Mountain Holidays In Vermont Rich Creamy Bock Lager - Rock Art Brewery

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - pours a deep reddish brown (reminiscent of red wine), slight head diminishes into a bubble rim around the glass

S - rich, fruity, sweet, malty, caramel, honey, spices

T - sweet and smoky, caramel, chocolate tones, sweet spices

M - i was expecting it to be rich and creamy (so says the label) but it was more watery/easy flowing than i had hoped, lots of fizzy carbonation causing a bit of excessive burping

O - not a bad beer, but nothing more than average on most aspects. this is definitely a once a year drink only.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2012 13:53:55 | More by facundoCNB

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-15-2013 04:40:30 | More by Kelp

nmann08

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

01-30-2013 01:18:37 | More by nmann08

phishbone23

New York

3/5  rDev -18.3%

01-23-2013 19:18:15 | More by phishbone23

Focusf111

Vermont

3/5  rDev -18.3%

01-16-2013 11:42:14 | More by Focusf111

sweisel80

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -18.3%

01-03-2013 21:15:23 | More by sweisel80

MEW

New York

3/5  rDev -18.3%

01-02-2013 21:46:07 | More by MEW

FrankJCurtin

4/5  rDev +9%

01-01-2013 20:21:48 | More by FrankJCurtin

TheRuss9585

Vermont

3/5  rDev -18.3%

12-30-2012 20:05:35 | More by TheRuss9585

cortez

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

09-12-2012 05:19:52 | More by cortez

MatthewWilde

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sample: 1 bottle 2010

A: Dark reddish brown in color, pours decent lacing, translucent, almost no internal carbonation

S: Unique nose, notes of caramel and vanilla, but also some herbal elements and creamy dried fruits, certainly interesting

T: As expected for a bock, light dried fruits, herbal notes with some sweetness and creaminess to finish, touch of alcohol and citrus

M: Very smooth, refreshing, clean finish, light caramel aftertaste, not drying or overpowering on the palate

O: Nothing unusual given the style, nice fragrance and flavors, smooth as well, but I'm not blown away

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 02:43:16 | More by MatthewWilde

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pour yields a light fizzy head covering, barely there, fades pretty quickly to almost nothing, just light bubbles around the sides, over a slight clear auburn mahogany toasty ruby red brown colored beer.

Nose starts with plenty of malts, reddish toasty malts, creamy brown malts, caramel, molasses,brown sugar, lots of brown sugar actually, some toffee, and hint of cocoa, a light wheat like bock aroma but not much, and slight hints of earthy hops.

Taste comes with more bock malty flavors, again tons of brown sugar, molasses, and caramel, toffee, and sweeteners galore, but not super sweet, just fairly sweet. Actually the sweetness gets a bit much as it goes. Creamy brown malts come through, with light toasty reddish malts, plenty of all those malts all around. Juicy malts give way to hints of earthy hops and fluffy nougat like candy, with a touch of cocoa. The finish is still fairly sweet, a bit more earthy bitterness, plenty more brown sugar, caramel, toffee, and molasses lingering.

Mouth is med bodied, lighter carb, bit syrupy.

Overall meh, nice dark brown toasty malts and reddish copper malts, lots of sweeteners that aren't too bad, caramel, molasses, toffee, brown sugar, etc... light earthy bitterness... but overall just seems a bit lackluster, not enough carbonation, a bit too sweet, etc.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 01:21:10 | More by jlindros

DirtyPenny

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 oz bomber poured into a great big mug.

A: Poured with 1-finger of beige head that fizzed audibly away in a matter of seconds. Very dark amber. Hold it up to
the light and you still won't be able to see all the way through it.

S: Heavy chocolatey-caramel tones with background dark fruit ornamentation. Sugary sweet.

T: Caramel and bitter dark chocolate with an eventual ringing in of ash and a sort of sharp but subtle flavor like the air before a snowstorm. Light grassiness on the end. Flavors are a little weak overall. What happened to the sticky sweet flavors promised on the nose?

M: Only lightly carbonated. Not as thick as I'd have expected from the bottle's description and the very potent aroma.
Fairly light-bodied, in fact. Very wet finish.

O: A bit of a letdown from the awesome nose. Thinner than I'd expect from a bock, and not as flavorful as I would have liked.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 13:45:37 | More by DirtyPenny

Durge

Connecticut

3.58/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A dark, dark mohogany colored brew with a fair tan head that almost instantly disappears completely with no lacing. The nose picks up light licorice malt with roasted coffee beans. Very definite and likeable. The flavor brings an extra spruce hop edge over more coffee bitterness. It’s medium bodied with a slight chalkiness over an otherwise aqueous brew with very fine carbonation. This was frankly a shocker because of the holiday label and such an un-holiday brew. It’s a very solid bock but I have to say this was a poor choice of label.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 03:59:34 | More by Durge

RyanLigeia

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Dark brown in color, pretty clear when held to a bright light. What little head there was after the initial pour fizzled away to nothing quite quickly and leaves no lacing at all..

The smell is pretty weak but what IS there IS good. Im getting sweet caramel malts, some faint winter spices, almost in the vain of a pecan pie or something along those lines.

Sort of a letdown in the taste category. Same sweet caramel malts, maybe a little hop bitterness at the end. Seems like a pretty good beer that was watered down almost? Weird.

Definitely seems watery here too. Mild to low carbonation level makes it a little easy going down but I'd HARDLY call it rich or creamy! Huge letdown.

