Beer of the Week – John Sleeman Presents Bock

During my brief tenure as a student at the University of Waterloo in the late 1980s, there were two local breweries that provided me with my introduction to craft beer - or as we called it at the time, microbrew. Brick Brewery in Waterloo and Sleeman Brewery in nearby Guelph were two of the very few options for drinkers looking for locally brewed beer not from one of the big three breweries of the time: Labatt, Molson and Carling. And while the beers they were making weren't exactly varied or adventurous in style - Brick was concentrating on German-style lagers, and Sleeman was only making their Cream Ale - they still helped lay the groundwork for the much more exciting craft beer landscape that exists today.

In the years since, both breweries have grown in size, especially Sleeman which has become a national player thanks to acquisitions of several breweries across the country. And while the general quality of their beers can only be judged by personal preference, it's pretty safe to state that neither of them are craft or micro breweries in the purest sense of the word. Most of the brews coming out of their plants are aimed directly at the mainstream beer drinker, and they've both done their fair share of jumping onto the big beer trend bandwagons, from Sleeman's Original Draught and low carb Clear, to Brick's budget Laker brand and recent Red Baron Lime.

That said, not everything they've brewed over the years has been fizzy and yellow. Brick in particular has had some really interesting beers in their portfolio from time to time, including excellent foreign brands like Celis White and Andech's that they brewed under contract. And back in 2006, they made an attempt to recapture some of their craft beer cachet with the J.R. Brickman Founder's Series, a set of three beers - Pilsner, Amber and Honey Red - that, while not earth-shattering, were quite well-made and tasty.

As for Sleeman, they actually beat Brick to the founder's series idea back in 2004 when they released John Sleeman Presents Fine Porter, followed in 2005 by John Sleeman Presents IPA. While perhaps not representative of the pinnacle of their styles, they're still enjoyable and flavourful beers. And now, in a year where the board at Brick has given founder Jim Brickman the boot and abandoned his namesake Founder's Series, Sleeman has expanded their premium line with the newly released John Sleeman Presents Bock.

Bocks are often misunderstood and unappreciated beers. It's believed that the style originated in the 14th century when monks in the German town of Einbeck brewed a strong and dark lager for consumption mainly at religious feasts and festivals. Over the centuries, a number of bock variations have developed, ranging in colour from pale golden to deep brown, and in alcohol percentage from 6% to 10% or more. What they all have in common, though, is that they're lagers with a malt-forward flavour profile.

Sleeman Bock sits around the mid-point of the colour scale for bocks, having a clear and bright copper hue with a decent sized head that dissipates a bit quicker than I'd hoped. The aroma has the strong malt notes expected from the style, with a fair bit of caramel and toffee, and a light herbal edge thanks to the hops. The body is a touch light for the style, with a decent level of carbonation, making it a good palate-cleansing companion for food. The flavour starts sweet, with the caramel and toffee character suggested by the aroma, followed by a hint of orange and a moderately dry nuttiness. Herbal and slightly earthy hops are noticeable in the finish, but take a back seat to the hops, which is just as it should be.

As with its two precursors, it ain't the best example of its style that I've had, but it's still a very respectable and quaffable beer. It's also well within the guidelines of the style they were aiming for, which is more than can be said for many attempts at different "premium" styles that have been made by larger breweries in the last few years.

John Sleeman Presents Bock is available now at many LCBO (LCBO 157081 - $12.45/6x341 mL) and Beer Store locations, ostensibly for a limited time, although that's what they said about the Porter and IPA which are still around several years later. Hopefully they do the same with the Bock, it's a quite a nice beer that deserves to be around for longer than just a few months.