Valley Girl Views: Bock - The Traditional Easter Beer

Eastertide and Bock Beer - Go Hand In Hand

Get it at the Germania Brewery in Danville Pa

Bock, known as the "Easter Beer", was a traditional German Beer traditionally brewed in the winter months and lagered (or stored) until it was ready to be consumed in spring, “Bockbier”, or "liquid bread", was the only thing German monks consumed over Lent, and when German settlers came to American, they brought their traditional Easter beer with them. Newspaper ads in the years both before and after prohibition advertised that the Bock was ready, and wouldn't last long, every year between March and April.

Bock roughly translates to “billy goat” in German, and since bockbiers were generally brewed under the sign of Capricorn, the name stuck. Even today, many brewers of bockbeir evoke the image of a goat holding a stein on their labels. After a night of drinking this sinfully smooth and strong beer, you are likely to wake up feeling like you got kicked by a goat. http://ediblemadison.com/articles/view/beer-of-the-season-celebrate-spring-with-a-bock

According to The Catholic Gentleman website, Monks survived on the rich, malty Bock beer, through the Lenten season.

"So you gave up dessert for Lent? Good for you, you wimp! Once upon a time, German monks ate nothing for the entirety of the Lenten fast. No bread, no salad, no fruit—nothing. Beat that."

The German monks in the town of Einbeck developed a specific style of malty, dark, high alcohol beer to help sustain them during intense periods of fasting. This beer became known as Bock, a corruption of the name Einbeck. Later, discontent with the strength of Bock style beer, monks developed an even stronger variant known as Doppelbock, meaning double Bock. This beer was so laden with nutrition that some dubbed it “liquid bread.”

Legend tells us that the monks were concerned that their beer was contrary to the Lenten spirit of penance, so they decided to consult the pope. On their journey to Rome, the very smooth, never bitter, beer was subjected to extreme weather conditions, causing it to spoil and turn sour. When the pope tasted the spoiled beer, he was so appalled by taste that he immediately deemed it an excellent Lenten penance.

https://www.catholicgentleman.net/2015/03/liquid-bread-the-top-5-bock-beers-for-lent/

In 2011, a newspaper editor in Iowa tried the Liquid Bread fast, inspired by the monks. He drank 4 beers a day all week, and 5 on the week-ends - drinking nothing else but water, and eating nothing at all. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-03-31-ct-talk-beer-lent-j-wilson-0401-20110331-story.html

With so much of our area having strong German roots, it's no surprise that Easter Brock was a tradition here in the Susquehanna Valley.

Danville Breweries, Including The Germania

A bottle from the Germania Brewery in Danville Pa

The Germania Brewery was located on East Front and Ferry Streets in Danville Pa.

It was one of the oldest establishments in Danville, being owned by Hiatt Matchin in 1840.

According to a newspaper article in 1903, the building may have once housed a cooper shop. In 1903 the building was "a rambling old structure made up of several parts, one or more of which may have been rebuilt within a few years past." In 1922, The McGlow Ice Cream Company purchased the brewery from the Fousts, and the building were used as an ice cream distribution center, as well as for the manufacturing of ice, before going out of business less than two years later. In 1925, as part of the prohibition raids, the Brewery was searched, but no "high powered beer" was found.