Talk Bock For Spring

With daylight-saving time, it’s spring forward, fall back. But in the beer world, this is the time for spring bock.

Bock beers - strong, malty lagers of German origin - are a welcome bridge between the beefy ales of winter and the lighter brews of summer.

Some believe the beer got its name because it first became popular in the northern German city of Einbeck, which was commonly pronounced “Einbock” down south in Bavaria, where the style really took off.

But since “bock” also means “billy goat” in German — which is why goats often are pictured on the beer labels — there are alternative theories.

One of the more colorful holds that a goat escaped from a nearby pen while two German brewers were engaged in a drinking match. When one competitor finally got too tipsy and fell, he claimed he had been butted by the animal.

Replied the victor: “The bock that threw you over was brewed by me!”

Bock beers come in a range of colors, from light golden to almost black. But all are high in alcohol deceptively so, since the cold fermentation and conditioning common to lagers makes them smooth, round and drinkable.

At Casey’s Pub in Post Falls, brewer and co-owner Kent Roberts was surprised to see a hearty doppelbock become his best-selling beer.

“A big, full-bodied dark beer isn’t normally what you see as an extremely popular beer in North Idaho and Eastern Washington,” Roberts says. But bocks, he adds, are “easily approachable by everybody.”

Along with the year-round doppelbock - sometimes offered in special batches brewed with bourbon-soaked wood chips - Casey’s makes a golden Treaty Rock Bock for spring. It’s popular, too, having already sold out this year.

A golden Ram’s Head bock makes its annual appearance at T.W. Fisher’s in Coeur d’Alene in early May. In Spokane, the Ram and C.I. Shenanigan’s are bringing back a seasonal Maibock (literally, “May Bock”) next week that’s toned down a little from last year.

“It was one of those where you didn’t want people drinking more than one or two glasses,” says brewer Steve Samuelson. “We thought we’d lighten it up a little bit.”

A couple of bottled bocks found in supermarkets, Thomas Kemper’s Bad Goat Bock and Widmer’s Golden Bock, offer different interpretations of the spring bock style.

Bad Goat (which includes an abbreviated version of the escaped-goat story on the label) is deep golden-amber with a fairly thick mouth-feel and a lingering malt sweetness. The Golden Bock, by comparison, is lighter in color and body with a drier, hoppier finish.

On the other end of the bock scale are doppelbocks, or double bocks, powerful beers first brewed by monks to fortify themselves during the fasting days of Lent.

The original, from what later became the secular Paulaner brewery, was called Salvator, meaning “savior.” Since then, the “-ator” suffix has become common among doppelbocks. Along with offering Salvator, specialty stores typically stock Spaten’s Optimator and Ayinger’s particularly dark, rich Celebrator (which features a tiny plastic goat hanging from a string around its neck).

One of the better domestic interpretations, Samuel Adams’ Double Bock, isn’t available around here this year. But there’s a welcome microbrewed replacement: Full Sail’s Mercator Doppelbock, a specialty store item that’s part of the Oregon brewery’s new limited-edition “Brewer’s Reserve” series.

Named after 16th-century mapmaker Gerardus Mercator, the mahogany-colored beer is rich and malty but not overly sweet, with a pleasantly spicy hop character. It’s well-aged even by bock standards, having been brewed on Aug. 25 but not bottled until Feb. 2. At a heady 7.8 percent alcohol by volume, it should continue to mature nicely for a while.

But you don’t have to wait one minute longer to drink it if you don’t want to. So go on - go get your goat.

Hopping around

Also noteworthy from Full Sail these days are the spring/summer seasonal Equinox ESB, with caramel and licorice notes and a fresh hop flavor, and the Old Boardhead barley wine, another Brewer’s Reserve offering. Already aged for more than a year before bottling, Boardhead is one of the more balanced and drinkable examples of the high-octane barley wine style.

Just in time for cycling season, the light, nutty Fat Tire amber ale from Colorado’s New Belgium brewery, previously available in bottles, is making its local debut on draft. It should start popping up at a handful of area taverns.

Pend Oreille Brewing welcomes warmer weather with its seasonal Huckleberry Wheat, scheduled for release Sunday. While the Sandpoint brewery bottles several of its beers, this one will be available only on tap.

Another light-bodied brew that should keep tasting better as the temperature rises is Ice Harbor’s Columbia Kolsch, an American version of the German cold-conditioned ale style. It’s been a big hit for the Pasco brewery on its home turf and will start showing up in selected Spokane supermarkets in bottles. Light straw-colored with a delicate, clean flavor, it might just tempt a few folks to put down their Budweisers.

But Bud aficionados will probably want to avoid Rogue’s Brutal Bitter, now available in specialty stores in 22-ounce bottles. While not overpowering, the Newport, Ore., product delivers a substantial hop kick - less like a goat, maybe, than a mule.