Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Bock

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at another beer from Shiner, the little brewery in Texas with a big following.

Regular readers of this column may recall that I first got into Shiner beers this past fall when the Va'ad of Detroit faxed me a list of the beers under their supervision and I discovered that Shiner was approved by the Detroit Va'ad. I then set out on a quest to find Shiner and was able to locate the Shiner Hefeweizen (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/11/sunday-night-suds-shiner-hefeweizen.html ) and Shiner Blonde (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/12/sunday-night-suds-shiner-blonde.html).

On my most recent trip to Chicago I made my usual post Pesach pilgrimage to Binny's (approved by the CRC to buy from after Pesach) and loaded up on beers not generally found in NY. In so doing I picked up four new (to me) kinds of Shiner which will be reviewed on an occasional basis in upcoming SNS columns.

I had noticed that the Bock style of beer usually bears a goat on the label or cap, but never knew why until I read this on Beer Advocate:

The origins of Bock beer are quite uncharted. Back in medieval days German monasteries would brew a strong beer for sustenance during their Lenten fasts. Some believe the name Bock came from the shortening of Einbeck thus "beck" to "bock." Others believe it is more of a pagan or old world influence that the beer was only to be brewed during the sign of the Capricorn goat, hence the goat being associated with Bock beers. Basically, this beer was a symbol of better times to come and moving away from winter. As for the beer itself in modern day, it is a bottom fermenting lager that generally takes extra months of lagering (cold storage) to smooth out such a strong brew. Bock beer in general is stronger than your typical lager, more of a robust malt character with a dark amber to brown hue. Hop bitterness can be assertive enough to balance though must not get in the way of the malt flavor, most are only lightly hopped.

Although Bock's are supposed to be heavier and higher in alcohol than normal beers, I found that the Shiner Bock was rich on flavor but not very heavy on bitterness. I then checked the Shiner website and found that the Bock has a 4.4% abv which also falls on the light end.

Having said that, if you are looking for a flavorful beer which is a step up from lagers, but are not ready to dive into stouts, I would recommend the Shiner Bock. I found that its crisp flavor went excellent with bbq and salads and would surmise that they would do equally well with chicken dishes.

Shiner Bock is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, although the brew does not bear the Va'ad symbol on its label. If you would like me to e-mail you the Va'ad LOC for Shiner Bock, send me an e-mail and I will gladly oblige.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Shiner Bock, please follow this link
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143/1352 . As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

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