Kulmbacher Eisbock

Brewed by Kulmbacher Brauerei (Schörghuber)
Style: Eisbock
Kulmbach, Germany

Extremely creamy and chocolatey - far more so than Brooklyn's Chocolate Stout. It's a stick-to-your-ribs brew that definitely errs on the thick side. Lots of alcohol overtones, which are sort of hidden in the syrupiness but not totally. Rather black in the glass. Beware.

Bottle from Bier-Spezialitäten-Laden, Berlin. Pours dark brown with a big, beige head. Potent caramel aroma. Tastes of sweet caramel and licorice, yet remains very drinkable. Full-bodied as can be. The Angela Merkel of the beer world: solid, moderately complex, surprisingly strong, yet restrained. Overall easy to digest.

Oh hells yeah, you mean you can get a 12 oz bottle of 10% eisbock for two dollars? oh wait, and it is good? sign me up. This just arrived at our local bottle shop so we picked on up. Pours dark mahogany with a off-white head. Sweet with a nice roastiness up front with a caramel sweetness and a fruity finish. As this warmed it had a bit more chocolate notes and some breadiness to it and hints of cherry in the fruit finish. The alcohol didn’t show at all and the smoothness really came through.

Dark brown with a little red in the shallow areas; weak head. Very inviting nose with dark fruits and sweet-smelling alcohol. Chewy texture. Notes of maple syrup, brown sugar, and buttered toast. Also, sweet raisins, currants, dried apricots, fruit cake, toffee, and a little creamed coffee. Rather warming, but alcohol isn’t biting. Healthy amount of hops (with a decent bitterness) round things out; although, sweetness does weigh in heavy in the beer. Overall, pretty decent stuff; curiously reminiscent of many other beers.

33,cl. This label must be a hoot at parties. (If an American brewer making *any* amoutn of profit tried this label, though, I’d bash it relentlessly.) Pours a gorgeous deep dark brown with a dense but thin layer of moussy off-white head that doesn’t stick around for too awfully long. Some occasional clingy lace. Buttery, toffeeish, brown-bread notes dominate the nose. Cloying, sticky-sweet attakc; thick body, low (but perceptible) carb, and bold flavors. Lots of malt sugar all over the place. Tastes almost like a stuck mash, there’s so much unfermented, but of course we know better. This is just a grain surplus turned into a refreshing party beverage. The mid-palate carries that explosion of meadow flavor across into a sticky, metallic finish. My brain certainly wants to understand how amazing this beer is and how highly regarded it’s been for so long, but this doesn’t satisfy as refreshment or as a contemplative beer to sit and sip. It’s groundbreaking, rather than timeless.

Poured a dark stained oak with thin tan head. The aroma was of sweet malts, cherry fruitiness, a bit of alcohol and a hint of caramel sweetness. The flavor is very similar to the aroma. Starts with a thick dark fruity sweetness and sweet caramel. Then the malts fade and the fruitiness takes on a complexity with apple and date notes. The beer taste ends sweet, fruity, caramel, a tad nutty and some alcohol warmth.

Deep, dark mahogany. Sweet brown sugar and boozy sherry aroma. As this warmed up, a definite pruney aroma became apparent as well. Sweet and generously malty, molasses and bread crusts and stewed fruits, with a boozy warming finish. Better at higher temperatures-- much more restrained when chilled.

This is a truly great beer, a runs a close second to my favorite eisbock which is the Schneider, but this is wonderful. Great sweet caramel bread flavors, a nice tingly sweetness, with some spiciness thrown in for bite. I could sip on this all night.