Bocks are the traditional beers of spring, brewed during the winter months for tapping in mid-March, or for religious festivals like Lent. For Lent in particular, fasting monks derived their sustenance and nutrition from high-gravity Bocks brewed for that purpose (Doppelbocks—the “liquid bread”).

Bocks come in all manner of shapes and sizes: traditional Bocks, Doppelbocks, Maibock, Triple Bocks, Eisbocks, and on and on. The base style is a rich and malty lager, often brewed dark (though they run the range of colors these days), with low-to-mild hop presence. Ray Daniels has a great rundown of the style with extensive notes on brewing it yourself.

Also check out the Wikipedia page for further reference, and Michael Jackson’s Beer Hunter articles for some good reads.

I love Bocks and the variations, you can’t go wrong with the style, and I’ve reviewed a good number of them over the years here. Links? Of course! In no particular order:

• Full Sail LTD Series #1
• Geist Bock from Golden Valley Brewery
• Anchor Bock
• Heller Hound from Flying Dog
• Josephs Brau Winterfest
• Flying Dog Illuminator
• Full Sail 21
• Broken Top Bock from Deschutes Brewery
• Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock (in my opinion one of the best beers in the world)
• Aventinus Weizenbock
• Kulmbacher Eisbock

There’s almost certainly a Bock beer of some kind available to you right now. What are you waiting for?