Adler-Bräu Stettfelder Heller Bock
Brewery: Adler-Bräu
Town: Stettfeld
Style: Hellerbock
Color: deep golden
Head: ample, rocky
Nose: slight malt
Body: medium-bodied
Palate: balanced, nice mix of malt and hops
Finish: dryish, somewhat bitter
Served: from bottle bought locally
Impression: Oddly, I was never sure this brewery was still open as many in the area have closed over the years. One of my go-to sites is for Upper Franconia and this place wasn’t listed. As it turns out, that was because it’s in Lower Franconia. Adler-Bräu had a stand at the Sandkerwa and their beer was our favorite of the festival. I noticed they had a bock on tap when we were driving north and decided to make it a lunch stop. Despite it generally being open on Fridays, it was closed the day we went so was quite disappointed to not actually get to try their beer on site. I knew the next time I was in the area, the bock wouldn’t be on tap, too. I was glad to find it in a beer store not so far away from the brewery.
I had very high expectations for this beer as their Lagierbier is exceptional. I guess I also was hoping it would be a dark bock. At the festival, they had both their Lagerbier (dark) and Pils but most people were drinking the dark one so I logically had hoped the bock would follow suit. So, I was a bit let down when it turned out to be a golden bock. That said, it poured beautifully and looked enticing. It was fairly hoppy for a bock and that’s how I like light colored bocks but still had some underlying malty sweetness. It was an easy drinker but perhaps not as complex as I would have liked. I guess my expectations played a bit with my impression. Hopefully, I’ll have it on tap next October!
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