This was a beer they were eager to make. The Oshkosh Brewing Company was created on March 21, 1894, from the merger of Oshkosh’s three largest breweries: Horn & Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery, John Glatz and Son’s Union Brewery, and Lorenz Kuenzl’s Gambrinus Brewery. The three breweries had already produced their 1894 Bock Beers before the merger was finalized. Those Bocks were released under the pre-merger names of the individual breweries.
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| The day after the OBC merger was finalized, John Glatz & Son ran this notice for their Bock Beer in the Daily Northwestern. They begin by taking a shot at Pabst for its endless yammering about its award at the 1893 World’s Fair. The Glatz boys then get down to the business of sermonizing upon the high quality of their own beer; something they were never shy about. |
By the end of 1894, the three breweries had settled into their new collective identity and were ready to brew some Bock. For the 1895 season, OBC brewmaster Lorenz Kuenzl created a hefty Bock that approached Doppelbock territory. It was a more potent and darker version of the Chief Oshkosh Bocks that OBC became famous for in the post-Prohibition era after 1933.
The recipe for the Bare Bones version of the 1895 Bock was drawn up by Jody Cleveland, head brewer at Bare Bones, and myself. We built the recipe using Oshkosh Brewing Company logbooks and other research into the brewery's practices during the period. No living human has ever tasted the 1895 Bock brewed by OBC, so it’s impossible to say how closely this beer resembles the original. But we’re betting it’s pretty damned close.
1895 Bock will be available on draught and in a commemorative can with a design that includes artwork from the period. Prost!
