Ahhh, Broken Top Bock: for years I knew of this seasonal from Deschutes Brewery yet somehow I always missed the boat on drinking it. I guess it was sort of the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch of the local beer scene: I’d heard all the rumors but had never glimpsed it for myself.

No more, finally. Deschutes is offering it in their Bond Street Series of seasonals served up in 22-ounce bombers, and I picked one up last week at Newport Avenue Market. How could I not?

This a decent beer of the Bock style—though if you’re expecting the strength and malty warmth of a Doppelbock, you’ll likely be disappointed. Not everything has to be a strong beer! :)

Okay, to my notes:

Appearance: Pours brown with red highlights.The brownish head fell away to rim the glass.

Smell: Biscuit grain, malty. Caramel? Hints of dark fruit, and some sugar (dark).

Taste: Rich and malty; there’s licorice, molasses, dry plum all in there, though it’s not overly fruity. There’s no sense of hops up front—but there, in the aftertaste, some hop spiciness.

Mouthfeel: A little astringent. It’s medium-bodied but thinner than I would have expected; ie, not too heavy.

It’s pretty new on the ratings sites, but I’ll point to them anyway. On BeerAdvocate, with five reviews, it scores 84 (all five approve). On RateBeer, with 13 ratings, it scores 3.65, in the 83rd percentile.

Pretty decent, though I suspect it’s another one of Deschutes’ beers that tastes really good on draft…