jvs@ihu1e.UUCP (John V. Smith) (03/29/84)
<no-blank> It's spring time, and for beer drinkers that means it's Bock Beer season. I picked up some Bock last weekend for the first time in about six years. While drinking it, I was reminded of Porter which I had experianced a few months ago for the first and only time. Bock had a taste very similar to that of Porter. But the Bock taste was not as strong. Bock was also lighter, less thick, and I found it to be a more refreashing drink than Porter. Anyway, while drinking, I recalled some things that I had always wondered about Bock. And a few new questions came to mind also. 1. 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? 2. Why is Bock seasonal, and why spring? 3. 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. 4. Why is Bock darker that regular American beer? 5. Is Bock really a light Porter or Stout? 6. 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. 7. 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. So beer drinkers, let's have some comments. I hope I'm not the only one on the net that likes Bock. P.S. By the way, has anyone else ever heard of "white beer"? -- Is I is, or is I aint, John V. Smith
hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (03/29/84)
To answer your question about "white" beer, you are probably referring to Weissbier. This is not white beer, but wheat beer, i.e. beer made from wheat. It is a very refreshing summer drink, and often taken with a slice of lemon floating in it. There are several imported German brands of weissbier available locall (NJ). A weissbier premixed with lemon is also available (Berliner), but this almost tastes like lemonade. The regular weissbier is somewhat sweeter than regular beer. By the way, does anyone remember Hop'n'gator. This was available in the early 70's, and was a citrus flavored beer. The name was probably chosen to make a reference to Gatorade(TM).
rib@pyuxdd.UUCP (RI Block) (03/30/84)
What is white beer? There is a german beer made by dinkelaker (sp) and perhaps others called weitz bier which is brewed from wheat (weitz) instead of the conventional barley malt.
rcd@opus.UUCP (03/31/84)
<> 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
mbk@psddevl.UUCP (Mike Blake-Knox) (03/31/84)
Bock beers are certainly at least a US/Canadian tradition as there are three currently available in Ontario including a 'malt liquor'. I called one of the breweries and was told that the name comes from the "Einbeck" brewery near Hamburg which made a particularly good brew after a very hard winter. It can now be made at any time of the year apparently, and Molson's does sell it year round. White beer might be the German beer brewed from wheat and served with lemon. It is called Wiesbier and weis does mean white in German. The people in my local German Restaurant however, don't seem to think the wies means white in this case. The (Austrian) fellow I talked to at the brewery agreed Wiesbier was the name for it but also didn't think one should take it literally to mean 'white beer'. Apparently, it is made from a mixture of wheat and barley malt and is 'top fermented'. Mike Blake-Knox
gregt@tektronix.UUCP (Greg Thomas) (04/06/84)
[*] When I was in Germany in 1980, I tasted a wonderful "bock-like" beer near Lake Constance called "urbock." So I suspect that bock may have European origins. Any other comments? And as long as we're talking about bock, whatever happened to Pabst bock beer? I haven't seen it around the last few years, and I really used to enjoy it. I used to drink it every bock season around 1977-1980. Quaff one for me... -Greg Thomas