I love craft beers and seasonal craft beers! No matter the season or the reason. I love trying what the different microbreweries come up with and their interpretations of the different styles of craft beers that they rotate throughout the year. Christmas time is just another one of my most anticipated times of the year (both for gifts and for craft beer…which would make a great holiday gift if my wife is reading this “hint, hint”).

Okay, enough chatter. What I tried today is a perfect offering from a local brewery in East Pittsburgh, PA. I’m talking about the Pennsylvania Brewing Company and their St. Nikolaus Bock Bier in particular.

Now, to be honest and upfront with you, I’ve tried several of Penn Brewing’s other “craft beers” and they didn’t always leave the best impressions on my palate. Nothing against the brewery, I guess it’s not my cup of tea. But St. Nickolaus Bock Bier is a far cry from any other craft beer I’ve had at this brewery.

First of all, the bottle is a completely glorious example of what a Christmas beer label should look like with Jolly Old St. Nick right there smiling on the bottle, and I’m not talking about a tacky commercial version, but what looks like a rendering. from the Victorian era of the “real Santa Claus”. It really put me in the mood that I was about to start with a real Christmas present.

The beer poured into my trusty unchilled pint glass with a deep, dark ruby ​​appearance, but only when held in a very bright light. The head only showed about 1/2 finger of a very light tan foam that didn’t last long. It was completely gone in about 5 minutes. Missing! The aroma gave me a combined impression of sweetness, malt, chocolate, and even a hint of caramel (great description, I know!).

Now that I had had a chance to breathe, the first sip of this craft beer was impressive. I think the drastically improved difference in nice flavor saturation, compared to the other Pennsylvania Brewing Company beers, really struck me with a better than average ranking than would normally be rated. I enjoyed the flavor that seemed to match what was hinted at in the aroma to a “T”. There was a strong roasted maltiness, bouncing chocolate, a bit of caramel and hints of something reminiscent of dates. Unlike other “Christmas beers” I’ve tried, this style, which is a bock, didn’t bring the spice that many Christmas craft beers or “winter warmers” seem to implement fairly consistently. There was a little, just a little alcohol tinge to the drink as it warmed towards the bottom of the glass, but not enough to turn it off. The beer itself is listed at about 7.5 abv, so it’s around that range where I’d expect to sample it quite a bit.

Altogether a well-brewed craft beer from the Pennsylvania Brewing Company. I wouldn’t class this as the perfect Christmas beer of all time, but it really impressed me a lot more than I initially expected (judging from past experiences and not being a big fan of the Dunkel Bock style). The packaging, labeling, appearance, aroma, taste, and drinkability level were all well above average and really got me in the mood for the holidays (and another St. Nikolaus Bock!) I might just have to buy one. box of this for the next holidays, if I can still find it around here. I give it a thumbs up and recommend it for the holiday/winter season.

I will vouch for a rating of 7.50 out of 10.00 for the St. Nikolaus Bock Bier. Ho Ho Ho!! PS If you enjoyed this review, and the microbrews in particular, please take a few minutes to visit my site at microbrewreview.blogspot.com

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