In a Tampa-area beer store the other day, I heard one guy say to his buddy, "Whatever you do, don't drink a bock. Those are made from the dregs of the barrel."

I was taken aback. It was almost like hearing someone say masturbation causes blindness.

I just didn't believe anyone would think that the Germans, with their reverence of brewing and tradition of beer purity, would really foist some bottom-of-the-barrel muck on unsuspecting beer drinkers.

Bocks are one of my favorite styles of beer. They are big and bold, yet maintain that refreshing drinkable quality of lagers. So this fellow's casual dissemination of misinformation left me feeling a bit like someone had kicked one of my dogs.

I needed to spread some information of my own. So here goes.

Bock beers are anything but dregs. They are, in fact, more expensive to make than many other lager styles.

Bock beers probably originated around the German town of Einbeck. The word bock is a corruption of the word Einbeck (pronounced ein-bok).

In German, bock means Billy goat. So "ein bock" means "a goat." Ayinger Celebrator, one of the world's great doppelbocks, includes a plastic goat figurine on the neck of each bottle.

Bocks have long been associated with monasteries; they were brewed by monks throughout Germany for consumption during Lent, when monks had to fast. Modern bocks are strong lagers with alcohol percentages in the 6 percent to 7.5 percent range. Caramel will often be present along with toasty notes, but not bitterness.

There are several variations of bocks. Doppelbock was first brewed by the monks of San Francesco di Paola (St. Francis of Paula) and was used as "liquid bread" during fasts. The original Doppelbock was Paulaner Salvator, brewed in the former cloister of the monks of St. Francis of Paula.

Many brewers pay homage to the original by producing producing doppelbocks that end in -ator. This gives us names like Spaten Optimator, Augustiner Maximator and Tampa Bay Brewing Company's Annihilator.

Then there are eisbocks. They start out as normal bocks and doppelbocks, but are frozen. When the ice is removed, the result is a concentrated version of the original beer.

Eisbock's true origin is unknown, but one tale claims that during one unseasonably cold year, the bock beers set aside for Oktoberfest froze. When the ice was removed and the remaining beer served, festival patrons noticed the difference. After learning of the accidental freeze, they named the beer Ice Bock.

Eisbocks are fairly uncommon in the United States, but excellent examples to try are Kulmbacher Eisbock and Aventinus Eisbock, which itself is made from a Weizenbock, a wheat ale, brewed to bock strength.