New Belgium Hop Kitchen #1 - Hoppy Bock Lager
Meet the first in our new Hop Kitchen series: A German-style springtime lager brewed with rye then loaded with Hallertauer, Perle and Fuggle hops for a spicy, earthy aroma. This Hoppy Bock Lager offers a medium body and slightly sweet malt character perfect for your spring hop-fling.
3.5
216 reviews
Fort Collins, United States
Community reviews
650ml bottle pours a pale golden color with a bit of head. Prominent single hop flavor and aroma.
Best by 16JUN13
Honey with a finger of light cream, loose foam. Initial smell is lemongrass, vitamin, lemongrass again, shortbread, more lemon - my wife would love the nose here. Flavor is biscuit, butter, hints of hibiscus and a little bit of cornbread. Medium bodied and low carb with a dry finish. I’m really surprised by this beer, not really like a bock to me, not really hoppy to me - but punches most keys for me. Really a nice, pleasant beer.
22 oz. bottle. It pours a nice clear light gold with a creamy white head and lots of streaming bubbles. The aroma is strong with Hallertauer floral and lemon zest, a little minty and earthy. The flavor is full bodied and extremely hop forward. Great blend of hops with mostly floral bitterness combined with some earthy and herbal notes backed by very minor citrus peel. Very creamy mouthfeel. I really enjoyed this lager. Well done!
15th November 2013
Hazy gold beer with a good white head. Palate starts smooth but turns minerally crisp. Light airy creamy malt with a whisper of caramel. Balanced by hops that taste more NZ than Noble! Light pine and mellow lime. Finishes light. Nicely done, super drinkable.
For me: yes-ish. Light-medium bodied. Earthy, spicy hoppy...could use a tad more kick.
Bottle poured into a shaker. From notes. Pours a lightly hazy dark gold with a half finger of white head. Aroma fo citrus and pine with a little caramel. Taste is light bitter. Citrus and tropical fruits with a decent bit of caramel in there too. Light bodied with a thin texture. Lively carbonation and a decently long finish. Not bad. Not my favorite from New Belgium but not bad at all.
From 22oz bottle to dimpled mug. Pour is a nice good, thick foamy head. Nose is hoppy slight malt. Finishes average.
Bottle from Total Wine. Sweet hop aroma and decent taste for a hoppy lager. Very interesting and enjoyable.
22 oz. Bomber. The beer pours to a clear slightly dark golden color. The aroma is very floral with a little citrus & grass to it. The taste is light bodied with slight hop bitter finish. Overall a very good beer to me.
Thick foamy white head. Lacing. Lots of hops from aroma all the way through after taste. Smooth and drinkable for how hoppy it is. Lighter body than an ipa. Pretty good. Delicious. Thanks Seymour.
Shared a big brown bottle into snifters. It poured an orange amber colour with thick, sudsy, persistent white foam and lots of sticky lace. Nice, crisp, grainy maltbill, loved the subtle sharp edge from the rye. Perfectly suited to the strong but well-balanced hoppy flavours and aromas: earthy, peppery, citrusy, flowery, perfumey, resiny, refined. Light-medium body, spritzy carbonation, elevated alcohol but smooth, smooth, smooth. Lingering hoppy aftertaste too. Cleverly crafted, very tasty.
22 oz bottle courtesy of my friend Brent. The pour is a clear golden yellow with a one inch white head that falls quick. The aroma is sweet malt grain, with a touch of floral spice earthiness. The taste is more of the hop upfront and then the sweet malt, yield to earthiness. As it warms gets really heavy on the earth and mineral spice. The palate is medium to light bodied, with a dry finish. Nice enough, thanks Brent.
A lot of spiceyness comes through on this one. Surprised by the strong presence on this one for a lager. Nice . Rating 777!
This is very enjoyable hoppy lager. It was on special at my local bottle shop. I went back for more after drinking the first bottle, but they were sold out. I hope New Belgian makes this again.
