For Christians, the Lenten season is a time for fasting until Easter. Many monks in days of yore knew how to cheat the system – by "fasting" with beer, or what they described as "liquid bread." The beer style we know as bock got its start in Germany, where Bavarian monks subsisted on ye olde brewskie when called upon to set aside solid food. Rich and malty, with low bitterness, bock is associated with spring festivals in Europe. This one's a doppel (or double) bock, high in alcohol, at 8 per cent, and rich in flavour. Think of bananas poached in brown butter and dusted with ground clove and you get a sense of the fabulous flavour in Tree Brewing's balanced doppelbock. Rounded, creamy and weighty, with moderate effervescence, the mahogany-coloured Captivator hides its alcohol well, culminating in a balanced, dry finish. Spring lamb in the oven? A captivating pairing (treebrewing.com).