Red River Brewing Company - Penalty Bock

Brewed to celebrate the Shreveport Mudbugs NAHL junior hockey team (we love their angry crawdad logo), Penalty Bock presents an attractive reddish-amber hue with nice clarity and a fluffy head of khaki foam. Inviting malty aromas, as we expect and look forward to in this style, are apparent right away. Look for caramel, brown sugar, and a bready impression, bolstered by overtones of dried fruit reminiscent of fig or raisin, a hallmark of Special B malt, which is a welcome ingredient in this bock. On the palate, there's a tasty, prominently bready core with robust caramel notes as well as those brighter dried fruit tones which add intrigue and complexity. Hop bitterness is fairly mild but does offer a bit of lightly herbal balance to the moderate residual sweetness. For us, this was a welcome beer for the cooler months of the year, and a super-easy drinking brew by itself or with food. For pairings, we'd suggest braised pork or beef dishes, a snack of aged cheddar or Emmentaler, or a simple dessert of chocolate ice cream with a drizzle of caramel. Cheers!

Founded by Jared Beville and Beau Raines in 2013, Red River Brewing Company is named in honor of Shreveport's main waterway, which separates it from its sister, Bossier City, on the opposite bank. Until now, this area of the country has been a bit behind the rest of the nation in the growth of the craft beer industry, although that's beginning to change. In the Shreveport-Bossier City area specifically, Red River, as well as Great Raft Brewing and Flying Heart Brewing, have really helped raise the profile of better beer throughout the region.

Formerly garage homebrewers, Beville and Raines recognized the potential that Shreveport offered for turning their hobby into a full-scale business. For its first couple of years in operation, Red River existed as a relatively small outfit whose beers could generally only be found at local bars and restaurants. But in 2015, the duo secured a new, much larger location in downtown Shreveport to serve as a new brewing facility as well as a taproom (which opened in 2016) to serve the public directly. Just a few hundred yards down the road from their original facility, the new Red River brewery has allowed them to jump from a tiny 5-barrel brewing system to a much more robust 20-barrel system. Additionally, the brewery and attached Taproom is serving to help revitalize the downtown area, attracting lots of people looking to enjoy good beer, and often, live music. Plus, visitors can enjoy excellent gastropub-style food from chef Anthony Felan's Fat Calf Boucherie, a food trailer located at Red River's parking lot. For more info about the brewery, tours, and Red River's Taproom, check out www.redriverbeer.com.