Is Dunkles Bockbier By Ad Astra Brewery Any Good

This Dunkles Bockbier is a dark version of a wheat bockbier and it comes from the Ad Astra Brewery. Where the brewery is located is a bit of a mystery, but more about that later. So what is this dark German style beer like?

Dunkles Bockbier is okay, but it leaves you not knowing what it really is. It pours a dark reddish brown with a moderate off white head. On the nose it is dominated by a fruity aroma with the slightest of malt background. The taste again is fruity, almost like a boiled sweet. There is a malt flavour present, but the fruit dominates making the beer very sweet. It gets a score of 4.0 out of 5.0.

At 6.2% ABV it is a fairly strong beer, however at times you forget you are drinking a beer. It feels like a fruit based soft drink, so loses its beer identity.

Table Of Contents

Dunkles Bockbier Review

This good looking beer sits is a stubby 330ml silver can with a black top. The label is white with a red and black abstract design and black writing.

It simply says Prod.By Ad Astra Brewery 6.2% Dunkles Bockbier. I assume the Prod.by is just saying produced by.

Anyway it is time to crack it open and pour the beer. A steady pour from Lou reveals a dark brown beer with a red tinge when held up to the light. A two finger off white head sits a top the beer which does fade to a thin cover.

The dark brown beer does have a slight haze to it, actually visually it looks great and is very inviting.

On the nose you get a big hit of fruit, but it is hard to identify it almost smells like a fruit salad chew. The presence of malt is there, but is overpowered by the fruit. A faint dank smell lurks in the background too.

The taste again is dominated by a boiled sweet fruity flavour which barely lets a malt background show its face. However the malt is there, it is just hard to focus on it.

There is a hint of bitterness on the finish, but it is almost just a suggestion really.

Dunkles Bockbier Score

This beer plays games with you, I find it way too sweet and more like a fruit drink. Then I get a little of the 6.2% ABV and I think actually it is not so bad.

And then it goes back to a fruity boiled sweet flavour again. I don’t like, then I do, then I don’t, it’s weird. So it is not a beer I would search for again. But if someone handed me a glass, then I would happily drink it and be confused all over again.

For me it gets a straight 4.0 out of 5.0.

M’Lady gest a similar vibe from this beer saying “This beer messes with my head because it doesn’t smell and taste like it looks. I can’t decide if I like it or not.”

Lou scores it a little lower at 3.8 out of 5.0.

Ad Astra Brewery

Ad Astra Brewery is just as mysterious as their Dunkles Bockbier, in that I can’t find out much about them. On their website which is very basic, they say they are a Global Craft Brewery.

There is a few paragraphs that explain they partner with other craft breweries from Belgium, Croatia, Germany and the UK.

I think it is a fairly new brewery and maybe one without premises. So they use other breweries to get their beers brewed.

Which is of course fine and a great way to get off the ground when first starting out.

When I look at the tiny writing on the can through squinted eyes. I can see that this particular beer is brewed and canned for Ad Astra Brewing by Fierce beer.

Fierce Beer is a craft brewery founded in 2015 and based in Aberdeen, Scotland.

I guess they also use other breweries in the other countries mentioned to brew other beers in there range. Talking of which, what other beers do they brew.

Ad Astra Beer Range

On the brewery website it is showing at present seven beers that make up their range. However the Dunkles Bockbier is not one of them. Maybe it was just brewed for Oktoberfest.

Also there is no information about the beers on show. However I think they are exclusively sold at Beer 52, although it seems they also only have one Ad Astra beer at the time of writing.

Instead of featuring a few of their range and giving a little info on them. I will just list their range showing on their website at present.

• Landbier 5.4% ABV Germany
• Citra IPA 4.4% ABV UK
• DDH New England IPA 4.0% ABV Croatia
• Munich Helles 4.5% ABV Germany
• Hoppy Wheat Beer 4.2% ABV Germany
• Belgian Witbier 3.9% ABV Belgium
• Raspberry Stout 4.3% ABV UK

A good selection of beers, but not easy to get hold of. It will be interesting to see how Ad Astra Brewery develops going forward.

Final Thoughts

Although Ad Astra Brewery might be a little mysterious, we will have to wait and see what comes from this brewery in the future.

As for the beer, having only tasted the one, I can’t comment on the rest of their range. However the Dunkles Bockbier is an okay beer, but like Lou says, it messes with your head.

I found myself liking it one minute, and then not the next. While Lou couldn’t decide whether she liked it or not.

For that reason alone, I would like to try more of the Ad Astra beers, jst to see if they are all a bit wacky.

If you have also tried Dunkles Bockbier, or any other Ad Astra beer. The do share your thoughts below in the comments section. I would love to know your experience with this quirky beer.