Hansa Urbock

Brewed by Namibia Breweries
Style: Dunkler Bock
Windhoek, Namibia

Tasted 13/03/2008. 330ml bottle from Regional Wines and Spirits. Bright garnet red, luminous, with a tight beige head that lingers. Milk chocolate, raisin, and crusty bread are all picked up in a beautifully rich, and cleanly fermented, Munich-style malt aroma. Very rich but hides the alcohol. Quite oxidised in the mouth, a little papery, but the malt richness keeps the flavour up and makes it drinkable. Low-med bitterness. Med-dry finish, with the alcohol hardly apparent. Full, weighty, lowly carbonated mouthfeel. Oxidation leaves it feeling a little tired on the palate. An excellent beer that falls away, probably because of a packaging issue.

Dark red-brown, hazy, tan head. Rich aromas and flavours of roasted malt, toffee, and dried sweet fruits (prunes, raisins). Full bodied and flavourful, a pleasant surprise from Namibia!

Pours dark brown with ruby edging and a thin tan head. The aroma is quite sweet, with plum, raisin, prune and dark chocolate all present on the nose, with a hint of malt. Urbock surprised me with its intense flavour. The roasted malt hits hard, with the prune and dark chocolate flavours coming through next to balance and smoothen the mouthful. Toffee on the finish with a cherry-like zest left on the palate. There is a hint of alcohol on the finish, but otherwise its 7% ABV is well-hidden. Smooth and sweet, would be perfect to enjoy a cigar with.

I like. It pours a slightly hazy reddish-brown body with a thick and dense tan head. The aroma is of toffee and juicy fruits (grapes, cherries, plums...) withy a handful of crushed nuts. Thick and creamy in the mouth, the flavor seems to have a brandy-like quality to it. It tastes like buttery toffee with a little fruity tartness and a definite hint of alcohol. The finish is sticky, warm, and buttery. U.S. breweries should do as decent a bock as this Namibian company.

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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.

Nice deep red color and good head. Malty with a nice spicy nose. Dry finish. Well done.

Deep, dark, hazy, and giving off a nutty,malty aroma that I can smell before I even raise the glass to my nose. Totally an all-malt brew to the tastebuds. I’m usually disgusted by the end of a bock, but this is quite drinkable. The sourness doesn’t quite hit the "dumpster juice" level that most cheap or "very foreign" bocks seem to get to.

Very nice. Malty sweetness, with a bit of bready yeastiness and minimal hops. Good bock style beer.