At Beer Sapiens we love to tell you everything we know about the different styles of beer. And it is that we firmly believe that a good disclosure of the beer culture is essential to appreciate our favorite drink more and better.
So, we continue with our articles in which we explain not only the sensory characteristics of the different styles of craft beers , but also their history and many interesting anecdotes about them. This week we bring you a style that is not very well known in Spain, but which is gaining popularity: Bock beers.
Bock style: its historical origin
Some beers are inseparable from a place. Just as we cannot stop thinking about Munich with the Marzën, the Bock style has a reference city: Einbeck.
It is quite likely that this is the first time you have heard this name, but we assure you that this place, located south of Hannover, in Germany, became a key point for beer history in the 14th century.
As often happens, several unexpected circumstances arose for this to happen: on the one hand, Einbeck was part of the Hanseatic League, which was a kind of commercial federation between various European cities. This meant that it had great export potential for whatever goods it produced and wanted to sell abroad. On the other hand, its location was ideal for growing hops, which just at that time began to gain importance as a fundamental ingredient in brewing.
As we have already told you, for many centuries beer was made by adding a mixture of herbs and spices to the recipe to preserve the drink, known as gruit. The problem was that its composition could vary a lot and this could lead to the fact that the taste of the drinks was highly variable, to poisoning. Then it was discovered that hops had wonderful properties to preserve beer ( here we tell you how the first time that this ingredient appears written about it is a German nun who signs) . As Eibeck was well positioned commercially, it began to sell beers with this ingredient, and it became a very authoritative city in the beer world.
And of course, when you have authority, you make your own beer recipe. This is how the first Bocks appeared. Actually these early Bock -type beers bear little resemblance to today's, as they were brewed with pale malts and wheat was often an important part of the recipe. This was also one of the reasons for its success: at that time German beers were cloudy and dark, so a pale, well-clarified beer was very novel.
When the Bocks went to Munich
Einbeck's supremacy as a brewing town waned during the early part of the 17th century, when a series of historical events, such as the Thirty Years' War or a great fire, devastated the town. So Bock 's exports declined. The interesting thing is that the Germans liked this style so much that the government was forced to take steps to keep it being made and sold.
So, in 1612, a brewmaster from Einbeck traveled all the way to Bavaria to teach the brewers in Munich the process of making Bock beer. Known for their dark beers (Munich Dunkel), Munich brewers created a variation when they combined grists that included darker malts with new "lagerization" procedures.
The beer was still dark and strong, but was thereafter fermented in the bottom of the vats and rested for several months, to create a smoother, lighter beer with rich, complex malt flavors. This is how a blonde beer, produced at Einbeck, evolved into a darker, stronger style of beer, brewed in the Munich breweries.
Variants of the Bock style
Currently, there are two main variants within the Bock style:
- on the one hand, the pale Helles-Bock ,
- on the other hand, the dark Dunkels-Bock , which could be considered the traditionalBock .
In both cases they share their malty character and their abundance of bakery flavors , maintaining the obvious differences in color and nuances of aroma and flavor due to the type of malts used to make them.
Compared to other styles, traditional Bocks are:
- darker, with a richer malt flavor and less obvious bitterness than a Helles Bock;
- with less alcoholic sensation and abundance of malt than a DoppelBock; and malt flavors that are more intense and more alcoholic than a Märzen.
Helles Bocks, on the other hand, have rich bready notes along with a light toastiness, but do not have the full depth of malt that a Doppelbock or even a (traditional) Dunkels Bock does.
Do you want to try the Bock style?
If you feel like trying some beers of this style, in our store we have, as always, magnificent recipes prepared by national brewers. To start, we suggest the Poch's El Venedor de Fum Doppel Bock , in which the main ingredient is its slightly smoky flavor (beech wood) and a touch of chocolate.
But also, on these dates you can enjoy a seasonal beer in the Bock style: the MaiBock, whose name literally means " Bock de Mayo". This style, made during the winter months to undergo a prolonged maturation process that lasts until early spring, is traditionally consumed in this month. They are characterized by having a little more hops, which provides the necessary freshness for the temperatures that begin to rise. We recommend this Maibock Lager beer from Dawat, golden blonde in color and that you can pair with a delicious roast chicken.