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A double bock beer from Samuel Adams, shown with a scattering of the hops used to brew it (photo by Julia Tomases | © THE NIBBLE).
Bock beer with smoked Gouda cheese (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).
[3] Weizenbock is a wheat version of German-style bock, a bigger and beefier Dunkelweizen. It’s low on bitterness and high on carbonation, with flavors of bready malt and fruits like grape, plum, and raisin (photos #3 and #4 © Brewers Association).
[4] Ayinger Maibock is brewed by the family-owned Privatbrauerei Ayinger (Ayinger Brewery) in Aying, Germany, is considered the gold standard for Maibock. Located about 15 miles south of Munich in Bavaria, the brewery has been operating for more than 140 years (Gemini Photo).
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National Bock Beer Day is March 20th—time to try a bottle. Bock is the German word for strong, referring to a strong beer brewed from barley malt. It’s a dark, heavy, rich, sweet, complex beer, similar to Münchener* beers, but stronger.
A true bock-style beer has a foam collar “thick enough to steady a pencil.”
And because the word “bock” also means billy goat in German, a goat is often found on the labels of bock beer brands.
Below:
> The history and types of bock beer.
Elsewhere on The Nibble:
> The history of beer and the the many different types of beer.
> The year’s 40+ beer holidays.
> The year’s 14 American-specific beer holidays.
THE HISTORY OF BOCK BEER
Bock is a style that originated in Saxony (the capital is Dresden), on the eastern border of central Germany, adjacent to Poland and the Czech Republic.
Originally used to celebrate the end of the brewing season† (May), bock beer (Bockbier in German) was brewed in the winter for consumption in the spring.
It was originally brewed by top fermentation in the Hanseatic League‡ town of Einbeck (beck bier became bock bier) in Lower Saxony, where it is still brewed and known as Ur-Bock, the original bock.
But the style has evolved.
Initially brewed with top fermenting yeast (“ale yeast”), German bock beers are now brewed by bottom fermentation (with “lager yeast,” which weren’t discovered until the 15th century), and are usually dark brown.
A modern bock can range from light copper to brown in color. There are varieties that can be very different in style:
Doppelbock (double bock), a stronger and maltier recipe. The style was originally brewed by the Paulaner monks as “liquid bread” to sustain them during Lenten fasting. It’s usually dark amber to nearly black in color, athough pale versions exist. It’s extremely rich and sweet, with flavors of chocolate, dark fruit (raisins or plums), and molasses. It’s a winter/Lenten beer with a typical A.B.V. of 7.0% – 10.0%+.
Dunklesbock, the traditional bock, is copper to dark brown in color, very malty with toasty notes and hints of caramel. It has very little hop bitterness. The typical A.B.V. is 6.3% – 7.2%.
Eisbock (ice bock), a much stronger variety made by partially freezing the beer and removing the ice, thus concentrating the flavor (photo #4). It’s intense, syrupy, and high in alcohol, with flavors of dark fruit and burnt caramel. It’s a “sipping” beer, often served in a snifter like a fine brandy. It’s made in the winter, and has a typical A.B.V. of 9.0% – 14.0%+.
Maibock / Helles Bock (pronounced MY-bock), also called helles bock or heller bock, blonde bock or pale bock: a paler, more hopped version generally made for consumption at spring festivals (hence Mai, the German word for May). It balances the sweetness of the malt with a noticeable hop bitterness and a floral aroma. It’s the lightest and hoppiest bock. The typical ABV is 6.3% – 8.1%.
Weizenbock is a hybrid, a wheat version of German-style bock, a bigger and beefier Dunkelweizen. It’s low on bitterness and high on carbonation. It uses a large portion of malted wheat (at least 50%) instead of just barley, which gives it a creamy, thick mouthfeel. It also uses a specific ale yeast that produces the classic German wheat beer flavors of banana and clove. The traditional A.B.V. is 6.5% to 9.0%+.
Blonde Bock / Pale Bock
Blonde or pale bocks are increasing in popularity, as many consumers prefer a lighter-color/blonde bock beer and to a dark one. Maibock, called Helles Bock outside od the spring season (it’s the same beer), is a medium-hopped styles with a rich, malty flavor (Helles means pale or bright in German).
Bock beers were originally brewed by monks to minimize hunger pangs during fasting periods. Most bock beers are dark in color to provide a richer experience.
“Blonde bock” is a more modern, descriptive marketing term to help consumers realize it isn’t a dark beer. Think of a blonde bock as a Munich Helles (a standard pale German lager) that has been cranked up to a much higher alcohol content (usually 6.3% – 7.4% ABV). It retains the clean, crisp qualities of a lager but has the “muscle” and thickness of a bock.
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[5] Eisbock (ice bock) is made by partially freezing a Doppelbock and removing the ice crystals (water). Because the water is removed, everything else—the sugars, the alcohol, and the dark pigments from the roasted malts—becomes highly concentrated. The resulting beer isn’t just dark in color, but also dark in flavor, with heavy notes of burnt caramel, dark chocolate, molasses, prunes, and raisins. The style was allegedly discovered by accident in the late 1800s when a brewery apprentice left barrels of bock outside in the winter. The beer froze, and the “ruined” beer turned out to be a delicious, concentrated, potent style.
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*Munich is the capital of Bavaria, in southeast Germany; the German name is München. A Münchener is a beer from Munich; for example, Münchener Dunkel, a full-bodied, malty and sweet-style dark lager beer that is a model for other Bavarian-style beers.
†Modern refrigeration enabled brewers to make a uniform product year round. Previously, brewers had to work with the natural temperature of caves to provide an environment cold enough for the yeast to ferment. As a result, styles evolved to work with seasonal temperatures (lighter beers in the summer, for example).
‡The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds in Northern Europe. Created to protect commercial interests and privileges, it existed from the 13th through 17th centuries.
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