AHHH! Bock

Anyone that watched M.A.S.H. with any consistency will remember the episode where Radar was trying to act sophisticated to win the favors of a lady. To this end he affected a love of all things sophisticated, such as classical music. He practiced the utterance “Ahhh Bach” to show his love of the grand masters music. But I digress; this is about the beer and not music or television. Like the music of Bach, bock beer is deep, rich, sophisticated and has many variations on the same theme.

What exactly is a Bock Beer? Well let me tell you what it is not. It is not a beer that is brewed using the results of the “annual clearing” of the breweries pipes, tanks or the use of last seasons leftover grain. This urban legend still persists and is patently false. Breweries are scrupulously clean operations and are constantly being cleaned as anything less than absolute cleanliness risks spoiling the beer.

Bock beer (Bockbier) is a particular style of beer that originated in the town of Einbeck in Germany. It is a “lager” styled beer that is fermented at cooler temperatures over a long period of time. For many beer lovers, "bockbier" is the highlight of the Lenten fasting period that precedes Easter. Consequently, it is during this period that many breweries produce their strong, maltier bock beers. This nourishing specialty enjoys a long tradition: Centuries ago it was drunk by the Bavarian monks to help them survive the long Lent fasting season. After all, they reasoned: "liquid nourishment doesn't break our fasting oath".

For many breweries, bock beer is seen as the very pinnacle of the brewer's art. Almost every German brewery worthy of its name therefore includes a bock in its product range. Despite regional variations - slightly lighter in color in northern Germany and darker in the south - all bock beers have at least two things in common, higher alcohol content (around 5-7%) and a malty aroma. For those looking for something a little stronger, there's also a style called "Doppelbock" 7-9% alcohol and for the truly adventurous there is the legendary “Eisbock” with upwards of ten percent alcohol content. There are also Weizenbocks that have a significant amount of wheat added to an otherwise all malt brew. Roggenbocks, add Rye and there are versions that use smoked malt as well.

There are numerous legends surrounding the history of bock beer. Many people often wonder why monks - of all people - were allowed to drink such strong beer during their fasts. (Do you think it had something to do with being cloistered in an unheated, stone abbey with little to do besides create illuminated manuscripts? Add to this the fact that there were no women around to tell them to “put their clothes in the hamper and put the seat down?” Perhaps there may be some truth to this. Another popular tale explains how the monks arranged for Papal approval of this indulgence. Apparently the monks transported a barrel of the beer over the Alps to distant Rome in order to convince the "Holy Father" of its suitability for fasting. When the beer eventually reached the Pope, however, it had turned sour and was undrinkable. The Pope tasted the foul brew and had no qualms about permitting the monks to use the beer as liquid penance/sustenance during Lent. (Okay let’s agree to give this one a three on the 1 to 10 scale of truth or fiction. But it makes for a nice tale, and as these things go may contain a “grain” of truth…no pun intended.

Other sources claim that the beer has nothing to do with fasting. On the contrary, the Paulaner monks brewed it to celebrate the name day of their order's founder, Saint Francis of Paula (the Second day of April). The fact is that in 1751 the Paulaner monks received permission to produce and market a maltier beer called "St. Vaterbier", which was gradually changed to "Salvatorbier". After many other breweries had followed suit and called their own strong ales "Salvator", the monks succeeded in patenting the name in 1894. This led to a veritable boom in beers ending in "-ator" - even today, there are said to be over 200 Bavarian strong ales with the "-ator" suffix, including Maximator, Celebrator http://www.ayinger-bier.de , and Optimator today. Today you can buy these as well as Paulaner Salvator year round, though most aficionados agree that it is a Doppelbock not a straight bock beer.

But what about Einbeck? You know the place where the style originated? They still make bock beer there too. And it is the beer of Einbeck that sustained Martin Luther during his stay there. The bocks of Einbeck bear the appellation “Ur” for “original” and should be tried. Einbecker www.einbecker-brauhaus.de makes some fine examples of the style.

Here are some picks for you to start your exploration of this style with:

Bock Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel (dark) or Hell (light)

Doppelbock Samuel Adam’s Double Bock http://www.samadams.com , Paulaner Salvator http://www.paulaner.de/

Eisbock EKU 28 Kulminator http://www.kulmbacher.de/

Weizen-bock Aventinus* www.schneider-weisse.de/

Weizen Eisbock Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock*

All of these brews are available locally. Consider Spirits Unlimited on Newman Springs Road in Red bank as a one-stop place to get all of them. Other local venues may have one or more of them as well. Buy-Rite in Atlantic Highlands has the Sam Adam’s Double Bock for sure.

Next time we will talk about glassware for beer, cleaning a beer glass and the proper pour.