Anchor Bock Beer

"You could do it in a boat, you could
do it with a goat." - Dr. Seuss  

Two Guys realize that it’s back to school season so we thought we would provide another history lesson to our loyal readers. Our latest sample was a bock beer. Bock beer is a strong, rich, malty, low-hop style of lager. It was originally brewed as an ale by Bavarian monks in the 14th Century and used as a source of nutrition during times of fasting due to its higher nutritional content--yet another example of the greatness of beer, aka liquid bread. The origin of the beer is believed to be Einbeck, Germany and the name comes from a Bavarian dialectic pronunciation of the town that made it sound like "ein bock," meaning "a billy goat." As a visual pun, many bock beers today use an image of a goat on their labels. There are many varieties or substyles of bock beers which differ in color(though none are light) and strength including one that is partially frozen to concentrate the flavor and alcohol content by removing the ice water. That’s baaaaaa-dass! Now onto the beer!

Joe: Since at the time of this sampling it was not 157 degrees outside, we tried a non-summer beer.  It was Anchor bock from the Anchor Brewing Company located in the great earthquake state of California.  It is a dark brown beer with light carbonation.  It has a 5.5% ABV.  You would think with a name like Anchor Bock that it would have a taste reminiscent of the sea but instead it has a caramel piney taste that reminds me of the woods.  The hops bitterness is very light and it has a sweet taste once it hits the back of the teeth.  As usual with a beer such as this, it tasted better once the palate was acclimated to the flavor.  I enjoyed this beer and would like to try another beer from this brewing company.  I give it a score of 3.5.

Justin: I enjoyed this bock beer from San Francisco. Anchor Bock immediately reminded me of the only other bock beer that I have tried – Michelob Amber Bock. The flavor was strong like a kick from a goat, as expected from a dark lager. It was full of flavorful tones of roasted barley and piney hops with rich hints of chocolate and caramel malts. The carbonation was very light which made the beer taste a little syrupy at times but overall, I enjoyed this nicely balanced brew. Four stars!