Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock

Pours a pinkish brown with next to no head. Thick ’legs’ on the side of the glass. Smells (not surprisingly) deeply of alcoholic raspberry. First sip - awesome. Unlike anything I’ve ever tasted in a beer. Tastes like a dessert wine with the texture of a good thick beer. Full raspberry, alcoholic and medicinal. A bit of chamomile herbal character in there too. Very full bodied, lightly carbonated. Syrupy? Yeah, I guess I would call it syrupy. Finishes with pure raspberry, though very sweet and not tangy at all.

4 oz. sample @ Hop Devil Grill: The beer I most looked forward to tasting at Daze of the Devil. Had a reddish-brown color with no head in the tiny glass. I couldn’t believe what I smelled: chocolate-covered raspberries. Simply amazing. And the taste...boy did it ever deliver. Simply wonderful. Again, a nice melding of chocolate and raspberries with some caramel hints as well. It felt very silky and thick on the palate and the alcohol wasn’t very discernable. The finish was predominantly raspberry. This is definitely a dessert beer...hell, it could easily be dessert too. I don’t care how much it cost for the sample, it was totally worth it. I sure wouldn’t mind getting my hands on a bottle or several of these.

6.3 oz bottle. Pours a dark red tinged brown, with a small tan head that fades very quickly to nothing. Due to lack of any head there’s no lacing to speak of. Not much to look at, but it was to be expected with the high abv. Smell; the raspberries really jump out of the glass, and are mixed with a very rich chocolate aroma. A touch of caramel is present in the nose, along with a nice nutty background. Taste; as expected the raspberries are very evident in the flavor, and it definitely does not come of as artificial at all, which I’m very thankful for. The chocolate comes out next, and nearly as strongly as the raspberries do. The nutty flavors are very much present as well, and provide just enough of a bittering effect to offset the sweetness of the raspberries and chocolate. There’s some hints of vinegar in the background that, surprisingly, seems to fit right in with everything ealse going on in this beer.. Mouthfeel/Drinkabilty; the mouthfeel on this one maybe the fullest, and mostly velvety of any beer that I’ve ever had. The drinkability is very good. Between the raspberries, chocolate, nuts and very full mouthfeel, this is like drinking a chocolate raspberry cake with a some walnuts or pecans thrown. This was my first beer of 2007, and boy was it a good one.

On tap at the HDG. Dark lightly hazy brown with some reddish highlights. Aroma is heavy sweet caramel/toffee with rasberry, chocolate, and alcohol. the caramel seemed pretty oxidized in the aroma and didn’t have high expectations for this beer at that point. However, the taste was much different. Taste is caramel/toffee and chocolate with a perfect balance of rasberry. Finishes with tart rasberry. excellent sipping beer.

Tap at HDG Strong Ale Fest. Poured a relatively headless murky dark reddish brown. Rich aromas of chocolate, dark toffee and raspberrry (of course). Flavor not unlike a liquid version of a very creamy chocolate-covered toffee/caramel gourmet candy (think Werther’s, but richer and creamier), with a concentrated raspberry essence throughout. Finishes with a slightly tart and vinious raspberry tang. Smooth and velvety mouthfeel. A very special treat indeed. Could be the perfect dessert beer. Clearly lots of scratch goes into making this, and it pays off.

Bottle (2004 vintage) from the brewery. OK, I was planning on having this on New Year’s Eve as beer #1700, but I drank less than I expected over the holidays, plus I lost a rating a few days ago. So I didn’t quite make the milestone, but I still had it as my NYE treat. Pours a murky looking ruby-brown with a very still body and a faint wisp of a tan head. Aroma is worrisome at first - some chocolate & caramel, but seeming quite stale. Whatever it was cleared after a few moments, and it became much more pleasant, developing notes of raspberry and sweet alcohol. Body is soft and smooth, very nice. Flavour is pleasant - nice notes of chocolate, toffee, raspberry, licorice, some slightly woodiness - but it didn’t knock my socks off. It’s a very good beer, no doubt about that, but it didn’t live up to the hype for me. I’ll enjoy the other two bottles I’ve got stashed away, but I won’t be going out of my way to get any more, especially at the ridiculous prices that Kuhnhenn charges for their stuff.

thank you to my hubby (enniskillen) for this sample. this is what we toasted to at midnight for california, however, we celebrated at 2am texas time... taste is tarty aftertaste and smell of rasberry and chocolate. happy 2007, and many blessings to you all.

Many thanks to hopdog for this little gem. 2004 vintage pours a dark tawny brown into a snifter, topped by a small tan head that quickly falls to a collar. Aroma of chocolate drenched raspberries, old leather, and brandy, accented by a hint of roasty malt. Silky and velvety in the mouth. Taste is unique, more like a cordial than a beer. Caramel and chocolate notes wrap around the bold raspberry profile to provide an exceptional depth. Raspberry tartness gets swallowed up in the creamy chocolate at times. Hard to believe this is over 13% abv. A slow sipper that disaapears far too quickly.