1-6. What is "bock" beer?
Description
This article is from the rec.food.drink.beer FAQ, by John Lock with numerous contributions by others.
1-6. What is "bock" beer?
Bock is a style of lager beer which originated in Germany. It was
traditionally brewed in the fall, at the end of the growing season,
when barley and hops were at their peak. It was "lagered" all winter
and enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the new brewing season.
Bocks can be pale (helles) or dark (dunkles) and there are
double(doppel) bocks which are extra strong.
Bocks are usually strong beers made with lots of malt yielding a very
full-bodied, alcoholic beer. A persistent myth has been that bock
beers are made from the dregs at the bottom of a barrel when they are
cleaned in the spring. This probably seemed logical because of the
heavier body and higher strength of bocks. From a brewing standpoint,
this is clearly impossible for two reasons: 1) The "dregs" left after
fermentation are unfermentable, which is exactly why they are left
over. They cannot be fermented again to make more beer. 2) Any
attempt to re-use the "dregs" would probably result in serious
bacterial contamination and a product which does not resemble beer as
we know it.
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