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.
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.
ReplyDeleteI have been misled only by my own prejudices. My ignorance is my fault alone.
ReplyDeleteI also haven't spent nearly enough time in Germany...
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!
ReplyDeleteI remember trying this somewhere and liking it a lot.
ReplyDelete"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...
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.
ReplyDeleteThanks to an entusiastic importer, wh have most of the Einbecher beers available on tap during the summer here in Oslo. Lovely stuff.
ReplyDelete