353. Sierra Nevada Charlie, Fred, & Ken’s Imperial Helles Bock

This is the second in the Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary beer series after the Fritz and Ken’s Ale, and our ninth beer from Sierra Nevada, including Southern Hemisphere Harvest, Bigfoot, 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Ale, Kellerweis, Celebration, Torpedo Extra IPA, Anniversary Ale 2009 and Harvest Wet Hop Ale 2008.

Charlie, Fred, & Ken’s Imperial Helles Bock pours a crystal clear with a creamy white head. The nose is grainy, sweet, fruity, and slightly juicy; flavors open with dry biscuit maltiness before moving into a clean fruity middle that is also slightly creamy—there are light grape and citrus flavors that verge on pineapple. The finish is sweet, biscuity, and quite bitter, although not very clean—the bigger bitterness may be to cover up residual imperial-style sweetness of the beer. CFK’s Imperial Helles Bock has a medium to heavy body with medium carbonation that bites mostly in the final third. There is a bit of a tang from the bitterness on the palate. A good beer in general; the finish does get a bit sticky, especially after carbonation bite. We’d like this a bit more if it was a bit smaller so that the finish was drier and cleaner. However, they did an excellent job of scaling up the size of the beer while retaining its original characteristics.

From the bottle: “Charlie Papazian and Fred Eckhardt are two of the country’s most esteemed homebrewers and writers. Their influential books and steadfast promotion of brewing culture helped propel the craft brewing movement. Charlie and Fred agreed to work with us on this very special brew in honor of our 30th Anniversary. This Imperial Helles Bock is a testament to the ever-evolving brewer’s art. Bold yet balanced with distinct toasted malt character, moderate sweetness, and clean floral hops.”

From the Sierra Nevada website: “Charlie Papazian and Fred Eckhart are the men who launched a thousand breweries. Their writing on the art of homebrewing and steadfast promotion of beer culture helped propel the craft brewing movement. Charlie and Fred agreed to work with us on this special ale in honor of our 3oth anniversary. This Imperial Helles Lager is a testament to the ever-evolving brewer’s art. Bold yet balanced with distinct toasted malt character, moderate sweetness and clean and floral hops. Enjoy!”

We do wonder about the ever-so-subtle differences between the comments on the bottle and on the website—what led to wordsmithing we see here?

ABV: 8.3%

(6/18/10)