22oz bottle. Clear orange golden color. Good thin white head. Little lace sticks. Smooth, crisp, lighter carbonation. Lightly dry finish. Nice, grapefruity citrusy hoppy aroma. Some metallic notes of oxidization and lager bluntness in the nose and malt profile, but still a satisfying citrusy hoppiness. Moderate bitter, light sweet. Solid, hoppy bock, but nothing special or outstanding. Good bit of citrusy american west coasty hop
Good color, carbonation and head. Fine first on the tongue, gives a false sense of hope of what is to come. The finish is more than malty. When I say dirty, I don’t mean a hodge podge of flavors, I mean it tastes like dirt. Just not.... good.
Pours clear light yellow with large white head. Minimal floral aroma. Hop taste with a semi full body. Good session beer.
Beer has a very nice pour, pale clear yellow; aroma centers on floral hops; taste is surprisingly bitter with smooth backbone but surprisingly thick mouthfeel.
Clear light yellow pour. Aroma is grassy, grainy, spicy hops. Flavor has a hint of residual sweetnes, but is mostly grassy, crisp and clean. Hops shine through in herbal notes. Pretty good.
Great lacing. This is a little confusing, but still good. Not malty like a heller bock, but hoppy. Still tasty, but I prefer the dead guy ale. Worth trying
Pours a clear golden with two fingers of head. Lots of citrus and grass. Very nice hop balance. Great beer.
Bottle: Vibrant golden, light carbonation, large frothy white head, nice lacing. Cereal nose, pale hops, stale bread. Pale breadiness up front, malty, mealy, a little dank. Hops aren’t hoppy or biting, they
are rather dank and musty. Body and mouthfeel are moderate, albeit for not being somewhat light its pretty smooth. As it warms the hops become more apparent, but not in bitterness. Pale breadiness, dank hops, and a
touch of sweet maltiness lingers. Tiz okay.
Sampled during CBC 2013. Golden copper pour with a small khaki head. Plain malty aroma, bready, a touch of spice, light caramel. Light flavor, malty, some caramel and bread. Not bad.
Bomber. Clear gold color, good lacing, rocky head. Floral & hoppy aroma (go figure), gentle. Some biscuit & cracker--citrusy, grassy. Good balance, nice palate. Great medium-light lager.
Bottle shared by a friend. Clear gold pour with a thick white head. Malty nose with notes of lemon and grass. Malty flavor with grassy hop accents before a piney finish. Tasted more like an ale than a lager and didn’t resemble a bock in any way (not even a heller bock), but I enjoyed it.
Aroma is hoppy and earthy. Pour is yellow to golden with a large fluffy white head that sticks to the glass. Small bubble are riseing from the bottom of the glass. Pretty lite beer over all but still has a nice flavor and good hop profile and dryness that I love.
22 oz bomber. This beer sat in my fridge for the longest time - as I thought it would be overly malty, not my favorite. IT turned out to be much better than I thought. Yes, it has a rather heavy bready roasty backbone, but a good dose of hops balance things out nicely. A very rich palate - a bit too rich for the middle of the summer - this would be a nice beer for early spring - when it was brewed - or late fall at a football game. The really special aspect of this beer is that the flavor is truly unique.
Pours a golden yellow with thick frothy white head. Grassy hop and light malt aromas. Earthy and slightly citrusy hop flavor wit a good malty backbone. Medium body and leaves a nice lacing. Slight bitter finish.
Clear golden pour soapy frothy head. Aroma of grain honey and strong piney hops. Tastes like a wave a grassy hops. Moderately bitter. Also powerfully acidic. I think they depart from bock a bit too much on this one and end up being a pale or ipa. Out of balance with a caustic palate. Lots of flavor though.
Clear medium pale yellow with a soapy white head. Clean malt and lager aroma with earthy undertones. Bready cracker malt taste up front followed by a solid earthy bitterness. A light yeasty sourness curls up under the tongue and rounds out the taste. Nice alcohol/hop bite as it warms up. Finishes with a lasting bitterness and also some honeyed sweetness. Nice, well-made beer with a unique style for a bock.