The brewery origin of this beer called Duke’s Big Ass Bock are a bit convoluted. First, the brewery is not “Duke’s” it is listed on the bottle as “The Wheat Beer Company.” The beer itself is actually brewed by the Jack Russell Brewing Company in Camino, CA (which is now under new ownership) for “The Wheat Beer Company,” which doesn’t seem to have it’s own home page or any other presence for all that I can gather. So is it contract brew or just an alias for Jack Russell Brewing? Whatever the case may be, I pick up a 1 liter bottle and enjoyed it. Apparently there are mixed reviews so I must have lucked out with a decently produced bottle of this beer.The Jack Russell Brewing Co. says the following about this beer:
Also for “The Wheat Beer Company.” Another southern German-style wheat beer, a bit stronger and more robust than the hefeweizen; also has a hint of coriander.
Where I Found It. BevMo in Sacramento, CA.
Date Reviewed. June 13, 2009
Serving Type. 33oz pop-top bottle to a pint glass.
Appearance. Big Ass Bock has a pleasant dark orange hue and is slightly hazy in appearance. The head is white with lose bubbles and does not last very long at all.
Smell. The aroma of this beer is sweet malted grains without a roasted flavor. It also has a very nice honey aroma with an orange blossom or jasmine flower bouquet. Unless the hops are providing the sweet citrus bouquet there is no discernible hop notes in the smell.
Taste. Big Ass Bock has a nice malted barley sweetness with hints of biscuit. The sweetness, however, is not sugary sweet and the sweetness is blanced by just a hint of bitterness. The bitterness enhances the spicy flavor of cloves which was not detectable in the smell of this beer. The honey aroma follows through in the taste but the orange blossom bouquet is not present in the taste. The differences between the taste and smell of this beer make it very interesting and it all seems to fold together into a nicely refreshing beer.
Mouthfeel. This beer is a smooth and easy to drink medium bodied beer. The carbonation level on this beer is high. Immediately after pouring you can see many bubbles steaming to the top of this beer. You can definitely feel the effervescence while drinking this beer.
Drinkability. Despite the higher alcohol content of 6.8% this is a very drinkable beer. It is refreshing, smooth, and pleasant to drink.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.
- Appearance (20%): 3.5
- Smell (20%): 4.0
- Taste (40%): 4.0
- Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
- Drinkability (10%): 4.5
- Overall: 3.9
Information
- Style: weizenbock
- Brewery: Jack Russell Brewing Co.
- Alcohol by volume: 6.8%
- Beer Advocate rating: 2.48 (as of May 9, 2010)
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