Try?
The other day I was strolling through the aisles of my local Kroger supermarket, and I did something I usually do when the wife is looking the other way: snuck on off to the beer aisle. Kroger, you see, sometimes gets the latest beers on the shelves even before the package stores do, at least here in Atlanta. Such was the case with Sierra Nevada Glissade Bock, the 2010 spring seasonal from Chico, California's Sierra Nevada brewing Company.
Glissade Bock is another attempt by Sierra Nevada , I think, to break out of their hoppy mold (the first being their truly delightful Kellerweis ). To be sure, the company has brewed a Pale Bock in the past, which is the style that Glissade Bock fits into. But it was not as widely available as Glissade Bock is; I certainly never saw it in the supermarket.
Pale bocks (aka Maibocks or Hellerbocks) are a German style that offers a slightly higher alcohol content than your standard lager; Glissade Bock keeps to form at 6.4% alcohol by volume. As the name "pale" implies, these beers are lighter in color than a standard bock, but that doesn't mean they're any less intense in flavor. Glissade Bock certainly is not.
Per their website, Sierra Nevada crafts Glissade Bock from authentic two-row pilsner, Munich, Crystal, and Europils malts. They bitter the beer with German Magnum and Perle hops, and finish it with Slovenian Aurora and Styrian varieties as well as German Spalter hops. What's the difference between bittering and finishing hops, you might ask? The brewer would tell you that hops high in alpha acids are best for bittering, and these are added early on in the boil of the wort to extract as much bitterness as possible. Finishing hops are added towards the end of the actual brewing, and will add more aroma.
Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock pours to a pale golden color with a moderate sized creamy head formation and an ever so soft delicate malt nose laced with just a hint of flowery hops. The beer is lightly effervescent, and a few very small bubbles rise from the bottom to top of my glass after I pour.
Taking a sip, the palate is delightfully light bodied but still flavorful with a crisp, biscuity fresh malt flavor, and a hint of toastiness, too. There's a bit of dry nuttiness and the lightest hint of toffee as well. A very dry, grassy herbal finish rounds this one out nicely and sets it apart from the pack.
I say that because while most pale bocks tend to have a hint of bitterness in the finish, they rarely have as much as this one does (42 IBUs). So, while Glissade Bock is not quite as hoppy as many other beers from Sierra Nevada, it's still hoppier than most for the style. That said, I find it a delightful spring refresher (if spring would ever get here), perfect for washing down a snack of spicy currywurst; the hoppiness of Glissade Bock works wonderfully with the curry spice.
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
(G)=Growler
