From Einbecker to Bock: a brief history
Bock or Bockbier is often said to originate from the North German city of Einbeck. But what is the real story? In the Middle Ages, Einbecker beer was a highly popular—and expensive—export beer. Originally, it was a golden-yellow, top-fermented, hoppy, and fairly strong summer beer, brewed from two-thirds barley malt and one-third wheat malt.
The Duke of Bavaria, also a fan, had it brewed at his own court from 1614 onwards. There in Munich, the beer gradually changed in character. What had been a summer beer became a spring beer, consumed in the month of May. It was brewed as a bottom-fermented beer, like many others at the Hofbräuhaus, and it became less hoppy. In the 18th century, changing tastes turned it brown in color, and wheat malt was no longer used.
And the name? It first appeared as “ampokhisch” or “anpokhisch” (not “ainpöckisch,” as is sometimes claimed), then became “einbock” or “ainbock,” and was eventually shortened simply to “bock.”
Each year, this beer was released on May 1st in a special Bockkeller. So Bock does not originate from Einbeck, but from Munich. Only the name “bock” still reflects the corruption of “Einbecker.”
The two beer styles differed like night and day: top-fermented versus bottom-fermented, yellow versus light brown, wheat beer versus barley beer, summer beer versus May beer, hoppy and refreshing versus soft, sweet, and strong.
There was, however, one similarity: like the original Einbecker, Bock remained a strong beer.
In 1843, Bock was first imported into the Netherlands. Later, Dutch versions followed. The Amstel Brewery introduced its own Bock in April 1872, making it the oldest still-existing Dutch beer. In the Netherlands, Bock was initially a winter beer and remained so for a long time. Only in the 1970s and 1980s did it become the autumn beer we know today.
Source: nederlandsebiercultuur.nl, Marco Daane