Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

Had this beer on 8/5/2007 and it was a 2005 bottling. Aroma is rich and sweet, seems to be a bit like a Barley Wine. Color is a clear brown with very good carbonation and a thin loose head that dissipates instantly. Taste is rich and sweet. Starting with a full/medium body that gives you a sweet mouth feel right away and then goes down with a crisp feel that has a sweet sharp feel coming in at the end. The finish is a rich caramel sweetness that rides out with an alcohol feel warming you on the end. In the after taste there is a mild bitterness that fades in giving a faint dry feel after you sit a bit. I think it is more a Barley Wine then a Malt Liquor, but either way it is a great Winter brew.

Bottle. Small beige creamy head that mostly diminished. Spare lacework. Clear and surprisingly sparkling body with an amber color. Explosive cherry notes of alcohol and dried fruit. Raisins, date, caramelized, cookie and nutty. Light grainy feel over the palate. Hint of alcohol in the sniff. Very full bodied with a somewhat thick texture, alcohol warming and a soft carbonation. Heavy sweet flavor with light alcoholic bitterness. Lovely lingering and warming raisin finish.

Pours a dark translucent brown with a tan head. Amazing tastes of caramel, figs, spices. Alcohol is masked very well. Very smooth. Not a lot of carbonation. Finishes sweet.

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!