rcd@opus.UUCP (04/06/84)
[<>] > Bock (aka Boc) is a seasonal beer, brewed >for one of the religious holidays (easter?) Well, yes and no, the first tapping of Bock after its long winter lagering was its own holiday, tho it probably hit spring solstice and related holidays pretty closely...but if have a (right and proper) view that tapping a good beer is a sacrament, then right on! It's a religious occasion! [The variant spelling, which shows up in at least Dutch and Norwegian, is "bok".] >The goat on the label symbolizes the meat... No, actually the goat comes from the word "Bock" which is German for "male goat" (i.e., "ram"). It started out as "Einbeck", the city where the Bock custom originated. If you can imagine what sort of beer it takes to make you turn "Einbeck" into "Bock" (especially when one is the name of your home town and the other means "goat"!), you begin to get an idea of the effect of a good Bock... >The beer is brewed for high protein content... Let's quash that one right here and now. The protein content of beer is as close to zero as the brewmaster (bless his heart) can make it - because beer will cloud [technically, protein-induced chill haze] if there are proteins left in it. Proteins left in beer will also give it an off taste. (So if you need excuses, you have to do better than, "It's all right, ma. I'm trying to cure a protein deficiency!" But who needs excuses to drink good beer??? In fact, enough of this news stuff...I need a beer!) -- "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile." {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd