Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier Helles

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

2007 Bottling bought from the Party Source in Newport, KY. I am very surprised by the lower ratings, as I thoroughly enjoyed this monster of a beer. It more than held its own with my Arturo Fuentes Cuban Corona cigar. This beer had an aroma of a Red Charms Lolipop and quite an impressive thick appearance that created legs on the side of my glass. A huge beer, no head to speak of, big, fruity, sweet with flavors of life savors and definitely finishes hot. As is warmed, the complexities became more pronounced and it became smoother. An incredible creation, can only imagine how this beer would age. Intense, very intense.

2007 Bottle. Pours a clear medium amber with a 1 finger, creamy, off white head that fades to a think skim pretty quickly, it leaves no lacing but the beer itself looks a bit like (and coats the glass like) and amber whiskey, which is interesting. Aroma is apple, rum, caramel, grainy malt, a decent amount of toast, water chestnut, lager yeast, aroma is very boozy. Flavor is sweet grain, caramel, toasted grain, overripe apple, nutty and buttery toffee, honey, almond, some spicy and spicy, planty hops. Finish is dark fruit, burnt sugar, fruit cake and spicy hops. Palate is thick, slick and sticky on the lips with mild carbonation. Overall this stuff is o.k. (certainly not worth the $6 price tag here, though, other than the fact that it is really high abv, and would probably make a wonderful dessert/winter warmer beer) the regular Samichlaus is much, much better.

Bottle. Pours an amber body with a thin lacing. Alcoholic fruit with vinous notes and malty fruity body more specific apple peach y notes. Big etoh warming but not overbearing. Good brew for the high abv.

0.33 l bottle at Timo A’s tasting. Copper color with small head. Sweet sherry aroma with nuts and apple. Sweet thick flavor with toffee, apple, raisins and nuts. Deep warming character with some alcohol sharpness also. Nice dessert.

I didin’t know about this one until I saw a bottle in De Bierkoning in a trip to Amsterdam last year. Wish I had bought more bottles. Served in my rare Samichlaus glass, it pours some more head than its sister and lasts a bit more, but you can say it doesn’t last. Very nice maber-orange colour, and absolutely beatiful when you hold it to the light. Smells of honey, tropical fruits, dried fruits, and even almonds or hazelnuts or similar. Licorice, caramel. Silky sweet, maybe too sweet, flavor. Palate is similar, orange, honey, hazelnuts... only add a touch of oak. The finish is more like an orange liquor than a brandy, a difference to the Samichlaus we all know. The only "bad" thing that I could find is that I would have like it a little less sweetness, but when you have a beer like this, who cares?

12 oz bottle from Bev4less. Pours a clear copper color with a small head that quickly dissipated to zilch. The aroma is mixed fruits, some sweet malts and rubbing alcohol. Flavor? Well its there, but I really can not taste much of anything except that rubbing alcohol when I sip this. The alcohol is way too distracting and obnoxious. The finish is saccharine sweet. This is just not my cup of tea. drainpour.

330ml Bottle: Aroma of grilled beef, sweet malts, slight alcohol, almonds, and some smoke. Poured golden/amber/apple juice in color with a small, off-white head that disappeared quickly. Clear. Slightly sparkling. Flavor is light to medium sweet. Tastes of alcohol, sweet malts, and some corn. Medium body. Sticky texture. Soft to average carbonation. Sweet, pale malt and alcohol finish. A little bit hot.

Pours an orange-hued amber into the glass, literally headless. The nose is spot-on for buttery caramel and dried fruits. The flavors are very sweet, with lots of caramel malts, some toffee, followed by some diacetyl buttery notes. Not the most complex brew, but I won’t slam it as it’s not easy to integrate the flavors in a true "malt liquor", and this does a decent job. The finish does bring forth an alcohol tone, lending a light-peppery close. For 14% ABV, I have to compliment the brewer on hiding it as well as it does. Certainly not a "top-tier" doppelbock, but honestly, it’s probably the "establishment’s" best description of what the brewer was trying to achieve. Cloyingly sweet at times, yes, this is a bit reminiscent of a liqueur or barleywine, sans the complexity. Not bad for a rate, and certainly a "special occasion" snifter offering.