English B Bock (6%) - Batemans Brewery, Lincolnshire, England

On my perusal of the beer aisles in a Sainsbury's one evening I noticed a label I hadn't seen in any other supermarkets. That's because English B Bock, from Batemans Brewery in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire was the winner of the Sainsbury's 2013 Beer Challenge and is therefore exclusively available there. It's the second year in a row that a Batemans beer has won a place in all of Sainsbury's stores, and that's all the persuasion I needed to take one home with me. 

Lincolnshire within England

The label is eye-catching if only for its in-your-face simplicity, depicting a hostile-looking billygoat on a bright red background. If you're wondering what the goat has to do with anything, don't worry, it has nothing to do with the ingredients, but the name. "Bock" is the name given to a particular German beer style which originated in a northern German town called Einbeck, but when Bavarians in the south started brewing it and talking about it in their native Bavarian accents, they would pronounce it Oanbock, giving rise to the name of the beer style "bock", which already happened to be the German word for "goat". So for those purely accidental linguistic reasons you'll more often than not see a picture of a goat on a bottle of bock as a charming visual joke. Who said the Germans didn't have a sense of humour? As for what the first "B" stands for, that's anyone's guess. "Batemans"? "Belligerent goat"?

The description "Bavarian style strong ale" might raise an eyebrow or two among anyone who's spent any time in the area as, if you were sober enough to remember, lager is the refreshment of choice in that part of the world. Still, this is an English twist on the German-inspired theme and Batemans Brewery have done a heck of a job. 

The beer pours a wonderful deep mahogany, although the head was feeble next to the powerful froth typical of the style it's emulating, but as soon as it's left the bottle it's already as pleasant to the nose as it is the eyes. With toffee, rum and raisin and some floral and peppery notes, you can tell it's going to be rich.

Well, it's not just rich, it's extreme. Jam-packed full of six different malts, that billygoat smacks you over the tongue with the malts and tramples them right in. Toffee, licorice, tobacco, wheat, raisins and sultanas all come through, and an alcoholic flavour is present in that it almost tastes as if it's been aged in a whisky barrel. The Bavarian Hallertau hops add some peppery and floral flavours, and there are some punchy sour notes in there too.

The texture is full-bodied with a heavy layer of malts coating the tongue and lingering on and on, and a nice warming sensation comes from the 6% ABV (which, by the way, although strong by UK standards is weak compared with German bocks which range from 6-12%).

It's clear the aim wasn't to replicate the bock style but to pay tribute to it in an English way, and this rich and complex yet very drinkable and quenching beer is a fantastic achievement. Batemans suggest a food pairing of pork pies on the back of the bottle, and I can wholeheartedly agree that would be a damn fine accompaniment. 

Beer Belly's rating:

Appearance 4/5

Aroma 5/5

Flavour 5/5

Mouthfeel 5/5

Total 9.5/10