Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier Helles

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

Bottle 33cl @ home. Clear medium yellow orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, white to off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, toasted, bread, fruity, toffee - caramel sugar notes, light alcoholic. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate to light heavy bitter with a long duration, and a alcoholic burn in the finish. Body is medium, texture is oily - syrupy, carbonation is soft to flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. (210708)

(330 ml bottle (2007) from Downeast Beverage, cellared for 8 mos. after purchase) Wow this stuff was hot!...Pours fairly clear lightly reddish gold with just a bit of white head that mostly retreats to edges. Not very aromatic, just candyish sweetness, almost like cotton candy. Mouthfeel is smooth but kind of loose, quite syrupy and lip-smacking sticky in finish. Some very light weepy lacing. Tastes of fairly mild candy-like and light vanilla sweetness followed by a huge kick of alcohol that burns through the nasal passages like a shot of whisky. I don’t understand these doppelbocks that offer nothing more than a big, sticky buzz.

Bottle at chris_o’s im a laddyboy and im ok tasting. Alround rating: Very sweet, cornish grainy malts, some wet dog tastes any fruity sherry character i like away.

[Bottle] Pours a perfectly clear gold with a small head that dissipates quickly to a ring around the edge of the glass. Aroma is a bit grainy, some sweet alcohol, lots of apple, a bit of green grapes, and some golden raisin. Absurdly sweet palate. Thick and syrupy, with some lighter fruity flavors. Alcohol on the finish leaves a lasting impression.

Clear amber colour with a small white head. Malty, light grainy and alcohol sweet aroma with fruity notes. Caramel malty flavor with an alcohol and fruity sweet note.

Deep gold, almost amber, with a quarter-inch white head. Sweet, fruity malt aroma and a rich, fruity malt taste. Big alcohol presence. Almost a barleywine character. Very, very nice.

2007 Bottle Date; Sampled August 2008
A vigorous pour yields a fat, one-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is quite clear with an amber hue, but shows a brilliantly clear, rich gold color when held up to the light. Quite sweet and concentrated smelling with complex, rich, though obviously pale, malt aromas that just seeps from the pores of this beer. Concentrated golden raisin notes (without being fruity though), some notes that are similar to an ice-wine, almost a toffee not but cleaner somehow, something that is a touch metallic or perhaps calcium like and some rich, slightly grassy, toasty, pale grain notes. At this point the aroma is a touch simplistic, though certainly not bad; like the regular version this really seems to need a couple years to come in to its own.

Thick and somewhat creamy feeling up front, a persistent carbonation that, while light, adds a touch of fizziness to the middle of each sip is also noticeable. That distinct, concentrated golden raisin, without being fruity note is also here in the flavor and plays a significant role. Quite sweet tasting, it could actually use some richness, though this last will likely come with a couple years of age. A touch of herbal hoppiness in the finish is noticeable, though it is quite muted compared to the malt and there is only a perceived, light hop bitterness in this finish. Some hot alcohol notes provide a bit of spiciness and a touch of warming; this last lingers as the beer slides down my throat and even warms its way down through to my belly. While rich and certainly a sipping brew this is actually not as cloying as I thought it would be.

Like the regular Samichlaus, this is definitely a bit green / hot when young. This should age quite well, and really won’t be drinkable for at least two or three years if not five.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Bottle at Chris o’s…amber,sweet light hop,overpowerful spirity fruity juicy hop with quite a burn