Fordham Virginia Native Dark

Dark caramel color with minimal off-white head. Aroma is caramel sweet. Taste is well-rounded caramel, medium sweet. A bit floral hoppy on back of tongue with an OK bitter finish. Decent body, but it'd never be mistaken for a doppelbock.

First impression is it’s quite light-colored for a dark brew, more pale auburn than dark. Firm, lasting head. Nose is a bit nutty, not hugely prevalent. Flavor is somewhat sweet and malty, but not particularly full. Finish is slightly oily and thin.

Here is an outstanding draught only bock bier you won’t find too many places outside of the DC Metro Area. This beer is brewed by the Virginia Native Brewing Company of Arlington, VA which is attached to a popular night club called The Birchmere. Virginia Native has been owned by the Fordham Brewing Company of Annapolis, MD for just over a year now. Virginia Native Dark pours to a beautiful, bright, tawny brown color with a creamy tan head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose is full of deep malty aromas of toast, nuts, and sweet malt, achieved through decoction. This is paired with light whisps of peppery alcohol. The palate is firm with good dark malt flavors, sweet malt, those signature ’toasty’ and ’nutty’ flavors of a stylistically accurate bock bier. Virginia Native Dark finishes with more fantatic deep malty flavors up front, then ends with just enough grassy hop bitterness to balance this beer out to perfection. This is an exceptional domestic version of bock bier. Malty, clean, slightly warming, enjoy this one on draught, year round at the Birchmere, and good beer bars in the DC Metro Area.