Dutch Bokbier Tasting 2003
Introduction - tasting notes

Introduction
A glance at the figures for bockbier production in Holland over the last ten years might make appear that bokbier is booming. Every year more and more 'bock' is sold, but how much of it really deserves to bear that name?

These are the results of my blind tastings of 2003 vintage bockbiers. As I have chance to sample more beers, I'll add my findings on them. Here's my usual tasting procedure:
  • 5 to 6 beers in one set
  • beers served in identical numbered glasses
  • I note down my opinionated tripe on a form
Preliminary results suggest an even further sweetening this year. I can feel my molars dissolving after the second sip. Wonderful. And me so proud of still having all my own teeth.

I hope that these notes will be helpful for visitors to the 2003 Bokbierfestival in Amsterdam. On how many occasions has my enjoyment of the Bockbierfestival been ruined by sampling nothing but Sarson's all day. I'm brutally honest: if a bok is rubbish, I say so.

I've since tasted the 2004 vintages (sadly they weren't a great deal better. You can find the results here.
What is Bockbier?
History
The tale with which discussions of bock usually start, is the one of how beer from the North German town of Einbeck, or Einbecker beer, was exported to Bavaria. They got a taste for the strong dark beer, corrupted the name to 'Ein Bock' and started brewing it themselves. I must say that this story has always sounded a bit dodgy to me and doesn't seem to be backed by much in the way of contemporary documentary evidence. It strikes me that a goat ('Bock' in German) is also a pretty obvious symbol for strength and virility, so why look for any more complicated explanation of the name?

Whatever the origin of the term, from the 16th century bockbier was well-established in Bavaria as a seasonal strong beer. In fact the seasonal nature of bock is one of the few consistent characteristics it displays across the various countries where it's brewed. In Bavaria, the season is in March. Christmas and Easter are when bocks usually appear in Austria. Holland plumps for October and November, though I'm not sure of the precise reason for the choice. (A guess would be the first brew with the new season's malt and hops.)
Bokbier today
Between 1988 and 1995 production of bockbier increased from just under 30,000 hl to a little over 85,000 hl. Increased interest in beer in general and the European-wide fashion for seasonal beers were no doubt both factors in bock's success. No brewery can afford to miss out on the extra publicity and attention the annual release of the new season's bocks generates. All the established lager brewers have had a bock in their porfolios for a good few year. Not wishing to miss out on the fun, the small micros soon followed with bocks of their own.

Now this was all very well, but the small breweries had a problem: bock is a bottom-fermenting style but they only had the equipment to top-ferment. No problem, just brew a top-fermenting version then. Well, it isn't quite that simple, as the often bizarre results have demonstrated. As time has gone by, microbreweries have made less and less effort to mimic the traditional style. Which leaves us in the current situation, where these beers bear almost no resemblance to the classic bock. Dark and 6.5% alcohol are about as much as most can manage - and not always even that.

The lager breweries, who had had a fairly good grip on the basics of the style started to lose the plot in a different way. No doubt encouraged by the success of the (once) untypically sugary Grolsch Bokbier, they began to increase the sweetness of their own beers. Where once achieving a bitter-sweet balance had been the objective, now producing a beer version of Pepsi was the aim. Same colour, just as sweet and without any of that nasty bitternes that makes beer so unpleasant. 		What's Bokbier like?
Let's continue with the specific qualities which a Dutch bock should demonstrate. These are what I would consider its defining characteristics:
  • dark in colour (red-brown to black)
  • strong in alcohol (6.5 - 8%)
  • sweet on the tongue (but not ridiculously so), with optionally a little bitterness, too
  • a mixture of bittersweet flavours - toffee, raisin, coffee, chocolate, burnt, liquorice - but with the bitterness deriving from dark malts rather than hops
  • be balanced between bitterness and sweetness so that neither predominates
  • have a mouth-filling rich texture
That doesn't sound all that demanding, does it? No outlandish flavours, no exotic ingredients required, no special, complicated brewing process. So why do so many of the beers given the name bock fail to meet this specification?


