Bock is one of the few beer styles whose origin story is not folklore. It traces to a single city, Einbeck, in what is now Lower Saxony, Germany, where 14th-century brewers built a reputation so strong that a beer style still carries a version of the town’s name 600 years later.
Munich brewers pronounced “Einbeck” with a Bavarian accent that came out sounding like “ein Bock”, meaning “a billy goat”, and the name and the goat on the label stuck even after Bavaria took the style over as its own. Today bock covers a family of strong, malt-forward German lagers, from pale maibock to black eisbock, and the brands below span the full range.
Bock Beer at a Glance
| Style family | Traditional bock, maibock, doppelbock, eisbock, weizenbock |
| Typical ABV range | 6.3% to 13%+ depending on the variant |
| Color | Light copper (maibock) to dark brown (traditional/doppelbock) |
| Origin | Einbeck, Lower Saxony, 14th century; adopted by Munich in the 17th century |
Why Einbeck’s Beer Traveled So Far
Einbeck sat on a Hanseatic League trade corridor running from the North Sea to the Baltic, and its brewers had two real advantages over their rivals: they were early adopters of hops in a region still mostly using unhopped gruit, and they brewed only in winter, storing the beer cold, which made it far more stable for the trip to distant markets in England, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean than the murky, quick-souring beers most of Europe drank at the time.
The recipe itself was distinctive: one-third wheat, two-thirds barley, both kilned pale, producing a cleaner, lighter beer than the dark brews common elsewhere in 14th-century Germany. In 1612, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria invited Einbeck’s master brewer, Elias Pichler, to Munich specifically to teach the local brewers how to replicate it. Munich’s own dark beer was reworked using the Einbeck method, and the resulting style, stronger and maltier than the original, is what became known as traditional bock.
The Bock Family, Style by Style
Traditional bock is a strong, malt-dominant dark lager, typically 6.3% to 7.5% ABV, with little hop character to get in the way of the malt.
Maibock (also called Heller Bock, “pale bock”) is brewed in winter and released around May, lighter in color and slightly more hopped than traditional bock, meant as a transitional beer between winter’s heavier brews and summer’s lighter ones.
Doppelbock (“double bock”) is stronger and sweeter still, often 7% to 12% ABV, and always ends in “-ator” by brewing tradition, a nod to the original Salvator from Munich’s Paulaner brewery.
Eisbock (“ice bock”) takes a doppelbock and partially freezes it, then removes the ice, concentrating the alcohol and flavor into something that can reach 13% ABV or more.
8 Bock Beers Worth Seeking Out
Shiner Bock (Spoetzl Brewery, Texas, 4.4% ABV), first brewed in 1913, this American-style amber lager is lighter and less traditional than a German bock but became Texas’s best-known craft beer after fans demanded a year-round release starting in 1973. Roasted barley malt and German specialty hops give it a mild, nutty sweetness rather than a heavy bock punch.
Ayinger Celebrator (Privatbrauerei Ayinger, Bavaria, 6.7% ABV), a dark doppelbock that regularly ranks in international best-beer lists, with deep mahogany color, a caramel-and-cedar aroma, and a velvety full body. It rates 96/100 on BeerAdvocate from over 7,000 ratings, among the highest scores any doppelbock has earned there.
Paulaner Salvator (Paulaner Brewery, Munich, 7.9% ABV), the doppelbock that started the naming convention. Brewed by the Paulaner monks as their Lenten “liquid bread,” it is the direct ancestor of every “-ator”-named doppelbock on the market today.
Spaten Optimator (Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau, Munich, 7.6% ABV), one of the most widely exported German doppelbocks, dark and rich with a firm malt backbone and restrained sweetness compared to Salvator.
Einbecker Ur-Bock (Einbecker Brauhaus, Einbeck, 6.5% ABV), brewed in the actual town where the style began, this is the closest thing on shelves today to bock’s original home turf, dark amber with a bready, lightly toasted malt character.
Aventinus (Schneider Weisse, Bavaria, 8.2% ABV), a weizenbock, meaning a wheat beer brewed to bock strength. Banana and clove notes from the wheat yeast layer over deep malt, dried fruit and a touch of chocolate.
Kulmbacher Eisbock (Kulmbacher Brewery, Bavaria, 9.2% ABV), freeze-concentrated from a doppelbock base, delivering intense dark malt, dried fruit and a warming alcohol finish that puts it near the top of the bock strength scale.
Maibock (various German breweries, typically 6.5% to 8% ABV), look for Ayinger Maibock or Hofbrau Maibock for a lighter, more hop-forward entry point into the style, best enjoyed as the spring transitional beer it was designed to be.
Bock Style Comparison
| Style | Typical ABV | Color | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maibock | 6.5%-8% | Gold to light amber | Ayinger Maibock |
| Traditional bock | 6.3%-7.5% | Copper to brown | Einbecker Ur-Bock |
| Doppelbock | 7%-12% | Dark brown | Ayinger Celebrator, Paulaner Salvator |
| Weizenbock | 7%-9% | Amber to brown | Aventinus |
| Eisbock | 9%-13%+ | Very dark | Kulmbacher Eisbock |
“The word bock signifies goat, and its prefix to beer indicates that bock beer is so potent and exhilarating that the drinker soon becomes as frisky in his gambols as the goat.”, The Baltimore Sun, 1882
FAQs
Where does bock beer get its name?
From Einbeck, the German city where the style originated in the 14th century. Munich brewers pronounced Einbeck with a Bavarian accent that sounded like ein Bock, meaning a billy goat, and the goat imagery stuck on labels.
What is the difference between bock and doppelbock?
Doppelbock is a stronger, maltier version of traditional bock, generally 7% to 12% ABV versus 6.3% to 7.5% for traditional bock, and doppelbock names traditionally end in -ator.
Is bock a lager or an ale?
Bock is a lager, brewed with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures, apart from weizenbock, which uses a top-fermenting wheat beer yeast strain.
What is the strongest type of bock beer?
Eisbock, made by partially freezing a doppelbock and removing the ice to concentrate the alcohol, reaching 9% to 13% ABV or higher depending on the brewery.
