River Bend Bock
Mountain Town Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Mt. Pleasant's River Bend Bock a couple days ago for $1.69 at The Lager Mill. I have never heard of this beer before. so when I saw it on the shelf I thought that I should take a chance on it, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date as usual, but I know it's fresh. Poured from a shorter brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label on this beer is nice, it's not the same as most of their other beers and it goes well with the name. It poured a nice muddy brown color that took on some nice amber and ruby hues when held to the light and it had two fingers worth of light tan head that died down to a thin ring that faded to nothing and didn't leave any lacing. This was an ok looking beer, I liked the color but I wish it had better head retention.

S- The aroma starts of with a large amount of malts that have a higher amount of sweetness and impart some bread, grain, caramel, toffee, and brown sugar like aromas followed by a pretty noticeable amount of dark fruits with raisins and figs sticking out the most. Towards the end I get some caramel and a slightly roasted aroma with slight bit of alcohol. This is a proper smelling bock, it's a little on the sweet side, it's pretty true to style.

T- The taste is somewhat similar to the aroma, but in the taste the roast sticks out much more, it starts off with a large amount of malts that have a high amount of sweetness and impart some bread, grain, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and a nice medium amount of roast that made for a real slight coffee flavor. Next comes the dark fruits which are much lighter then they were in the aroma and only impart a light raisin like flavor, the dark fruits seem to be over powered by the roast. There was hardly any alcohol in the flavor of this beer. I like the way this beer tastes, it has more roast then usual, which I like, but it seemed to cover up too much of the dark fruits.

M- Pretty smooth, slightly chewy, medium bodied, with a higher amount of medium carbonation that is slightly prickly. The mouthfeel is ok but I wish the carbonation was toned down a little.

Overall I thought that this was a good beer and it was a good but different example of a Bock, the extra roastyness was good and made this beer different, but it also hurt it a little. This beer had pretty good drinkability, it was smooth and the flavors held my attention, I wouldn't mind drinking a couple of these in a row, and the extra roastyness might work well in the winter time. What I liked most about this beer was the aroma and taste, they were both pretty good and stuck out from the average Bock. What I liked the least about this beer was the higher amount of carbonation that was a little prickly, Bock's should have a little less carbonation, so that needs a little work. I would buy this beer again, it's priced right and is a nice and interesting beer to drink, I recommend giving this beer a try. I was actually impressed with this beer and that doesn't happen much with this brewery, I wasn't expecting such a good Bock and I think this one can hang with some of the better Bock's, good job guys, if you keep making beers as good as this then I might not think of this brewery as a hit or miss brewery any more, this is one solid Bock.

Lovely deep amber color in the snifter glass. Decent head and lacing that lasts a good while. The aroma is mostly alcohol fumes. Fairly rich with malt but has a hoppy tang as well. Somewhat bitter aftertaste. Caramel is the flavor but not so much malty sweetness. A hint of darker malt. Medium body but certainly not a rich brew.

This beer would be very attractive in a tall German-style glass. May be a bit hoppier than typical for the style, but a very drinkable Bock-type beer. Some may prefer this less sweet and edgier hop version.

This brewery is confusing. A beer with this name appears under "Mountain Town Station Brewing Co. & Steakhouse," which is the affiliated restaurant. However, this bottle clearly says "Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company," which makes the bottled beers. Their website clarifies it: "In 2007, a separate company was formed called Mount Pleasant Brewing Company. This new brewery operation is strictly manufacturing and packaging using the same recipes that have been successfully developed for years at the brewpub."

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a beer glass.

Appearance: Burnt-sienna to light-mahogany in color, yet nearly opaque. Partially-tan head which leaves minimal lacing.

Smell: Toasted malts, with a prune/plum sweetness which is nearly overpowering. Very heavy with the malt here.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Lightly oily, very thick with minimal carbonation. Plum/banana flavor dances on the palate while a bready feeling lays a strong foundation. Not too cloying, which has been the downfall of many a bock in my book.

Drinkabilty: I can drink this...hahaha...personally, I'm not a fan of bocks, but this one is easily tolerated. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy a good bock.

Totally disagree with the other reviewer.

A: Brown and red color with nice lacing; not too carbonated.

S: Smoky smell with some malt aroma.

T: Caramel malt taste, with smoky flavor and some soft fruit flavor. Everything melded well, not too fruity, very nice balanced and drinkable brew.

M/D: Super drinkable, honestly loved this brew.

Pours a tawny brown with absolutly no head to speak of,some slight caramel aromas but very light and uninspiring.Flavors are off a little for the style there is some caramel upfront but an annoying sourness that takes over that lasts into the finish.A non noteworthy bock not much to it and way out of character for the style