste of sweet malt and very subtle dark fruit. Quite light. Alcohol is hidden.
Way too much sweet malt and caramelized sugar in this one. Overpowering. Not been good in a seasonable way. Tall can.
I found this boch in a small, Chinese-owned, liquor store, in Fox Creek Alberta no less!
I’ve never had holsten’s Boch before, I have had their black one (the name escapes me). What drew me to this in the liquor store was the peculiar packaging (4-500 mL cans taped together), combined with the fact that most of them had been taken. Price was $11, which is right for 2L of great German beer!
If you’re ever in Fox Creek, get it for sure, and keep an eye out in other places too. It is a great beer.
Fairly aromatic. Lots of caramel, bitter hops...very earthy. Dark with a small head. Not too bad.
Pours bourbon & cola dark with a hearty one finger cap. Taste is full with toffee, toasted pumpernickel & booze on the tongue. Bocks somewhat confuse me so my rating here is a little on the amateur side (if only others on here would be more honest when they rate a beer style they ’re not familiar with). While the taste is full without being bold, there is a syrupy essence here that makes me reach for something more crisp for my next pour.
caramel, frothy, clear, brown, light sweetness, medium bitterness, medium body, creamy, average carbonation,
This beer is much better than anticipated. The malt character is weak and masked by the booziness.
D’un brun compact et un peu rougeoyant, avec une effervescence qui soutient avec peine un mince filtre de mousse. Au nez, du malt grillé et du bois, avec du whisky, beaucoup de sucré, des pommes et de l’orge. En bouche, alcool costaud, suivi du malt et du bois, avec une certaine amertume. Presque fruitée. Son fort goût d’alcool, qui constitue déjà un défaut majeur, finit par lasser dès la 3ème ou 4ème lampée ; dommage, car elle avait bien commencé en nez et en bouche, nous faisant presque croire à une surprise prochaine.
A good beer, which I really enjoyed at first. Now that I’ve explored a bit more, it really isn’t anything special. Lots of caramel malts and tastes a lot like molasses.
Canette 500ml. De couleur brune-ambrée et claire. Nez de malt moyennement rôti avec des notes de caramel, de noix de fruits (petits fruits rouges) ainsi que des traces d’alcool. Moyenne-mince en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-bas et une texture légèrement huileuse. Très léger goût fruité (notes de pettis fruits et de prunes) avec une goût de grains de malt aux notes rôties lors de l’entrée en bouche suivi rapidement d’un goût léger-moyen goût de caramel aux notes brûlées ainsi que des traces de pain grillé puis en finale l’on retrouve des notes d’alcool aux notes métalliques ainsi que des traces de houblon herbeux et de chocolat noir. Post-goût moyen, légèrement amer de rôti, avec des traces de houblon herbeux, d’alcool métallique et de fruits.
Aroma of spice with a hint of sweet toffee. Pours dark with a nice head. taste of spice.
Dark colour, toffee flavour, no head, little bit delicious a lot bit mediocre
Canette de 500ml, robe ambrée, arôme florale, goût de malt caramel très légèrement houblonné.
Woah nelly was the malt ever rough on this. Not good at all. I know that in this style hops or esters aren’t supposed to make an impression, so the malt should be good quality, but the main impression I got from this beer was a mild step up from a malt liquor. Harsh finish.
pours clear dark copper-reddish with a nice creamy light beige head, some retention and lacing. brown sugar, maple, fruity grassiness, some dry caramel and toastiness, sweetness. average carbonation, light to medium body - smooth texture, unbalanced harsh grassy-metallic finish. abv well hidden.
500 ml can from NSLC. Pours a clear but dark orangey brown with quickly disappearing tan head. Aroma is fairly sweet with caramel and grains. Flavour is grainy with sweet caramel/toffee. A little syrupy and lifeless. Forgettable.
Bière brune de 7 % d’alcool. Elle possède un col mousseux, peu pétillante. Elle possède un odorat sucré et un léger goût de caramel et/ou de « toffee ». Très légère amertume en finale et un goût crémeux. Agréable et soyeuse.
500 ml can. Pours a red mahogany with medium head that dissipates quickly. Aromas of roasted malt and cereal with a hint of toffee. Similar flavors. A bit thin but a nice session beer with lots of carbonation.
July 16 2012. 500ml can pours dark ruby brown, clear with an inch off white head. Head disappears in a minute leaving a very flat beer. Aroma is sweet malt, grain and slight alcohol. Taste is just like smell but a little spicier up front. Great aroma and taste but paired with an unlively appearance, flat, heavy palate and an alcohol finish it is a real yo-yo rating. The 7% really hits you but it's no Warka!
500ml can. Deep orange-brown with thick cream head (Lovibond 14). Aroma of grains, malt, candy, and cookies. Tastes sweet and syrupy with a toasty roasted flavour to finish. Hops in the aftertaste. Palate is syrupy, watery and flat.
500ml can pours an amber brown color with a 2 finger white head that settles quickly leaving some thin lacing on the glass. Aroma is light roasted grains with some caramel and grass. Taste is malty sweet with a light roasted and grassy hop bitterness. Medium bodied and moderately carbonated with a light alcohol presence. A standard bock style brew with nothing really memorable.
Originally rated April 2005. Holsten Festbock pours a cola colour (brown with ruby highlights) with a tanned head. The head is not so big, and does not last long, but it leaves some decent lace. The aroma is of raosted malts and alcohol. The flavour is sweet with caramel malts and also grainy in the finish. Very smooth and thin mouthfeel. A pretty good session bock.
Pours a light brown, an inch of white head. Some toffee and prunes on the nose. More of the same on the palate....lots of carbonation, thin mouth feel...not bad.
Okay,so I see I havnt rTED THIS here b4. Just had my 2nd one ever months after the 1st one. Geez its ruby red with some head but like about a min or less later I thinki it lest fast capbonation bubbles. Um,it’s like a hard liquor type beer. Boozey,surypy and heavy bodied not terrable but not amazing. It got me a decent buzz and feeling full and what not. Cheers!
Acheté à la SAQ de Rouyn-Noranda. My first sip, I said pretty descent one. Half the can, I said not that good. At the end of the can, I said yark what a bad beer.
Can. Reddish brown colour with faintly sweet aroma. Nice sweet malty taste. Not a lot of flavour but passable.
500ml can. Deep amber colour. Sweet, roasted malt and alcohol tastes. Low/medium carbonation.