Bock

ABV 6.3-7.2% · IBU 20-27 · SRM 14-22 · Serve 45-50F · Glass 0.4 litre mug

Identify

Light copper to deep brown, with garnet at the edge and good clarity despite the depth of colour. A large creamy off white head that stays put. The smell is rich bread and toast with a hint of dark fruit, and no hop smell at all. Medium to medium full and smooth, with soft carbonation and no rough edge. Rich toasted malt at the front, a little sweetness that lingers, then a clean finish that never turns sugary. A mild warmth arrives a few seconds after you swallow.

Place

Einbeck in Lower Saxony, exported across northern Europe from the fourteenth century. Copied by Munich brewers in the seventeenth

Cause

The sweet liquid drained off the mash is called wort, and how much sugar is in it decides how strong the beer can be. A Munich Helles starts near 1.048. A Bock starts at 1.064 to 1.072. That is roughly a third more grain again. The grain is Munich and Vienna malt, sometimes with a very small amount of dark malt for colour.

Confused with

Doppelbock, which is stronger and thicker. Marzen, which is paler and about a percent weaker. Munich Dunkel, which is the same colour or darker at a percent and a half less alcohol.

Numbers

A Bock is a strong dark lager with rich toasted malt and almost no hop character. The BJCP files it as Dunkles Bock, meaning dark bock, because a pale version exists too. Most bars and most labels just say Bock. Hold the glass still and look at the head.

Will you like it, Order and Try

Toast with butter, or the browned top of a loaf. That flavour leads this beer. Malt loaf, fruit bread, or a slice of panettone. Bread with a little dried fruit behind it. The browned edge of a roast, or the sticky bit at the bottom of the pan. A drink you take slowly over an hour, the way people treat a glass of red wine.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

What does not work: fresh salad, delicate white fish, and very hot chilli. The first two vanish underneath it. Chilli heat and alcohol together make the burn worse, and this is a strong beer. Clear light copper to deep brown with a big creamy head that holds. Rich bread and toast on the nose, with a hint of dark fruit and nothing burnt.