rmussman (819), California, USA Jul 1, 2009 Sampled in Kitzbuhl. A pretty serious brew but the taste really was not too good. Pours with a good amount of spice and head. Worth a try but once only. puzzl (2339), New York, New York, USA Jun 28, 2009 Yikes. Pale pour with no head whatsoever. Sweet, skunky, corn syrup nose, like prison hooch. Similar flavor, modest body, some old hops, but unbearably cloying. Undrinkable. zvikar (269), Tel-Aviv, Israel Jun 22, 2009 Nice deep brown to red with small head, aroma of cherries, caramel and clove, flavor is caramelish with prunes and other dried fruits quite alcoholic, seems like a weakened version of the Samichlaus. ChainGangGuy (2313), Kennesaw, Georgia, USA Jun 3, 2009 12 ounce bottle - 3.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Appearance: Pours a rather clear, orangey-golden body with a smallish, whitish head. Not exactly what I was expecting, I must say.
Smell: Sweet-smelling golden raisin puree dosed with a few shots of grain alcohol and tempered with touches of grain and clover honey.
Taste: Dusky, sweet graininess yields to a tart taste of raisin liqueur with sharp alcoholic hotness. Tastes of honey interject. Then, it’s hot again. Tastes of steeped grain try to rebound. Then, it’s hot again. Fleeting touch of floral hops and bitterness. Then it’s back to the sweetness (flirting with cloying) and alcoholic heat (toying with unpleasant) all through the end and finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Alcohol heat all the while.
Drinkability: A real disappointment. Goes back and forth between being sickly sweet at times and unpleasantly hot. Regrettably, it’s like the malt liquor of dopplebocks. smcolw (176), Wayland, Massachusetts, USA May 30, 2009 Clear, neutral gold color. Modest head that dies quickly to a single layer of bubbles.
Slightly skunky in the nose. More malt, as expected, than hop. A touch caramel and bit of earthiness to the smell.
Strong alcohol bite to the swallow. More hop bitterness than most doppelbocks, but still retains its malty character. Thick body with a low level of carbonation. Short lived aftertaste--dominated by the alcoholic warmth. pumpmaster (420), Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA May 26, 2009 0.5 liter bottle purchased at Julius Meinl in Vienna, Austria for 1.99 Euro Excellent. Spab (115), Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 14, 2009 330 ml bottle from LCBO. Pours a clear light orange gold colour with tiny white head. Sweet, malty aroma. Strong sweet flavour with real honey taste with the alcohol punch strong in the finish. Somewhat interesting but didn’t blow me away. AvidDirtman (25), , Japan May 6, 2009 Big fizz on pour, bananas galore, falls flat on the taste for a strong beer, but good smell. present from a friend so I can’t be too derogatory. whiffs of spirits, it’s all in the nose with this one. sang it’s praises from my nose like a britpop singer, but like them full of empty promises. good-looking colour, heads disappears quicker than a one hit wonder. bottle is seductive; i guess, brags about it being one of the strongest beers in the world. that would be true if Belgium didn’t exist. Gets much better as it warms, or I start buzzing off the alcohol content. If i was a conspiracy theorist I’d say that was their desired effect.
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