Hansa Urbock

Bottled, BB 07/03. Poured a deep, hazy coppery-auburn with a very nice initial cap of caramel head... lots of sediment suspended in there. Nose was quite fragrant and sweet.. with rich darker fruits, almost smoky caramel, rich toffee, and herbal hoppage. The flavor department loses a step... blending all the characteristics from the nose into just a sweet malty presence. This came across as rather light and slick on the palate with strongly-laced alcohol. Finish was fruity with mild herbal bitterness. Carbonation held up well. This was a solid bock overall.

Bottle and served in a pilsen glass: Poured a lighter mahogany topped by a fizzy small but lasting head and minimal lace. The aroma has notes of sweet caramelized and toffee malting, walnut and cashew, and hints of earthy lager yeast. The taste starts sweet but surprisingly is hardly cloy as a nice dash of acidity and ripened fruit cleans the palate. The finish is nutty and bready with a note of metallic aftertaste. The feel is equally fizzy but there is just enough body to hold it together. I bought this on a lark but found a solid malty bock within, color me happy and satisfied.

Strong malt hop aroma with spirit. Clear brown colour with good head and lacing. Malt hop flavour. Fizzy palate.

Namibia, was once the German colony of Sud-West Afrika, which was controlled by South Africa after WWI, and administered as a mandate until WWII, when it annexed the territory. Being a German colony, Sud-West Afrika had breweries, which of course brewed German beer styles. The Hansa Brauerei was established in 1920, with clearly German roots. Namibia gained independence in 1990, but remnants of Sud-West Afrika have remained. German influence can still be found, and tasted in Hansa Urbock. This beer is about as far away from Germany as a beer can get, but I can honestly say, it is one of the most authentic, and delicious examples of bock bier I have ever tasted. This beer is brewed with imported German malts and hops, well water from Namibia, a lager yeast strain, and no more. Pure German bier, solid and clean. Hansa Urbock pours to a beautiful, bright, tawny brown color, with a thick and creamy off white head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose is wonderful on this beer, with big aromas of toasty/sweet malt, and slight nutty aromas. The palate on this beer is firm, with fantastic, smooth, clean, toasty, nutty, and sweet malty flavors that glide over the tongue. Hansa Urbock finishes with more toast and sweet malt flavors up front, then ends balanced to perfection, with just the right amount of grassy/spicy hop bitterness. Hansa Urbock comes in at a warming 7% abv, making it a true bock bier in every sense. This is a phenomenal example of bock bier, one that I was very, very impressed with.

7 Oct 05 - BIg sweet malt and hoppy aroma with some spirit. Brown-red colour, good head with sheet lacing. sweet roasted malt hoppy flavour. Thick, tangy bitter lingering malt finish. Good but a bit too simple.

Bottle, probably 7 months old: Pours a dark copper mahogany with a thin-lacing, light tan head. Pleasant, sweet toasty malty aroma has some bread and lager yeast character. Body starts with lots of sweet caramel malt revealing a touch of milk chocolate toward the sweet, authentic finish. A very malt dominated beer, but quite enjoyable and has some good complexity.

This must rank fairly highly in the African beer scale: a rich, flavoursome Namibian bock. Poured a deep copper colour with ruby highlights and a thick head that lasted well. Thick alcoholic aroma of toffee, dark rum and butter. Nice chewy mouthfeel, medium-bodied, with a big warming swallow. Carries its 7% abv effortlessly. The flavour showed toffee, some melony esters in the middle and spicy nutmeg in the finish. Yum. A very satisfying bock. (330ml bottle shared with Aarleks, IBS, Perth)

Bottle: Dark red-brown with a yellowy lasting head that I noticed seemed to have some hop residue floating on it (looked like kreusen). Buttery, toffee aromas that are really thick in the nose. Lots of cereal too. Later on I got a big hit of ’bong-water’...thankfully it dissapeared soon after. Flavours were great: lots of smokey, spicy caramels, toffees, dark bread and a finishing peppery warmth with some dark fruits. Really nice, classic bock flavours. Quite fizzy, but in a restrained way, and a little sticky (in a good way). Very nice.
Thanks to highlandlad for sharing this one with me at his home.