Dutch Bokbier Tasting 2003
The results


Brewery / Beer
score (100)
SNAB Ijsbok
82
Texels Bock
81
Amstel Bock
79
3 Horne Horn's Bock
70
Jopen Viergranen Bokbier
66
De Snaterende Arend 't Swarte Schaep
65
Het Ij Bockbier
61
Scheldebrouwerij Wildebok
52
Dommelsch Jonge Bok
52
Grunn Bock Primeur
46
Albert Heijn Herfstbock
45
Volenbock
44
Bavaria Hooghe Bock
43
Leeuw Herfstbock
40
Drie Ringen Bock
39
Klein Duimpje Slobberbok
37
Hoeksch Bokbier
34
Budels Bock
32
Gulpener Herfstbock
32
Heineken Tarwebok
31
Kemphaan Herfstbok
31
Hertog Jan Bockbier
30
Lindeboom Herfstbock
26
SNAB Ezelenbok
23
St. Servattamus Skendelse Bock
20
Alfa Bokbier
20
Halve Maan Zondebok
18
Uden's Bockbier
14
Grolsch Herfstbock
13
Maasland Ossebock
10
Haerlemsch Herfst-Bock
8


Brewery
Beer
alc.
colour
aroma
taste
aroma
finish
aftertaste
comments
score
(100)

Bavaria Hooghe Bock 		6.5% ruby red, clear Metal, pear, caramel, cherry, toffee, sweet very sweet cream, sourish, raisins sugary, cream very sweet, bitterish Far too sweet. Without the 18 points for quite a good aroma, the score wouldn't look so clever. Still, a big improvement on their old Tarwebock. Top-fermented.
43

Amstel Bock 		7% brown, clear burnt, toffee, toast, alcohol sweet, bitter black toffee, burnt, fruit, dates coffee, burnt, dates, toffee, raisins, chicory sweet, bitter Bittersweet, complex and delicious. Always one of the best bokbiers. Let's hope Heineken leave it alone.
79

Drie Ringen Bock 		6.5% dark brown,
clear 		metal, liquorice sweet burnt, coffee, fruit, metal toffee, coffee very sweet, bitterish A beer with good intentions, which it can't quite live up to. Tastes like a flawed copy of Amstel Bok.
39

Gulpener Herfstbock 		6.5% ruby red, clear sugar, pear, metal, grape. sweet grape grape very sweet, bitterish A weird and pervasive grape flavour - which surely can't have been intended - totally dominates this beer.
32

Budels Bock 		6.5% ruby red, clear cream, fruit, vegetable, hops very sweet chicory, burnt sugar, sweet, tobacco sugar, chicory sweet Some hop flavours, which is a bit unusual, but far too sweet. A bit amateurish.
32

Lindeboom Herfstbock 		6.5% ruby red, clear cherry, metal, sweet, yeast very sweet yeast, cherry yeast, cherry sweet This used to be a restrained, smoky beer. Ruined by excessive sweetening. Smells (and tastes) like cherryade. Love the label, though.
26

Leeuw Herfstbock 		6.5% ruby red, clear chicory, fruit, butter sweet cream, toffee fruit, butter, cream, liquorice sweetish, bitterish Rather thin and far too buttery. So buttery that I was convinced it was Alfa.
40

Grolsch Herfstbock 		6.5% ruby red, clear vegetables, metal very, very, very sweet metal, vegetables sugar, hops very sweet, bitterish

Terrrible, terrible beer. Far too sweet and without a single appropriate flavour for the style and lots of off flavours..

13

Hertog Jan Bockbier 		6.5% brown, clear dust, cream, metal, liquorice very sweet chocolate, grapes, metal toffee, sugar sweet, bitter Tastes like mild gone sour. With several tablespoons of sugar added. Surprisingly, having said that, not one of the worst.
30

Heineken Tarwebok 		6.5% ruby red, clear dust, liquorice,
alcohol 		very sweet liquorice,
chicory, sugar		 burnt, raisins,
sugar 		very sweet, bitterish Like a reasonable bock, but with 20 spoonfulls of sugar added.
31

Alfa Bokbier 		6.5% dark amber, clear vegetables, mint, tobacco, dust sweet dusty, sugary dust, hop, mint sweet, bitterish Low-quality pale lager crudely coloured. Sorry you lads at Alfa - I take no pleasure in slagging off your beer like this. But I really did taste the beer blind.
20

St. Servattamus Skendelse Bock		 7% amber,
cloudy 		bubble gum, cherry, sugar very, very sweet sugar, caramel sugar, cream very sweet Too pale and ridiculously sweet. Probably why the beer was so lively - it's been bottled with too much fermentable material in it.
20

Klein Duimpje Slobberbok 		7% brown, clear coffee, cornflakes, metal, liquorice sweet, sourish cherry, toffee, burnt, alcohol coffee, toffee sweet, bitterish Only 15.6º Plato. Tastes like it will be going sour quite soon. Flavours are, however, about right for the style.
37

Kemphaan Herfstbok 		6% ruby red, clear coriander, tea, mint, toffee, sourish sweetish, sourish coriander, herbal herbal, hop bitter I thought that bock had to be a minimum of 6.5% by law. Tastes like last year's Ij bock. Will be turning to vinegar in approx. 5 minutes.
31

