Stock Ale
Rock Art Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had at Flatbread Hearth in Burlington, VT, brown pour, slightly amber in color.

Nice malt flavor, mixed with natural fruit flavor, slightly hoppy as well, but not very much so. I like the balance of malt and fruit flavor.

Very drinkable, not too heavy but complex enough for me. I liked it and would get it again.

A decent offering from Ethan Allen's turf, lose the kokopelli please.... Coppery brown pour to a finger of decent off-white head that left nice white lace. Hoppy pale ale aroma with nice florals and no lemon, promising. The feel was clean and crisp as you'd want with a pale ale, but the flavor lent to more malts than I expected. Not a bad thing, actually a pleasant surprise. Medium-bodied taste with malt-cracker & fruit (not quite berry or pear, but something in between). A nice & refreshing beer for a sunny day.

Thanks to DrDavid (of Ratebeer) for this one! He picked it up for me at the brewery.

22oz brown glass pry-top. Sticker on bottom says "Sep 08."

Appearance: Amber brown with cascading puddy-colored bubbles and 2 fingers of off-white head. Recedes quickly leaving spotty lacing.

Nose: Sweet malt and a little mustiness. Some muted biscuity notes, almost like dry scones, and a high note of a dried dark fruit.

Palate: Medium-bodied and so-weet. Slick mouthfeel and little carbonation. Flavors of lightly toasted wood, biscuit, malted grains, dry earth, and some "fruity" characters from the yeast presumably. The hops are very subtle and in a supporting role only (the way it often is with this style), mainly there to give the beer some edges.

Notes: A solid American interpretation of an English Stock Ale. Not too fruity, not too light in the body, not too sweet, carbonation just right, edges defined without being sharp or flabby. A well made, sessionable and table-worthy beer.

Sampled this one cask conditioned and on-tap at American Flatbread, thanks Pete! The pint was delivered to me with a fizzy, big-bubbled head that did not retain very well. It was khaki colored and did not lace but it sat briefly atop a light brown liquid that did have excellent clarity. The nose was soft, floral hops and pale malts in a nice balance. The flavors were also in equilibrium, very nutty at first, hazelnuts in particular, with a toasted malt and generic hop character behind that. The hops was under-pronounced adding only hints of bitterness. The body was light and very watery. I have to imagine this is a result of casking a beer that really should have simply been on tap. It also caused it to be flat by the end of the sample. Not a bad beer but not a good one either this way. Out of the bottle I am sure it would be far superior.

Poured a medium copper hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a very nice toasted malt with a smattering of floral hop.

The taste was very grainy with a general toasted biscuit flavor. A decent hop bitterness kept the flavor interesting.

The mouthfeel was clean with a dry finish.

Overall a good drinkable session beer. Nothing overly exciting, but a good solid ale.

Pours slightly hazy, with a nice light amber color. The aroma features sweet malt, caramel and English hops. Very pleasant as it hits the tongue, malty followed immediately by nice Golding type hop flavor. Finishes a bit thin with some astringency (NOT from hops). Good beer but doesn't quite live up to its ingredients - it could step up to 4.5 with some tweaking.

Pours a very clear, moderate brown with golden highlights. A large white head tops the pour off and leaves some lace as the brew is drained.
Aroma has some biscuit malt, a whiff of brown sugar and some caramel underpinings.
Flavor is solid but nothing really stand outs. Some bready notes and some caramel but really generic bland taste.
Mouthfeel solid and had a pretty good balance but just very little in the way of taste. Some solid bittering emerges as it warms up a bit.
Drinkability is solid but very undistinguishable. A better than average brew would be take. No bad or off flavors just a bit lackluster and doesn't really make me want another.

On a recent trip to Burlington, VT to attend the Vermont Brewers Fest I found some Rock Art beers at a gas station convience store. This 22oz. bottle of Stock Ale poured a slighly hazy amber color with a thin white head on top. The foam dissolved quickly to a thin ring around the edge of the glass leaving a few spots of lace behind.

The aroma is a pleasant combination of toasted malt, bread and yeast. Each sip of this thin to medium bodied beer is crisp and delicious. The firm carbonation brings out the toasted malt. Hints of caramel and nuts appear toward mid sip while some flowery hop bitterness towards the end balances out this beer perfectly.

This is an excellent example of an English Pale Ale. I just wish I lived closer to Vermont so I can get some more.

from a 22 oz bomber purchased at Lyndonville Redemption Center, Lyndonville, VT. No freshness date.

Pours amber, cloudy with thin white head and decent carbonation. Lots of lacing on the glass. Smells sweet, malty. Taste is spicy, sweet, and the perfect level of carbonation allows it to bounce off the tongue quite well. Would make a decent session beer. I could drink a couple of these easily!

I'm impressed enough to try their other offerings.

Great to see this local favorite released in bombers.

Pours a classic amber with a nice white head. Nice full and malty good with a great hop balance. Alas, better on tap than in a bottle, but I'm still drooling of the prospect to try this one on cask. VT needs more handpumps! As far as I know, Mr Pickwicks in Stowe is the only location in the world that serves Rock Art casks (of course I could be wrong.) Over all, a great brew which I look forward too every year since it was first called SOL.

Growler purchased at Winooski Beverage Warehouse, Winooski, VT.

First pint pours with a 1" eggshell head, which showed some staying power, over the amber brew. Lacing is delicate yet plentiful while the head lasts. Aroma is lightly yeasty, with sweet malt underneath. The taste is slightly malty upfront, with a pleasingly bitter close. Mouthfeel is good, and drinkability excellent. Bet this would kick butt on cask. Check it out.

Purchased a 64oz growler from Green Mountain Boys in Rutland.

Pours a clear, medium brownish amber with a modest 1/2 inch ivory head and leaves a little lacing as you go.

Smell is mild, with perhaps a bit of a burnt malt smell and some toffee or butterscotch character but there's really not a lot to smell here.

Flavor is ok, though I had a hard time getting much out of this. Carbonation was a bit too agressive for the first few glasses out of the growler. After the carbonation calmed down I was able to detect a respectable burnt malt & toffee flavor on the midsip. Aftertaste is very mildly bitter with some lingering burnt malt.

Mouthfeel is average. A bit too carbonated at first but this calms down after the growler itself has had some time to breath.

Drinkability is good, due to little more than the brews general inoffensiveness.

Overall, not a bad beer by any stretch but I won't be going out of my way to sample it again.

Wyll-