Not all Bock beer is a Doppelbock but is similar in that it is a bottom fermented beer with a high "stammw�rzahl, or stammw�zgehalt" ranging up to 16%. Stammw�rzgehalt is a measure of the percent of the dissolved malt and hops in the water before fermentation. A beer with a high Stammw�rzgehalt has more flavor and alcohol content while a beer with a low Stammw�rzgehalt is lighter and has less alcohol. Pilsners and Lagers have a Stammw�rzgehalt between 11 and 14 % and are called "vollbiere" or fullbeers.
Bock and Doppelbock beer is today considered a Bavarian beer, however, the origins of Bock beer lie in a little town of Lower Saxony called Einbeck. Before the thirty years war (1618-1648) the Bavarians in Munich tried to copy this style of beer due to its popularity. After the war the production of beer in Einbeck was stopped and the Bavarians took the lead in brewing this type of beer. The name "bock" comes from the Bavarian pronunciation of the city of Einbeck wich was Oambock. Later the name was simply shortened to "bock".
The Doppelbock is distinctly a bavarian discovery and these beers usually have the distinct "-ator" suffix, as in Paulaners Salvator.
