Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock

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

2004 Bottle. Deep ruby red, no head. Wow, oh my goodness that aroma is nice - deep rich raspberries, soothing warming alcohol, spice, rich dark fruit - wow, this is an aroma I could smell all night. Even some fine dark chocolate notes to it - quite simply one of the nicest smelling beers I have tried. Rich silky mouthfeel. No really, silk best describes it. Taste: tons of rich chocolate surprisingly stands out at first, followed by fresh raspberries, and only some of the alcohol I was expecting. Dense dense beer - complex stuff that I mulled over for a good hour. Less raspberry, tons more chocolate, surprisingly balanced than I was expecting. Lovely after dinner / end of the night stuff - lives up to the hype and more...

On tap: Aroma of raspberries and cream with chocolate. Pours a muddy brown with an off-white head that fades to a ring somewhat quickly. Lots of raspberry in the flavor but not extremely tart like a lot of raspberry beers. Tartness comes more in the finish. Chocolate and caramel become noticeable in the finish and even more so as it warms. Tartness increases as it warms also. Very well done.

Thanks Matt!!! YOU THE MAN! The aroma was vanilla bean, light chocolate, sour raspberry, oak cask? The appearance was a visible yeast shot, brown/dark red appearance with a thin brown head. Good lacing. The flavor was PERFECTLY blended vanilla beans, light chocolate, raspberry.

HEAVEN IN A GLASS

The palate was smooth and velvety. Oh, and you can’t taste ANY hint of alcohol.

Bottle courtesy of santoslhalper. Dark rich velvety raspberries, musky and almost overripe. Light flowery hop character, but mainly ripe cherry syrup and light estery vapors. Chocolate covered cherries with a bit of caramel. Dark amber clear with a hint of ruby. No head. Medium heavy body, almost chewy, with medium carbonation and quite an alcohol warming presence. Starts with overripe raspberry and cherry, light chocolate and alcohol sweetness. Mild tart acidity, quite sweet but not cloying. Finish is quite warming, with a medium bitter bite. Rich sweet and bitter after. Quite a fruit beer.

Sampled at Bocky Bash on 7-5-08. Good raspberry aroma. Murky brown body with not much of a head. For me got a strwberry fruit flavor and milky caramel creamy candy as well. Glad some one brought this was about ready to give up the cat in a trade for this one.

6 oz bottle, 2004 vintage, via walleye. Pours a slightly hazy deep garnet color with a fizzy pink tinged head that quickly disappeared. Deep tart raspberry aroma with chocolate, light alcohol, caramel, and a little port. Very nice natural overripe raspberry flavor with a hearty chocolate malt backdrop. A little sherry or port-like notes on the finish. A little touch of alcohol on the finish as well, but overall amazingly well hidden for a 10% plus beer. Full bodied and almost syrupy mouthfeel were it not for the lively carbonation. Very enjoyable, not the super sweet fruit bomb that I was expecting. I could have gone for a 12 ounce serving of this for sure.

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.

2004 Bottle:
Deep brown coloured body with almost no head and a very faint light brown head. No bubbles, and nothing else showing that this beer is living - a bit bland in the appearance. Striking aroma of chocolate, caramel, figs, prunes, raisins and of course - raspberries. Full-bodied; Strong acidic and fruity taste up front of cherries and tart raspberries fading fast to chocolate and deep malt. Aftertaste shows a lot of complexity with the pit fruits really rolling through, caramel and toffee finishing up along with the chocolate and bittering spices and nuts. Overall, a complex but perhaps a bit overpowering beer. I enjoyed it, but I’m glad this was only a double-split (187 mL) bottle - too bad it was also $9! I sampled this bottle purchased in the summer of 2005 at Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan on the day before the Inauguration of the 44th President of the USA - at home in Washington.