Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

Alcohol mutha’. Deceptively clear, w/ a right on nose... of alcohol, maybe malt...maybe. Heavily sweet. Fuckin’ awesome, but here’s the kicker: $20 a 4 pack

A Mes rate: 33cl bottle. What a load of rubbish. Stupidly strong and lacking any finesse whatsoever. Im sure American folks love it... ;)

2004 vintage. Pours a clear reddish orange wth no head at all. Big malty smell s with some dark fruit, alcohol, and some cheesecake. Alcohol really comes through here. Monster of a beer, right off of the bat. Big, big alcohol taste. Very fruity with some smooth caramel and syrupy malts. Some vanilla appears in the finish. The aftertaste has some sweetness to it, but just really dominated by the high alcohol. Big beer.

2005 vintage. Bottle into small tumbler; purchased at Sam’s in Chicago. Much fizzier pour than I expected. Head dissipates almost instantly, leaving no lacing, no racing, no nothing except tons of visible carbonation rushing to the top through the clear copper brown beer and dying there without fanfare. Immediately upon uncapping the bottle, aromas wafted up to my nose. Beer smells malty, with awesome brown sugar syrup drenching plums and apricots. Smells less deep than the Hurlimann version, with less chocolate and maybe sweeter (probably due to its relatively young age), but otherwise the same. First sip shows a thick beer with fruity malt character that’s instantly delicious and full, with an alcohol burn in the finish so obvious and well tutored that it had to be intentional. Almost like the porty beer that aged Hurliman is, but without the delectable chocolate that pervades that beer. It’s like a fruitier, non-hoppy barleywine. The alcohol in the finish is somewhat acrid and bitter, but mostly just drying. As a final thought, this is the only strong beer I’ve had (and I’ve had stronger ones) that decidedly assured me that it was not a session beer.

2003 bottle poured into a snifter. Orangey brown with zero head. Very sweet caramel aroma with big alcohol. The alcohol really does a number on your nose hair. There is also a cartain fruity, pineapple maybe, scent. The flavor is very sweet. I don’t know that I’d call is cloying, but sweet nonetheless. There also some toast there. The finish is pure alcohol. What a burn. Leves the lips kind of sticky.

Brown look with a white small fast disappearing white head. Aroma is sweet and creamy with notes of caramel and alchohol. Flavor is also very sweet, with a strong alchohol presence, but not nearly as thick as some of their other doppelbocks. The alchohol is also strong in the finish, and is felt in your nostrels. Nice brew, but not my style.

bottle split two ways, courtesy of Dan. Brownish amber in color, with a very small off white head. Aroma is very sweet, alot of caramel, dark fruits, and alcohol. Taste is also very sweet, with alot of caramel, and dark fruits, alcohol is way too prevalent in this one, burns the throat, heat lingers through the finish.

Bottle. Small and quickly disappearing off-white head. Hazy orange / brown body. Fruity and yet spicy aroma. Sweet, in fact very sweet, fruity flavor with clear notes of alcoho.