A pint of Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock in a specialty Samuel Adams glass

Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock

Essential!

  • Cherry, cocoa, coffee
  • Rich, sweet; cherry and chocolate
  • Sweetness lingers; no bitterness

Available in kegs only. I don’t know if it’s seasonal, or if it will continue to be available.

Of course, I worship at the altar of Bacchus, so I knew where I stood when the Rapture came this Saturday. Instead of waiting around watching all my goodly neighbors vaporize out of their clothes, I took a trip to Babylon, a lovely, but ironically, named town on the south shore of Long Island. I joined other carnal left-behinders at the lovely Post Office Cafe on Main Street.

There, I spied a Samuel Adams tap handle with an odd label. Did I see it correctly? Did that say Cherry Chocolate Bock?

A pint of Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Bock in a specialty Samuel Adams glass

Ooo, fancy. The Post Office Cafe has those special Sam Adams glasses, too.

The throng at the bar parted, and I was delivered unto the bartender, where I spake, “I’ll try that cherry chocolate bock, please.” And the bartender did pour it, and, upon exchange of paper money for the pint, I did taste it. And it was good.

No, it was really good.

But where did it come from? When did Samuel Adams start making this? I used to have no problem keeping track of my favorite brewery’s new flavors, but lately, it’s been putting out new varieties at breakneck speed. From what I can gather, the Cherry Chocolate Bock is available in kegs, only, and either purchased by the pint at taverns or in growlers at distributors. I consider myself blessed for having come upon it accidentally for, lo, it was really good.

I found that the beer had more of chocolatey flavor than the regular Chocolate Bock, and the cherry is as pronounced as it is in the Cherry Wheat. Sam Adams really knows how to work with cherries and beer. The Cherry Chocolate Bock is rich, but not a thick as a stout, and has almost no bitter notes. It’s sweet and tastes like a cherry cordial melting on the tongue. I had two pints to celebrate sticking onto an Earth that could provide such goodness, but beyond that, it would be like eating an entire Black Forest cake. Please—I’m no glutton—I’ll only eat half of it now. I am going to try to obtain a growler, though, because it’s got to be shared. It’s just so damned good.