#364: Bock Unsteady

 I don't know quite what it is that distinguishes Ayinger Winter Bock from it's big little equal sibling, the celebrated Celebrator; both are 6.7% ABV, both pour a mahoganey so dark as to almost be black and both promise fulsome comfort for long winter evenings.

The Winter Bock promises 500mls of said comfort, and, while I regrettably don't have both beers in front of me to compare, I immediately detect more roast in here than I remember from the Celebrator. Think whole coffee beans and the slight scorch of black malt, and only a shade of the rich, jammy fruit cornucopia I associate with the Celebrator. 

The beer I did have alongside this one is an old favourite from the same brewery, the Altbairisch Dunkel. It may be a more sessionable 5%, but I can't help but be more seduced by its raisiny, malted biscuit Munich character than by the comparitively heavy and abrasive Winter Bock. That may sound harsh but if all three of the aforementioned beers are on the shelf before you, The Winter Bock might be the last one to reach for, the others doing a similar job to a higher standard. When you factor in the iconic and stunning Celebrator packaging and the multi-seasonal sessionability of the Altbairisch, you'd have to wonder; what is the point of the Winter Bock?