Maibocks are one of the most overlooked, passed by and outright ignored styles in the lager game. Not as refreshing as the crispies, not as bready as the viennas, not as outright powerful as the Eis nor as cloudy as the weiss. Where do they fit in?

In modern brewing they fit in a draft line for way longer than owners would like. Is it the toasted challah? People crush helles all day. Maybe it’s these half measures of providing light phenolics and a touch of fusel with none of the high abv fun of a tripel. Martinellis and pear show up for a bit and respectfully bounce, using your palate to preparty for more pressing polyamory.

Beer nerds don’t buy this style anymore. It isn’t a gateway drug for stepdads and WWII history enthusiasts either. In a weird subversion, if you make the best version of this you are almost guaranteed to lose money.

Minnesota. This beer is being kept alive by people who want a dry dopplebock and people in St Paul. The weird latticed crust lacks the nutmeg spice of more exotic alternatives but still holds a loving place in taplist lineups. It is a weird badge of honor that a brewer dusts off in the brew schedule to show people “we are doing this for us, you can drink Skittle goses whenever.”

So in the end this style is A Bockwhistle to those who know. The true bottom fermenters whose crispy perversions aren’t even in the DSM-IV. Goat me up bock daddy.