Several substyles exist, including maibock (helles bock, heller bock), a paler, more hopped version generally made for consumption at spring festivals; doppelbock (double bock), a stronger and maltier version; and eisbock, a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer and removing the ice that forms.
Scientists describe seven basic tastes: bitter, salty, sour, astringent, sweet, pungent (eg chili), and umami. There are however five basic tastes that the tongue is sensitive to: salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami, the taste of MSG.
Your sense of taste and the flavors you perceive are the result of a combination of the sense of smell and sensory neurons in your taste buds, which tell the brain what substances you taste. The taste buds are able to identify sweet, salty, sour and bitter tastes.