10 October 2007

My ur-bock hell

Now, to me, the syllable "bock" implies a dark beer. Doppelbock, eisbock, bokkbier -- all dark. Even maibock has a bit of colour to it. So I was surprised when I encountered Einbecker Ur-Bock in an off licence recently, presented in a green bottle, and quite plainly not bock-coloured.

It wasn't until I got it home that I noticed the "hell" in tiny outline letters on the neck. So presumably there's a non-hell version, properly dark, with the same label. It pours a limpid gold, giving off heady malt aromas. Tastewise, it's definitely true to its north German roots. The malt is there in spades, reminding me of a toned-down Jever, or an extreme Beck's. Behind the malt, there's a sugary sweetness, possibly connected to the 6.5% alcohol, and finishing up with a dry hoppiness catching in the back of the throat and necessitating another sip.

This Einbecker is a lovely little beer, brimming with flavour and well worth a look, if you can get past that initial bock shock.

6 comments:

  1. Aha, now Mr. Nut you've been misled! "Bock" does not imply a dark beer. Indeed I've had several in Germany that are quite pale. An example that springs to mind is Josef Schneider's Bock in Essing.

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  2. I have been misled only by my own prejudices. My ignorance is my fault alone.

    I also haven't spent nearly enough time in Germany...

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  3. Anonymous6:46 pm

    Phew - Thank god for that, from the post title I thought it was going to be a beer review written in text speak. kp up t gd wk m8!

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  4. Anonymous7:52 am

    I remember trying this somewhere and liking it a lot.

    "Extreme Becks" is almost certainly in the pipeline, if the lemon and lime flavoured specimens being pushed all over Europe are anything to go by...

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  5. Every time I go to Belgium I find they've added a new fruit to Hoegaarden. It seems the lads in the Beck's Development office next door have had a glass to the wall.

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  6. Thanks to an entusiastic importer, wh have most of the Einbecher beers available on tap during the summer here in Oslo. Lovely stuff.

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