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From: rcd@opus.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.wines
Subject: Re: Bock Beer (The answers)
Message-ID: <298@opus.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Mar-84 16:13:28 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.298
Posted: Fri Mar 30 16:13:28 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Apr-84 07:31:21 EST
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<>
Herewith, some information on Bock, in response to the questions.  Trivia,
perhaps of interest to brewers, in []:
> What exactly is BOCK?  It's called a Beer so I assume the brewing
> processes are similar.  I know that Bock is aged longer than beer,
> but why is this significant, since beer is not known to improve
> with age.  People, who don't know what they are talking about, have
> often tried to tell that Bock is made of the residue scraped off the
> brewing kettles when they are cleaned at the end of the year. Any
> comments?
Bock is a strong lager (as opposed to ale).  Yes, it's a beer.  The word
`lager' comes from German [lagern=to store] and refers to the fermentation
process, which is conducted slowly at low temperatures - typically around
40F.  The stronger the beer, the longer it takes to ferment and mature.  In
olden times, cooling systems were not generally available.  Bock was
allowed to ferment in cool cellars or caves through the winter.  It was
ready in spring, by which time everyone was ready for celebration [and a
good drunk, no doubt].  Beer, as we generally see it, does not improve with
age because most of what we get has been filtered and pasteurized.  There's
nothing much to improve, but there are some moderately unstable compounds
which break down with age/light/heat.  The bottom-of-the-barrel story is,
as you guessed, pure BS.
[Bock, by German regulation, must start at a minimum of 16 degrees Balling,
which is somewhat over 1.060 SG, and corresponds to a potential alcohol of
about 8.5% vol - though of course since all of that is malt, it never
achieves quite that much alcohol.  It should reach at least 6%, however.]

> Why is Bock seasonal, and why spring?
See above - the opening of the beer in spring was (and still is) a great
festival.  The beer survived the winter (even improved) and so did you.

> What does the goat have to do with anything.  All Bock beers, regardless
> of brand or brewer, always have a picture of a goat's head on the
> container.
The bock custom began in Einbeck, Germany.  The name `bock' is a perversion
of `Einbeck'.  As it happens, the word `Bock' in German means `ram' as in
male goat.  Obscure, no?

> Why is Bock darker that regular American beer?
Because it is made with more malt - almost twice as much as typical
American light beers.  The malt in beer gives it color, and if you put in
enough, even fairly pale malt, it can get fairly dark.
[Typical starting SG for American lagers is around 1.035 or so.]

> Is Bock really a light Porter or Stout?
No.  Two significant differences.  First, Porter and Stout contain roasted
malts - malted barley which is roasted to a near-black color.  Taste a
Porter or Stout next to a Bock and notice the lack of toasty taste in the
Bock.  Second, Porter and Stout are traditionally made with a different
type of yeast - ale yeast (Anchor Porter to the contrary notwithstanding)
and are ready to drink much sooner.

> Is Bock Beer unique to the U.S.A.?  I never saw it in Europe while
> I was over there and I have never seen any Canadian Bock.
No.  The custom of bock began in the 14th century in Germany.

> Why is Bock Beer season perpetuated among brewers?  I don't know
> very many people who have ever drank it or even heard of it.  I
> haven't drank that much of it myself, and I like the stuff.  There
> doesn't seem to be that much of a demand for it.  Yet every spring
> almost every american brewer I have ever seen puts out a special
> Bock edition of their regular beer.
Why not?  It's good stuff!  Probably the lack of appreciation stems from
the American taste for lighter-than-light beer - which bock certainly is
not.  It is an interesting task for the brewmaster, and there's probably
enough demand to justify the brew at least once a year for most brewers.

If you like bock, you might look to the double bocks for something really
noteworthy.  The heavy body and sweet-ish tendencies are even more
pronounced in double bocks.  (For looking at labels, double bock =
doppelbock in German.)  In fact, the strongest beers you're likely to find
in the US will be double bocks - running to over 13% alcohol vol.
[EKU 28 is probably strongest generally available.  The 28 is the Balling
OG measure.  However, don't venture this far out unless you're adventurous;
it's pretty rich and syrupy.]
At a decent liquor store you should be able to find "Salvator", the
original German double bock.  Other German beers with names ending in -ator
are double bocks.  They will be labeled "malt liquor" in many places,
thanks to idiot legislators who know nothing about brewing.
-- 
Relax - don't worry - have a homebrew.
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd