Schloss Eggenberg Urbock 23°

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

Big fizz on pour, bananas galore, falls flat on the taste for a strong beer, but good smell. present from a friend so I can’t be too derogatory. whiffs of spirits, it’s all in the nose with this one. sang it’s praises from my nose like a britpop singer, but like them full of empty promises. good-looking colour, heads disappears quicker than a one hit wonder. bottle is seductive; i guess, brags about it being one of the strongest beers in the world. that would be true if Belgium didn’t exist. Gets much better as it warms, or I start buzzing off the alcohol content. If i was a conspiracy theorist I’d say that was their desired effect.

Bouteille de 330 ml, acheté au LCBO de Rideau et King Edward (Ottawa), le 19 avril 2009. Blonde paille pale, très peu de collet. Arome d’orga malté très sucré, avec quelque vapeur d’alcool. Goût plutôt alcoolisé, un peu malté avec des notes de céréal mous, arrière goût d’alcool plate. Je m’attendais à plus, mais c’est nul!

Pour was a honey brown color, crystal clear with a big frothy head that soon turned to naught. A super sweet aroma brought fears of a cloying malt bomb. It was indeed very, very sweet, with caramel and fruit flavors..on the edge of overly sweet, probably a little over. It was enjoyable, but not overly memorable. I had been holding this bottle for quite a while and it was a tad disappointing.

The beer poured amber with no head. The aroma was fruity and spicey, with some very apparant boozy aromas, there was some sweetness and hints of caramel. The flavor was very sweet, caramelly and boozy with some diacetyl, buttery notes coming through. The palate is thin and watery, warming from alcohol. Overall this was way too sweet for me, very cloying, fairly complex but not my thing.

Pours honey golden with thin white head. Nose is beautiful & delicate with honey, maybe honeydew, and faint malt. A leap of malt comes forward on the palate, with honey, and a luxurious malt component. Viscous body is amazing, and the beer has a hard to describe "hearty" character that is so lovable in bocks. Fine example, though I think it is more of a Helles bock than a traditional doppel.

Golden red hue, translucent with a fading white head. A typical amount of carbonation but less that other high gravity ales. A very fruity aroma giving impression of pears and grapes then more wheat than any hops you usually expect in this type. The taste is brandy like with a a puckering sweetness and high alcohol concentration, this is expected from 9.6% alcohol, one of the highest I have tried. Not surprisingly the palate is gooey. All in all its preferable to some other super strengih german bocks on the blocks.

Books are useless! I only ever read one book, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and it gave me absolutely no insight on how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin…but what good does *that* do me?

Unknown Vintage (At least several years old though...)

4/06/2009: My personal opinion is that Austrian beers just don’t get the love or respect that they deserve. I know that they aren’t overly fantastic, but they are generally solid, flavorful, and true-to-style beers. Schloss Eggenberg Urbock 23° fits this description nicely. I was not disappointed and it delivered well on everything I was expecting from it. The slightly sweet caramel maltiness is delivered in the flavor along with sweet dates, cherry, hints of nuts, dry oak, golden raisins, light tobacco, and a good amount of smooth, warming alcohol similar in flavor to brandy toward the finish. There is even a suggestion of aged, dried apricot and spicy hops with just a whisp of bitterness. This beer isn’t too heavy, nor is it too light. I think it is just right for a doppelbock and slides down effortlessly. Even the deep golden/light coppery color is attractive. I am very satisfied with this beer.

11,2 fl. oz. bottle (Alc. 9,6% vol.) found at West Side Liquor and Wines in West Harrison, Indiana. Rating #490 for this beer.