Overall I think Rock Art should chill on the claims they make about their beers. They hype them up SO much on the bottles and then dont really deliver with the actual product (ie: this beer was ot rich or creamy). Ive had 3 or 4 of their beers now, all totally different styles and I feel this way about each of them. Not an awful beer in general but definitely not what I was lead to believe itd be.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 00:52:09 | More by RyanLigeia

sommersb

Tennessee

3.3/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tasted On: 01-17-2012
Freshness: 2011 Vintage
Packaging: 22 oz. brown bottle
Glassware: Seidel
Purchased: Received in a trade

A: Color is brown and mostly clear, like a cola. The head is a couple of fingers on pouring, but fades very quickly. Retention is low and lacing is pretty much non-existent.

S: Clean aromas of caramel malts and earthy hops.

T: Bitter, with some bready malts in the background.

M: Smooth body with medium carbonation. The aftertaste features hop bitterness.

O: An OK beer but overall not very impressive. Could use a stronger malt backbone in my opinion.

Thanks to DrewShal9 for this one!

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 03:08:35 | More by sommersb

theo871

Maine

3/5  rDev -18.3%

12-07-2011 00:29:49 | More by theo871

9InchNails

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Limited 2011 Release

A brown head that faded faster than any I have ever seen, reminds me of a cola. Hazy, light cherry red body turning into gold on the edges. Zero lace on the glass.

Not much of a aroma. Faint cocoa and that's a guess.

The taste is a different story. Cocoa, coffee, toffee, dark fruits like cherry, caramelized sugar with some brown sugar as well. There is a crisp clean taste like a lager. Not bad.

Light to medium body, Carbonation is medium to approaching high. A slight dry feeling. No detection of alcohol warmth.

Overall, not a terrible brew. About or slightly above average for a Bock. I would take it or leave it with this beer. I won't be seeking this again but if this was all they had, I wouldn't mind drinking it.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 05:56:56 | More by 9InchNails

BrewinHeadBanger

New York

4/5  rDev +9%

11-27-2011 23:13:52 | More by BrewinHeadBanger

kristiekatk

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -18.3%

11-21-2011 01:27:31 | More by kristiekatk

Jspriest

Maryland

3/5  rDev -18.3%

11-14-2011 17:19:10 | More by Jspriest

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

3.85/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review adapted from notes taken 5/7/11

Appearance: Easily the darkest bock I have ever seen - a brown, with hints of dark red - fluffy beige head, good head retention

Smell: While it does not really look like a bock, it smells like one - very malt-forward, bready, bread crust - some sweetness, some interesting spices

Taste: The malt profile reminds me of pretzels, honestly - some spices, some fruity esters - a nice level of sweetness - not very bitter, but some herbal flavors to keep things interesting - some hints of burnt, maybe a little chocolate

Mouthfeel: Medium, nicely carbonated, but not exactly "creamy" - could use a little more body (or a different name for the beer)

Overall: Good, but not that exciting

When I think "Mountain Holidays in Vermont," my gut reaction is "there is too much f---ing snow for me to drive up to Vermont!" Despite this association, I liked this beer. Rock Art definitely brews better beers, though. It's worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2011 22:03:21 | More by angrybabboon

brewskier

Massachusetts

2.58/5  rDev -29.7%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Sparkly tan foam drops rapidly and leaves no trace of lacing. The beer is a medium, slightly golden, chestnut brown.

Slightly sweet nose contains hints of pecan, vanilla, and French toast. Mild but pleasing.

Flavor is quite roasty, with a full nuttiness and slightly bitter, almost burnt, aspect. It also has a doughy, yeasty flavor that I really don't love. Big malt aspect mostly hides any hops. A bit astringent.

I would in no way call this rich or creamy. It is thin and overcarbonated in that fizzy-mouth iffy-homebrew sort of way, completely lacking body.

I thought I once had an earlier vintage of this (as opposed to this 2010 bottle) which was pretty good...this was a rare total letdown from Rock Art. While it didn't ruin Christmas in July, I wouldn't want another bottle like this one...will certainly this coming year's vintage, though. Imbibed 7/13/11 in my Pike pint glass.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 22:37:47 | More by brewskier

boralyl

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A - 2010 vintage. Pours a clear, dark amber with an inch of light tan head on top. The head has some pretty nice retention, and leaves some thick lacing.

S - Caramel and fruit on the nose initially. As it warms up some brown sugar like sweetness appears.

M - They got the "rick creamy" part right in the description. The beer has moderate carbonation and has a nice creamy feel to it.

T - Light caramel and earthy hops appear up front followed by a smooth maltiness. The malty flavors last through to the finish combined with some mild fruitiness

Overall, this is a very easy drinking beer. It's incredibly creamy and smooth and fits the style well.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 02:14:19 | More by boralyl

CharlieMurphy

New York

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: 1" light tan head. dark raisin brown with orange amber tints

S: Smells of figs, dates, plums and thick signature bock creaminess.

T: Very poised and subdued compared to the smell, however very balanced, lightly creamy, even lighter on the fruits, as if they were tucked into a danish beneath the flaky dough and cream.

M: Light, creamy, dried fruits create a mild sweetness which is in now way too much or cloying. It fills and satisfies, but does so gently.

O: "Crowd pleaser" as described at the brewery. Thoroughly enjoyable and I could/would drink the shit out of this in any season.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2011 03:41:55 | More by CharlieMurphy