Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Fruit Beer
Warren, Michigan USA

Just got this today...couldn’t wait to get it somewhat chilled. I’m not a veteran of many eisbocks....New Glarus and Kulmbacher are the only ones I’ve had much of. I was anxious to seek the comparison. Bottle, 2004. Poured a translucent--but barely--reddish brown. Well...the aroma rocks. Yes, I love raspberries so the bias is clear. On top of that I really like the choco-malt latching on to that raspberry edge. I agree with the "liqueur" comparison others have stated...boy this is something. If I had a gripe (I really don’t), I’d say the sweetness is more than I care for, but heck I can live with it. Full bodied, nice warming alcohol tinge....very yummy. The choco-cocoa-caramelish notes are present the whole time. Not very carbonated...that’s fine. My biggest complaint is this didn’t pour from a bomber! Must get this again! Thanks Jeff!!!

My 500th rating, much thanks to GonZoBeeR for the beer.

2004 - Pours dark reddish brown with a fully receding light brown head. Aroma of raspberry jelly, plums, strawberry, and chocolate with a hint of smoke. Taste is sweet and caramelized with fruity overtones of raspberry, plum, and cherries. These fruity notes are blended harmoniously with sweet chocolate and toffee flavors. Mouthfeel is heavy bodied, sticky and syrupy with smooth carbonation. This beer is sublime. Very unique and enjoyable!

Like a liquer. Thick, hefty aromas of cocoas, bits of wood toastiness, berry fruits, some nice tartness and a heavy palate oozing like melted butter over the tongue. Delicious and fun. Surprisingly drinkable, melded (homogenized flavors) and dry for something with so thick, so much apparent sweetness and alcohol.

Bouteille verte de 6.3 oz obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie (Brassin 2004). Arôme: Odeur de chocolat, de framboises et de caramel. Apparence: La couleur est bourgogne foncée avec une moyenne densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col beige crémeux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de chocolat et de framboises. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est plein avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Sensation de fumée en arrière goût. (Rating #451)

6.3 oz. bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown. Aroma was raspberry, malt and caramel. Flavor was that and some chocolate, as well. It was OK. One of the top beers? Not in my book.

Ridiculously expensive, but so good. Smells like raspberries and chocolate. Flavor is strong and long lasting -- too bad it’s $9/bottle.

I recieved this rarety in trade from Boutip. 2004 bottle: pours a murky brown red with a substantial tan head. The aroma of chocolate covered raspberrys is evident without even lifting the glass to my nose. Deep rich raspberry with loads of chocolate and a hint of barley and vanilla. I believe that this is my first perfect 10 for aroma. I could just linger over the smell for hours. Flavor is well balanced with the caramelly chocolate sweetness up front and the raspberry tart sliding in ever so subtly and taking over towards the finish. Extremely smooth and completly beguiling you into thinking nothing of the high alcohol potency of this gem. Warming in the belly giving a sort of toasty air although I feel it more than taste it. What a masterpiece of a beer. I would say that fruit beers are not my style of choice but this beer lives up to it’s hype and then some. My only problem now is that my wife absolutly loves it and I’m going to have to find a way to get atleast a case of it. (of course thats no reflection to the scores I give it.)

2004 Bottle. A million thanks to muzzlehatch for this tiny beauty. Pours reddish brown with a thin white diminishing head. What a great and unique aroma. It smells like milk chocolate covered raspberries, malt, with some sourness. This beer is so well balanced. Great vinous qualities. All of the flavors in this beer compliment and blend so well, nothing sticks out. Flavors of chocolate, mildy tart raspberry, oak, vanilla, caramel malt. A slightly syrupy finish, but still smooth amd relaxing, with the perfect amount of sweetness. What an amazing and memorable beer. Thanks again Barry. for finally getting this elusive gem to me!

Update July 2 2008. I opened one of my 2004 bottles, and the aroma has faded, and this beer is starting to taste stale and vinegary. Sadly, this bottling has lost it’s mojo. Drink before they decline any further.
SEPTEMBER 2009-I sampled at the GABF, and this is drinking surprisingly well. However, it’s still not as good as the 2004 before it got stale (about 18-24 months). It’s good, but what it lacks from the 2004 is the dark chocolate flavors, and the finish is not quite as complex. What it tastes like now is what my friend at GABF described as raspberry filling in a chocolate cake.