What makes a beer “bock”. Can it be brewed year round?
Nobody else has gotten on this one, so I’ll give it an amateur try. I think a bock has specific ingredients/ a particular profile (malty malty malty), and is governed by German law (must be 6.5+) but could be brewed year-round, although it’s traditonally not. Papazian says it’s an “all-malt dark lager”-- boy, that’s vague. I think traditionally they are brewed in winter and spring (Christmas bocks and March bocks). Doppelbocks are stronger with a higher original gravity (more fermentable sugars) and are the ones named with the -ator suffix (Celebrator, Salvator, Mercator, etc. Blasphemous exception-- Portland’s McMennamin’s Terminator stout).
Theories on the name-- Bock becasue it is ideally brewed during Capricorn (goat: Bock); Comes originally from Einbeck in the north and when introduced in the south the Beck beer was Bavarianly bastardized into Bock beer.
Here is the Britannica’s take on bock beer. The dark color comes from roasting the malt, so bock beer can be made at any time.
*"Munich has become associated with dark, strong, slightly sweet beers with less hop character. The dark colour comes from highly roasted malt, and other characteristic flavours arise during the decoction mashing process. Bock is an even stronger, heavier Munich-type beer that is brewed in winter for consumption in the spring."
I just happened to have emptied one as a matter of fact – no traditional limitations on seasonal consumption here!
What makes a beer bock, is the same thing that makes a beer a porter, or a stout, or a pilsner. It’s simply a style of beer. It can be brewed whenever you want, but traditionally, it is made in winter. Why? I don’t know. It’s tradition, and it’s German, and I’m not German, so I don’t care. I just like it. As David mentioned, it is usually very malty, made with Munich malt, and less hoppy than a pilsner or stout. Like most all German beer, it is very rich, very strong, and very tasty. It’s a good “sit by the fire” beer.