Bock

Big yet simple in its construction, this is a showcase of what clean ethanol flavors can add to a beer. Apple-like alcohols meld with the hop aroma and bready grist to yield a simple yet dangerous lager that’s anything but boring.

When most people hear “bock,” they think malt—and there’s no question that maibock is a malt-forward style. However, you can lean into hops and other flavor elements to add interest, and—done well—the result is much more than a “strong helles.”

Eisbock uses a fractional freezing process to concentrate the beer’s strength, and it does so without requiring your yeast to work overtime. The result is a smooth, rich, and intense lager—perfectly suited to sipping on a cold winter night.

Stefan Zehendner at Brauerei Zehendner shares a recipe for this strong, seasonal bock that he releases every December. As with his Maibock, the target is a full-flavored yet addictively drinkable strong lager with deep, bready malt flavor and surprising bitterness, complemented by herbal-minty Perle hop flavors.

In looking for tips on what makes for a great pale bock, Josh Weikert reaches out to owner-brewer Stefan Zehendner of the highly regarded Brauerei Zehendner, makers of the Mönchsambacher beers.

Somewhere between hefty doppelbock and pale heller bock, the traditional dunkles bock is like the family’s middle child—it doesn’t get as much attention, but you’ll want it in your fridge year-round.

This recipe from Josh Weikert’s Make Your Best series leans into Munich malt for a rich yet smooth foundation, for a doppelbock that drinks much more easily than its strength.

Based on detailed advice from Josef Lechner, brewmaster and technical director at G. Schneider & Sohn in Kelheim, Bavaria, here is a homebrew-scale recipe based on the legendary Schneider Aventinus.

Weizenbock is so dangerously easy to drink, but the brewing process behind a great weizenbock is surprisingly complicated. It may be worth the trouble, since its potential for easygoing mass appeal remains largely untapped.

Wheat beers, in the hands of skilled brewers, bring out the best of expressive yeasts. Here, five pros share their favorites, across styles.

Full of malt depth yet dry, leaner than a doppelbock yet sneaky in strength... Once you brew a dunkles bock, you’ll wonder why you don’t have one on tap year-round.

Brewing a great eisbock requires restraint. Keep the recipe simple, and let the freezer do the work.

Based on notes taken by Paul Kaiser, who brewed at Weger Brothers in Philadelphia, here is a recipe for a bock lager in the early 20th-century American fashion.

There were Munich-style dark lagers, American bocks, and paler, pilsner-like beers. Adjuncts abounded. Here, historian Michael Stein of the research firm Lost Lagers digs into the recipes and methods of the time.

Brewed once per year at Urban Chestnut’s brewery in Wolnzach, in the heart of Bavaria’s hop-growing Hallertau region, here is a homebrew-scale recipe for the strong, malty, mahogany-colored beer named for the town’s 8th-century founder.

For advice on brewing a great doppelbock, we turned to an experienced Bavarian brewer: Florian Kuplent, cofounder and brewmaster of Urban Chestnut in St. Louis and the Hallertau.

The best doppelbocks eschew excessive sweetness and embrace balance—despite offering deep malt complexity and festive, brain-tickling strength. Here are five we love.

Monkish hospitality and devotion gave way to modern commercialism over a few centuries, but this Bavarian product that evolved along the way still has the power to nourish and amaze.

This big, complex crowd-pleaser winds up like a cross between a banana protein shake and Belgian dubbel. Ferment warm and buckle up.

Leave understatement to the lagers. These big, estery wheats celebrate the fine flavors of rich fermentation.