Doppelbock

What is Doppelbock?

Doppelbock is a stronger, maltier version of bock originating in Munich and first brewed by Franciscan monks.

Doppelbock is usually dark, although lighter variations are available today. Its taste is sweet and malty, with a slight presence of alcohol. The flavour of hops is practically absent. Darker doppelbocks may have hints of chocolate and fruit in their aroma.

Origin Story

The history of doppelbock began in the 17th century in a Franciscan monastery, also known as the Paulaner monastery, located on the outskirts of Munich. The monastery obtained brewing rights in 1634, and the monks started brewing beer for their own consumption as well as to distribute to the poor and to sell.

The diet of the Franciscan monks was very limited as they could only eat vegetarian food (mainly bread, herbs, and oil). Therefore, beer was an important part of their daily diet, supplementing their restricted food intake with extra calories and vitamins.

During fasting periods, when solid food was only allowed in the evening, beer was especially important because drinking beer did not break the fast and could be consumed throughout the day. According to a legend, the monks consumed about four litres of beer per day, but don’t presume that the monks were constantly drunk – their daily beer was very low in alcohol content.

On 2 April 1651, the monks celebrated the feast day of their founder, Francesco di Paola, and served Saint-Vaters-Bier (Holy Father beer). Later, the beer became known as Salvatorbier. Monks drank the beer themselves and also served it to local villagers. Over the years, this holy day became a large public festival called Salvatorfest that lasted for several days.

This festive beer contained more malt, making it richer and sweeter in flavour than regular beer. Despite the larger malt content, the beer was still quite weak (about 4%) because a large amount of malt sugars remained unfermented, giving the beer a sweet, bready taste.

Over time, the beer became more and more popular and other breweries also began to make their versions of Salvator beer. Thus, it developed into its own style.

When the monks had gone and Palulaner had become a secular brewery, they decided to patent the Salvator brand. Despite objections from other brewers, the use of the Salvator name by others was prohibited. Thus, the beer style was renamed doppelbock.