Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier

Draft. Age unknown. Clear copper and dark honey colored body with pretty much no head. Sweet and ripe nose of light spices, sticky malt syrup, port, basically a scent that’s hard to describe - some old fruit, some vegetables, some maple syrup and some nutmeg or cinnamon. Sticky, sweet and vinuous on the tongue, immensely thick and cloying, tasting of dates and wood with a huge dose of what tastes like homebrew malt extract syrup. The alcohol plays out very well, and I usually find these high gravity sweet brews unpleasent, but this one is appreciated.

I recall having this beer a few years back and enjoying it. I saw it at BevMo tonight and picked it up. Wow was I disappointed. The aroma is very harsh. Appearance is its saving grace, nice dark brown thats crystal clear. Mouthfeel is very harsh with a lingering aftertaste. All you can taste is the alcohol and its poorly masked. A horrid drink.

Striking medium brown color with a strong hue. Aroma of sweet malt, dried fruit, and some toasty undertones. Very sweet with a bitter hops and alcohol finish. I kept asking myself if I was drinking a barleywine... It is quite smooth although the alcohol is certainly present on the finish. Overall, a nice effort, but is a bit too pricy for me - I’ll stick with a Celebrator.

Bottled 2006, 11.2 oz bottle. Pours reddish copper color with no head. Sweat aroma and alcohol. Taste of sweat malt and a creamy alcohol finish with no after taste. A very outstanding beer even with the high alcohol %. I wish I pick-up more of this beer.

Virtually no head, clear body, crimson red hue. For the aroma I think I picked up on the following: alcohol, port, raisin, maybe plum, maybe cherry. The initial flavor is sweet, finishes with a strong, sweet, alcohol presence that lasts a little longer than average. The body is light to medium, lively carbonation and an alcoholic finish. Overall, I was expecting a horrible tasting beer due to the high alcohol percentage; however, this was much better than I expected. It is somewhat hard to imagine drinking more than one of these in a sitting due to the intense amount of sweetness. Not a fantastic beer but better than I expected.

Bottle: Amber coloured, nearly unvisible foamy layer; strong fruity nose (dried fruit) mixed with port-wine, toasted malt, bisquits and some peppery hops; strong sweet, faint bitter flavour; full bodied, hints of cognac in the lingering nutty, sweet fruity and spicy hoppy finish. Despite it’s strength, a very tasty and well quaffable Doppelbock............

Dark orange/red color with no head. Smells sweet and thick. Tastes sweet and thick. Too syrupy for my tastes. The alcohol is also off-putting and detracts from the taste. Not a complete failure but I can’t honestly say I’d want another.

Bottle at porterhouse, Dublin. This is basically Cognac. It looks like it, smells like it and it’s too strong for beer. Way, way too strong. Cool to taste it but nothing more. Not pleasant in any way. Perhaps, off-piste.