Serve in a willi becher at 6-9 °C
What it tastes like
Maibock is the pale member of the bock family, brewed for the spring tapping season in Bavaria, hence the name May bock. You will also see it called helles bock. Take a bock, swap most of the Munich malt for Pilsner malt, raise the hops a little, and you are close.
The result tastes of fresh bread and honey rather than toast and caramel, with a clean, firm bitterness and a little spicy or floral hop aroma from German varieties. It carries 6 to 7 percent alcohol or more, but it is drier and more drinkable than its darker cousins, and the alcohol hides well. Like any bock, it needs long, cold lagering, which strips away the sulphur and rough edges of young lager and leaves a beer that is bright, smooth and clean. If it tastes buttery or fruity, something went wrong in the fermenter.
Style profile
- Look
- Deep gold to light amber, brilliantly clear, with a persistent, creamy white head.
- Aroma and flavour
- Bready, lightly honeyed pale malt with a touch of toast. Spicy or floral German hops in the aroma and a clean lager finish.
- Mouthfeel
- Medium body, moderate to high carbonation, smooth, with a dry finish and some warmth.
- Ingredients
- Pilsner malt with some Munich or Vienna, German noble hops such as Hallertau or Tettnang, and a clean lager yeast.
In India
Maibock is the bock most Indian drinkers will enjoy on first try. It is pale and familiar, close to the strong lagers people already know, but with more malt flavour and a cleaner finish. Bengaluru has seen fruit versions, with mango a natural fit for April and May. Because it is a lager that needs weeks in a cold tank, expect it as a seasonal tap, not in bottles. Serve it cold but not frozen, or the malt disappears.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Mangalorean chicken ghee roastBright malt and firm bitterness stand up to the red chilli and cut through the ghee.
- Chole bhatureThe beer's carbonation lifts the fried bread, and its malt likes the tangy chickpeas.
- Fish amritsariA crisp, malty lager with fried fish and lemon is a simple, reliable match.
- Aamras with puriMango sweetness meets honeyed malt, and the hop bitterness keeps it from cloying.
Brewed in India
- Mango Maibock, Arbor Brewing Company India source
Want the long read? Bock and doppelbock