Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

Pours a clear amber with no head. Has a aroma of sweet dark fruits, brown sugar, and caramel. You can taste everything you smell in it, plus apples. Finishes with a warm, heavy alcohol taste.

Bottle; 2005 vintage - bottle 1 of 4 - This beer is "huge". Drunk at cellar temp, this beer’s many flavors really shine through. From the beginning of sweet maltiness, fruits and candy to the finish of smooth, smokey, almost brandy flavors and alcohol. From what I have heard, two years is when thid beer starts to come into it’s own. I have 3 more left for future years tasting. I will chalk this up to "in the name of research."

Bottle 2006 vintage. pours out a nice clear amber/copper topped with almost no head. Very sweet aroma of malt and pit fruit. You can tast the 14% in this one. Not bad overall.

2006 version. Candied malt aroma, treacle, alcohol, medicinal qualities, clear copper, zero head. a taste mixture of fruit liqueurs, rich candied malt, if there are any hops, they’re disguised. Very full bodied, slightly complex, bitter, extremely warming. Should benefit with some aging. Terrific!

Bottle to myself, 2007 vintage, Aikmans, St Andrews. Nose is madeira notes with some malty biscuity tones, fantastic plummy cherry hints. Malty mouth with red meat, slightly madeiray again, some sourness. Burns on the way down, spirit wise. Rather damn nice, certainly not a session, but wow!

A 2001 vintage bottle shared by scluffman, pours a clear reddish amber brew with no head, no lacing or any sediment when decanted. Aroma of high alcohol, aged oak, brown sugar, dark chocolate and sweetened caramel. Taste is medium to full bodied, some carbonation with a sticky maple syrup, dark chocolate, molasses with a high alcohol honey flavor. Finish is heavy alcohol, sweet and more warmth after the aftertaste and finish. This is quite a treat and well brew for the winter months.

Clear reddish brown with malt, caramel, a bit of fruit, and alcohol in the nose. Flavors of molasses, dark fruit, sweet malt, and alcohol. I’ve got a few bottles that I’ll lay back for awhile to see what happens, this is just not that good when young (2006 bottle).

Golden Amber pour with a small white head. Fruit and alcohol very apparent in the aroma. Malty flavor with tons of alcohol and hints of berries. Finish has a slightly pine flavored. Taste like a Barley wine with a shot of vodka in it.