Beer Styles

What is bock beer? A strong beer with at least 16 percent original gravity, as required by German beer regulations for anyone wanting to call their beer "Bockbier." Typical alcohol content runs around 6.3 to 7.4 percent. The flavor is malty and full-bodied, with little hop bitterness and almost no fruitiness.

In the dark bock, the classic Einbeck style, you taste bread crust, toast, nuts, and dried plum. The color ranges from copper to dark brown. The head is creamy and beige.

The pale bock is golden yellow to amber in color and carries more honey and grain notes. When served in spring, it's called Maibock. The label "Maibock," however, only tells you about the season and the pale color, not about any protected origin.

How does bock differ from doppelbock? Doppelbock is even stronger. By style standards it starts at around 17.5 degrees Plato original gravity and reaches seven to ten percent alcohol. It originated in Munich, not Einbeck. The classic Einbeck bock stays one notch below that, as seen in the Ur-Bock Dunkel from Einbecker Brauhaus, widely regarded as the style's namesake representative.

The gap to Pilsner is just as wide. A Pilsner is drier, more bitter, and lower in alcohol. With bock, the malt takes center stage instead, which is why in Einbeck it's sipped slowly from smaller glasses, often alongside a hearty meal that balances the beer's sweetness and its alcohol strength.