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Bock and strong lager

Helles Bock

BJCP 4C

A pale bock: strong, smooth and malty, with more hop presence than the dark version and a finish clean enough that the alcohol sneaks up on you.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.064 - 1.072

1.064 - 1.072

Final gravity

1.011 - 1.018

1.011 - 1.018

Bitterness

23 IBU - 35 IBU

23 IBU - 35 IBU

Colour

6 SRM - 11 SRM

6 SRM - 11 SRM

Alcohol

6.3% - 7.4%

6.3% - 7.4%

Colour also 12-22 EBC

What goes wrong

Under-attenuating. A pale bock that finishes sweet is cloying in a way a dunkles bock is not, because there is no roast to balance it.

Commercial examples

Ayinger MaibockChuckanut MaibockEinbecker Mai-UrbockHacker-Pschorr Hubertus BockHofbräu MaibockMahr's Heller Bock

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

Plan a batch to these numbers.