Het Ij Bockbier 		6.5% ruby red, clear coriander, bread, yeast sweet, bitterish coriander, herbal, caramel, toast herbal, coriander, hop bitter They've been at the coriander again. A bit too spicy and bitter for the style, but not by ant means a bad beer.
61

3 Horne Horn's Bock		 7% dark brown,
clear 		fruit, dates, liquorice, sweet very sweet cream, black toffee, dates, liquorice liquorice, cream, burnt, espresso very sweet, bitter A bit too sweet for my taste, but otherwise pretty good.
70

Halve Maan Zondebok 		8% ruby red, clear wood, mint, coriander, toast very sweet, sourish caramel cream, sugar very sweet Far too sweet and a bit sour. Crap. Amazingly, two beers in the set were even worse.
18

Maasland Ossebock 		6.5% ruby red, clear metal, cherry, apple sweetish, sour, bitter apple, wood wood sour, bitter Off. Like one of my very worst homebrews.
10

Hoeksch Bokbier 		6.5% dark brown, clear cherry, plum, caramel, sugar very sweet cherry, caramel, yeast grape, caramel, sugar very sweet, bitterish Not a particularly interesting beer - very sweet and a bit fruity. At least it isn't infected.
34

Uden's Bockbier 		6% dark brown, cloudy chicory, tar, burnt, liquorice, toast sweet, sour, bitter smoke, sour coffee, sour sour, bitter, sweet Vile - hopelessly infected. Why do they insist on selling rubbish like this? The combination, omn the tongue, of sweet, bitter and sour was a new experience for me. And not a pleasant one.
14

Volenbock		 6.5% dark brown, cloudy metal, cream, caramel, coriander sweet, bitter toffee, caramel, cream espresso, toast, yeast sweet, bitterish Served a little yeasty (my fault) which probably didn't help the score. An OK beer.
44

Scheldebrouwerij Wildebok		 6.5% brown, cloudy dates, chocolate, caramel, espresso very sweet, bitterish burnt, smoke, cream burnt, cream, liquorice sweet, bitterish A bit sweet for me, but some balancing bitterness.
52

Texels Bock		 7.5% ruby red, cloudy alcohol, fruit, toffee very sweet, bitter sweet, fruit, caramel, toffee, alcohol, cherry liquorice, black toffee, raisins, smoke bitter, sweetish Not exactly subtle - a big beer in every sense. Bitter, sweet and with a long liquorice finish. Very good.
81

Jopen Viergranen Bokbier		 6.5% dark amber, clear lemon, cloves, sugar sweetish, bitterish orange, cloves, coriander orange, cloves, hop, herbal bitter A big orangey beer. The driest bock I've tried this year.
66

SNAB Ijsbok		 9.3% ruby red, clear liquorice, treacle, dates, alcohol sweetish, very bitter toffee, alcohol, liquorice, burnt toffee, alcohol, tar, raisins, burnt sweetish, very bitter Alcohol, treacle, heaven - full of everything. I'm impressed by the high level of bitterness.
82

De Snaterende Arend 't Swarte Schaep		 7% dark yellow, cloudy grass, mint, lemon, bitter sweet, bitter vanilla, grass, caramel grass, herbal, hop bitter, sweetish A totally different style of bock - a pale one. Pretty good.
65
Albert Heijn Herfstbock 6.5% ruby red, clear dust, metal, chicory sweet chicory, toffee, coffee coffee, burnt, cream bitter, sweetish Traditional, bottom-fermented bock. Not too sweet, but a bit thin. Brewed from barley and wheat malt.
45
Grunn Bock Primeur 7.5% brown, clear cream. dust, caramel, metal sweetish / bitterish alcohol, cream, liquorice, herbal liquorice, cream, bread bitter OK, but a bit too creamy.
46
Dommelsch Jonge Bok 6.5% ruby red, clear toffe, dates, chocolate, sweet sweetish / very bitter wood, alcohol, herbal herbal, liquorice, hops very bitter Far too hoppy for the style. hops overpower the other flavours.
52
Haerlemsch Herfst-Bock 9.3% ruby red, clear coriander, celery, cloves, ginger, sour sour perfume, sour coriander, sour sweetish, sour Horribly infected.
8
SNAB Ezelenbok 7.5% ruby red, clear yeast, toffee, alcohol sour/bitter musty, liquorice herbal, sour bitter Corked. That's the problem with using real corks.
23


For comparative purposes, these are the results from my 1997 bokbier tasting.

Amsterdam Pub Guide
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Amsterdam Pub Guide Part Two
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Amsterdam Pub Guide Part Four
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Amsterdam Pub Guide Part Five
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Amsterdam South
Amsterdam Pub Guide Part Seven
Amsterdam West


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