A traditional Bavarian dark lager with an experimental twist, Bock is part of Camden Town’s Arch 55 project and it’s a massive winner for me.
Arch 55 is Camden Town’s line of small batch and innovative beers that provide something a little different and allow them to flex their creative muscle.
Bock sticks to a traditional brewing style, but they also flung in some of their experimental HBC472 hops which are supposed to give it a barrel-aged feel with ‘bourbon and vanilla oakiness’.
It’s dark and it’s malty like all good dark lagers should be, and it’s got an aroma of roastiness with a subtle sweetness in there too which is very appealing.
The taste is mainly malt, but that works really well with the hops which balance it out nicely with a little bitterness. I didn’t get much bourbon, but it’s got delicious depth and a crisp finish.
The real wonders happen in the aftertaste, where you get a malty hit that evolves into a subtle sweetness that lets you know that this isn’t just an ordinary dark lager.
The can itself looks more like a sign for a musical than a beer can, but the black ring around the top with the ‘Arch 55 Series’ helps it stand out well. The bold blue background and dark letters with the yellow diamonds is definitely unusual, but as different as the beer itself.
It’s bold and striking, and it’s intriguing design differentiates it from Camden’s main line of beers that have a more standard can design.
This one came to me in a Beerbods box and if you want to get in on this innovative Bavarian brew then you’ll probably have to get in touch with them and ask them to make some more, because I can’t find it for sale ANYWHERE. Sorry.
