Sudwerk Dopplebock

Sudwerk Doppelbock is a seasonal beer by the Sudwerk Brewery in Davis, CA. They just bottled the 2011. Doppelbocks store well and can get better with age.

Doppelbocks, are not necessarily double bocks. Here in the US we use double to describe styles with bigger ABV - a Double IPA has twice the amount of alcohol as a regular IPA. However, Doppelbocks did not arise from the creation of a strong bock.

Kozlak of the Bro War

 Kozlak is a Bock beer (Kozlak means bock) brewed by the Amber Brewery of Kolbudy, Poland. In Polish Browar means brewery. Bro - War.

Poland is Europe's 3rd largest beer producer, just behind Germany and the UK. There are 80 active breweries, although not as many as teh 137 that were operating before a certain dictator decided to invade. There most unique style of beer is called Grodziskie beer, a top-fermenting, smoked wheat beer. communist rule saw all the breweries taken over  by the state.

Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Smoked Beer

Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche is a Dopplebock Rauchbier (Smoke Beer) by the Schlenkerla Brewery in Bamberg, Germany. Bamberg and Schlenkerla are famous for Rauch or smoked beers. The malts in Rauchbiers are traditionally smoked using beech wood, however Eiche, which is a winter seasonal is made with oak.

Before modern kilning techniques, all beers were technically smoked. Malts were dried over open flames and so a smoky taste was usually picked up. However, smoke-free kilning is the modern method, so rauchbiers have become a very specialized style.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian Dopplebock

Weihenstephaner Korbinian is a Dopplebock brewed by the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephaner in the city of Freising. The brewery is actually a regulated business of the State of Bavaria, yes even the beer in Europe is socialist.

Weihenstephaner claims to be the oldest brewery in the world as it started out over 1,000 years ago as the brewery for benedictine monks. Weihenstephaner is also home to Technical University Munich, which is one of the best brewing schools in the world. The brewery's model is "class not mass", which is well demonstrated in its classy beers.

Weihenstephaner Vitus

Weihenstephaner Vitus is a fantastic Weizenbock brewed by Weihenstephaner, the world's oldest working brewery located in Freising, Germany (just a few miles north of Munich's international airport). The beer is a traditional recipe "Weizen" + "Bock". Weizen means it is a wheat based beer, a brew with a long and delicious tradition in Bavaria. 

Primator Maibock

Primator Maibock is  Maibock (or Helles Bock) brewed by Pivovar Nachod a.s. in the Czech Republic. Mai is the month of May and bock or the high alcohol lagers brewed in Munich. Bocks are made differently depending on the season - darker, stronger beers for the winter and lighter, milder beers for the summer. Summer bocks can be low, round 5% ABV, while Winter bocks are usually high ABV, 6-12%. Maibocks are for the transitional spring so they're ABV is in the middle and so is their color.