Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

Bottle 2007. Brown colour with almost no head. Very sweet and malty, caramel, toffee, fruits, dessert wine, alcohol. Syrupy mouthfeel. Don´t bother if uou´re not a malt head. Nice, but probably even better with lagering.

Appearance: Rich, deep, clear copper. Pours with a creamy off-white head, dissipates to a creamy, patchy lace. Smell: Sweet, syrupy, malty nose, with fruit esters (plum, raisin) and a fumey alcohol. Taste: Extremely full-bodied, thick, rich and chewy. Mouthfeel is creamy, as well as smooth ~ like a fine aged scotch whiskey. Caramel/toffee, asian plum sauce, raisiny, dates, grape, honey, sweet chocolate and light biscuity flavours come to the front. The overall malt profile is very sweet and fruity. Alcohol notes are definately there and spicy, and it warms your whole body after the first sip! There’s little detectable hop bitterness, however there is a wonderfully floral hop flavour that melds in with the malty sweetness creating a sweet tea-like flavour that rides the entire deal. Finishes with alcohol fumes and a light grain flavour with créme de cacao notes. Sheer bliss!

bottle, vintage 2007, bought at Interspar Bregenz in early 2008. Deep dark amber colour, small off-white head. Malt-grainy nose strongly reminding of single malt whisky. Full-bodied, sweet and malty in a syrupy way. Herbal accents and hints of honey, pine and wood. Lingering finish with lots of warming alcohol. Very pleasant on the palate.

Bottle. Dark brown pour with no head. Aromas of malted grain almost molasses with plums and grapes and alcohol. Body is syrupy. Flavor is much the same as aroma very sweet with a very long finish with lingering alcohol. Worth trying to age definately posseses all the necessary caracteristics for it.

courtesy of cartdan. 1995 vintage. pours dark brown, no head, nice tainted golden stain on glass. aroma had hints of soy with malts, and a strong chocolate nose. Definitely nose of a beer that has some years on it. taste, boozy, soy, lots of caramel and lots of sediments. chocolate malts. All the fruit flavors of dark fruits are there and seem muted by the age and the soy like palate. They are noticeable but not as much as younger versions.

2006 bottle, consumed in July 2009. Pours a clear, brazen-brown color with a small head of quickly dissipating, off-white foam. The skinny ring that sticks around the edge leaves dense sheeting on the glass, but no lacing. The aroma is big and ultra sweet, heavy on brown sugar, figs, dates, and raisins, all stewed in a rummy sort of alcohol bath. The flavor is largely the same, centered in brown sugar and a bevy of dark fruits, this time including plums, prunes, and hints of caramelized banana, in addition to the aforementioned figs and raisins. There’s a good deal of vanilla in there as well. Some earthiness comes through on the finish, which lingers. The body is heavy and downright syrupy, still quite hot despite the time in the bottle. This makes for a decent little dessert, split three or four ways, but I can’t do more than a few ounces. Nowhere near the mastery that was the 1996 Hurlimann version that I had some time ago, but it’s decent for what it is, and pretty tasty in small doses.

Bottle. Pours a clear, dark rust color with sticky beige head. The aroma is intensely fruity with a very straightforward vinous note; prune, apple, apricot, banana, and some sort of dry red wine, a distant hint of vanilla, noticeable (but subtle) alcohol. The flavor is super malty with strong prune and raisin, even a hint of toast. There are some apricot and vanilla notes bouncing around in there, too. The finish has a vinous tannicity that brings a very red-wine like quality to it. I seem to pick up a dose of oak, but I think it’s an illusion from the association with wine. Alcohol warmth is very prominent in the aftertaste. This is quite a tasty beverage, and an excellent candidate for aging.

2007 bottle. Pours a clear mahogany with no head. Aroma is sweet malt, grapes, and sherry-like qualities. Flavor is sweet syrupy malt, grapes, plums, caramel and some alcohol in the finish. Delicious!! Had a 2006 bottle on 8/23/09. Truly amazing. Putting a few bottles in my cellar.