And the Style of the Month is.... Bock!

           Oh the unadulterated Maltiness of Bock.. This was the style of beer I first truly fell in love with.  Although I turned into a hophead, and now profess to be a sourhead, my head was originally full of rich malty thoughts.  The Bock can be dated back to the 14th century to the city of Einbeck, Germany.  In Einbeck they produced a delicious, mellow, light lagered beer that they exported across Europe.  The beer was enormously popular because of its clarity and distinct flavors, as opposed to the muddled brown ales of the time.  Another brewing city in Germany, Munich, lived under the shadow of Einbeck's success and sought to rise to the same level.  In 1612 Maximillian I invited Elias Pichler, Einbeck's head brewer, to the city to show them his brewing technique.  At the time, Munich was producing a darker brown beer that resembled a predecessor to modern day Dunkels.  When the brewers at Munich employed Pickler's technique they created a darker, stronger beer with the same clarity as the Einbeck.  It became very popular and is the predecessor of present day Bocks.

           Bocks get their rich Malt flavor from the inclusion of Melanoidins, which are produced when sugars and ammino acids combine at the boil (the Maillard reaction).  Vienna and Munich malts are considered high Melanoidin malts because of the kilning process that takes place when they are made. Another factor to consider when making a bock is using a decoction mash.  Decoction is when you take some of the mash and bring it to boil and then add it to the rest of the mash.  This causes the temperature of the mash tun as a whole to rise slowly from the protein rest to mash-out temperatures.  To increase the levels of melanoidin further you can add more decoction steps.

           Bocks can be divided into four main sub-styles: Bock, Doppelbock, Maibock/Hellesbock, and Eisbock.

•          The Bock is a dark, strong, lager that pours a light to dark brown.  It is classically very clean, made with Vienna or Munich malts, and employs no non-malt adjuncts.   Continental European hops are usually used and the beer rarely exhibits any hops in the aroma and only the mildest ballancing bitterness in the mouth. Flavors are very complex, toasted malts and can include sweet and clean caramel malt richness and sometimes booze notes.  ABV hovers around 6-7%
  
•          The DoppelBock - The first Doppelbock has been attributed to Paulaner Brewery in Munich.  Doppelbocks are stronger, darker incarnations of the bock and require an original gravity of 1.072.   Like the regular Bock, this tasty brew has no hop aroma, and just enough hop bitterness to ballance the complex malt flavors derived from decoction.  Doppelbocks tend to have a darker brown pour than Bocks with a boozier, richer nose.  Flavors are complex malts on the tongue with caramel and some light chocolate and sometimes slight flutters of roast.  ABV hovers around 7-10%
  
•            The Maibock/HellesBock - The  Maibock (May bock) and Hellesbock (Bright bock) are classically brewed during the winter and released at the start of summer.  They tend to be paler bocks and take the rich complexity of the bock style and put it into a lighter, fresher context.  Hops are often added to increase this freshness, making the Mai/Hellebock the hoppiest of bocks.  The development of the Mai/Helles Bock was largely due to the pale malt revolution in the 19th century, and the first was created by Hofbrauhaus in Munich.  Following the craze of the time, they produced a pale lager but with all the complex maltiness that Munich was known for.  The slight difference between the Hellesbock and Maibock come in the color and flavor.  The Maibock uses Munich malts generally and tend to have a darker amber color and are generally bready, rich and toasty.  The Hellesbock pours golden and uses pilsner malts.  Decoction mellows it out into a softer malt character. ABV hovers around 6-7%
  
•          The Eisbock - The Eisbock is a beer that has undergone a process of freeezing to remove water, thus rendering it more concentrated both alcoholically, and with respect to sugar concentration.  Generally these are made with the same ingredients as a doppelbock.  They tend to have intense, rich malt flavors and significantly more fruitiness then other bocks.  This fruitiness comes from the Munich malts and not from yeast esters.  Abv hovers around 9-14% 
  
         There are a lot of variations on these styles, as brewers tend to like experimenting with styles.  In my mind, though, the classical interpretation is far superior to most of these incarnations.  The addition of adjuncts tends to muddle the rich yet clean maltiness that is the trade mark of the style.  Chocolate bock comes to mind as a perversion of this purity.  The addition of chocolate nibs, to me, only serves to overpower the multilayered, complex maltiness of the bock beer.  Some may argue that it serves to add more complexity to the overall flavor, but in this beer drinker's humble opinion, there's no bock better than one that adheres to the Reinheitsgebot. 
  
        Some suggestions for those looking to delve into bocks -
• Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
• Smuttynose Smuttonator
• Spaten Optimator
• Smuttynose Maibock
• Rogue Dead Guy Ale
• Kulmbacher Eisbock
• Schneider Aventinus Eisbock

 Prost!
James Blauvelt





References
http://allaboutbeer.com/learn-beer/styles/stylistically-speaking/
http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2008_Guidelines.pdf