Schloss Eggenberg Urbock 23°

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

Bottle from Billa, Vienna. Golden with next to no head but moderate carbonation. Aromas of caramel, sweet marmalade and grassy hops. Sweet flavour with plenty of toffee, orange and nuts. A dryish finish with plenty of warming alcohol. Lacking in distinctive character.

Tasted 25/09/2006. 330ml bottle from Beerstore - my last of the first shipment. I gasp as I see it pour yellow gold. At 9.6% I know this won’t have enough hops to hold it up, so dark malt was my only hope. Billowing airy white head, disappears soon after I put the glass down. Warm alcohol and a little spicy herb on the nose. The same in the mouth but worse. Should come in a can really - and be drunk out of a paper bag (by Brendon and Greig, the bus stop brothers-in-arms). If I had something other than a hugely phenolic IPA (aha, but who’s all phenolic this week?) in the beer fridge I would probably not sip my way through this...

Bottled. Has a clear ambar color, almost orange, starts with a nice white head, but not persist for a long time. Aroma is weak, some citrus and malt notes. Flavor is dry with a lot of alcohol presence, not good. Mouthfeel is dry..

Tomada em Genebra, nos foi apresentada como 23% de teor alcoólico. Depois é que constataram que não era nada disso. Foi como se, de repente, ela tivesse perdido o encanto. Todavia, ela é forte mesmo... Encorpada, maltada, deixa também o álcool no paladar, o que compromete sua drinkability. Mas vale experimentá-la pela sua singularidade.

2001 version, tasted in March ’08. This beer was amazingly well aged, and had gotten much smoother and rounder over time. Rich nutty malt aroma with butterscotch and cheese, butter. Sweet flavor; bit malt with butterscotch and nuts. Rich and full bodied, but not too heavy. Extremely smooth, but some funk and cheese as a result of the aging. There is a grand after-taste that lingers on and on. The hops in this are also really full-on. This is a very well-balanced, full tasting beer that has aged remarkably well.

Quickly fading white head leaves a pale gold slightly hazy flat-looking beer. Not the most appetising appearance, but I shall forge on! Aroma is hot alcohol and sugar - sounds bad, but look beyond and there are some nice fruity notes. Some acetone type flavour on the palate, but warming malty toffee dominates. This is like comfort food as a beer. Warming and enveloping. Heavy in the mouth. I like this sort of thing so am being kinder to it than maybe it deserves. Finishes surprisingly clean for a fairly cloyingly sweet beer.

Medium coarseish white head quickly disappears completely. Deep golden body. Mild fruity alcoholic paint and toffee aroma with burnt sugar notes. Dry-sweet strawberry and gasoline taste with toffee notes. Considerable alcohol heat. Astringent, chalky. Aftertaste is roasty almonds and straw with alcohol notes and grassy hops. Minty notes. Very sweet throughout. Clean and surprisingly balanced, also quite complex. Interesting, but not a session beer, and not that great for sipping, either. (0.33l bottle, from some grocery store in Salzburg.)

Bottle poured to glass. Pours a deep amber color with a small white head. Rich heavily toasted malt aroma and flavor with hops to balance. A bit of alcohol taste in the flavor and palate.