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Bottle/Tap: 16 ounce can

Despite what the groundhog told us, spring has come a little early this year.  The good folks at Narragansett thought it would be nice to share a few cans of their spring offering and nothing makes the weather warmer than a free one or two.  For a long time I thought the only kind of bock beers you would buy are dark winter type ales like Chocolate Bock.  It never occurred to me that bock beers are really made for the spring time.  With this new information, I tried this beer under a different light.

I really enjoyed the copper color to this brew and the taste reminded me of a strong red ale.  I was surprised to find that it tasted great when it was right out of the fridge, very smooth and unassuming.  There was a citrus aroma as well, but I didn’t taste any kind of fruit until the beer got a little bit warmer.  It was not very carbonated and didn’t have that heavy malt flavor you’d find in other spring lagers.

After some time the beer hit room temperature, and I noticed some bitter flavor and a strong citrus flavor along the tail end.  At one point I was thinking of adding a slice of lemon to my glass then I realized that the citrus flavor was built right into the beer.  I started to enjoy this beer a lot more as it got to temperature and that really made the difference.  You can’t just drink a beer warm, not like red wine, you really have to chill it and let it warm up to find all that extra goodness.

So far I’ve been impressed with the different brews from those Rhode Island folks, and the more I share with people the more converts I seem to bring over.  You can find this bock, or any traditional bock, at most good beer stores or markets.  I do suggest finding a six and enjoying with some friends, and maybe it will help the weather change faster.