Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier Helles

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

This is the new Samichlaus Helles. It tastes fairly close to the original, just a little lighter in color. Pours a golden pale amber with a minimal white head. Aroma of figs and spice. Cloyingly sweet, but very well balanced. Taste is caramelized sugar, sweet pale malt, rock candy and vinous characteristics. Alcohol is dominant, but not overpowering. This is one heavy brew!

Pours brilliant deep gold with a copper core and zero head. The aroma is pungent and nearly pushes you away from the glass. The aromatic notes seem to change with each whiff. I get a quick pulse of cherry hard candy followed by grainy Munich like malts. A continued draw only brings copious amounts of alcohol heat burning the nose. Other sniffs can be full of sweet sugary malts. The taste is sticky and sweet to start. It’s pure sweetness bleeding into fruity esters with notes of prunes, figs and raisins. It then gets a bit peppery before chemical like alcohol notes take the experience into the finish. At the finish and into the after taste a grainy malt note surfaces and mixes with cherry hard candy as the alcohol sensation slowly fades away. Very warming finish and the term “hot” certainly applies here.

A Mes rate: Bottle at Chris O’s Pre GBBF Tasting
Looks like a thick helles. Tastes like a fuel injected helles. Too hot, too much sugary sweet alcohol. Everything underneath is decent. Nice fruity hops and malt and reasonably balanced if you take the alcohol away but damn. Too much.

Bottled. Golden colour, small white head. Aroma is vanilla, alcohol, nectar, more vanilla and some apricotty sweetness. Flavour is alcohol, wood and vanilla. Wellbalanced and pleasant.

Bottle at Chris_o Pre GBBF Shindig 08. Now I was going to give this a 2.4/5.0, but on further reflection I’m not going to and that is because this was ultimately undrinkable. I physically couldn’t drink any more than a couple of sips. Golden in colour with a thin white head. Strong and sickly. Some strawberry fruit which I liked. Just too strong, too hot and ultimately unpleasant.

Pale gold with small bubbles. Gotta smell this one like a good scotch, alcohol burn permeates a nice sweet malt scent. Wow is this one sweet, although paired with some slightly bitter dark chocolate it was a nice match.

Golden color with little to no head. Aroma is sweet, lightly perfumed, honey and pears. Flavor is also of pears and honey, slightly vineous and warming from the alcohol. Finish is lingering, sherry-like. Would be interesting to age for 10-20 years. Surprisingly creamy mouth for a beer that appears so still.

From the bottle pours a transparent, deep yellowy gold with a thin white head that faded fast. Nose is fairly mild, surprisingly, a little boozy, sweet corn, oranges, some tropical fruits and tons of malt. Tough to get over all the booze in the flavor of the beer, but if you search you can find some fruit, candy, and a bit of grain. Extremely heavy in the mouth, syrupy and plenty of heat from the alcohol. Doesn’t really remind you of a doppelbock or a helles, reminds you more of malt liquor.