Hürlimann Samichlaus

Samichlaus, which means "Santa Claus" in Swiss German, is brewed on December 6th, naturally aged before bottling, and distributed one year later. This beer was once the world’s strongest beer and has been listed in The Guinness Book of Records. Unlike other lagers, it should be stored at cellar temperatures in order to enhance its definite ale-like qualities.
** This beer has been discontinued (last brewed in 1996).**

3.8

304 reviews

Zürich, Switzerland

Community reviews

3.8 1994, 1995, and 1996 side by side tasting. Pours a murky brown from the bottle with little to no head or lace. Aroma of big dark fruits, burnt caramel sugar, molasses, and a hint of spice. Taste follows, a bit oxidized for sure, but the booze and yeast cover up for a lot of it. High burning booziness, thick and viscous, not real carbonation left. Decent for the age, just not what I want to drink really ever.

3.6 Olive bottle, 25 cl, 1996 vintage, best before 11.09.99, savoured on May 1st 2015; eye: black, opaque, no effervescence, no head, no lacing; nose: caramel, malt, molasses, light Madeira; mouth: caramel, malt, molasses, light Madeira, finale in malt with presence of molasses, medium body, below-average carbonation, mildly sweet, silky texture; overall: nice example of a beer to age FRANÇAIS Bouteille olive, 25 cl, millésime 1996, meilleure avant 11.09.99, savourée le 1er mai 2015; œil : noire, opaque, pas d’effervescence, pas de mousse, pas de dentelle; nez : caramel, malt, mélasse, léger madère; bouche : caramel, malt, mélasse, léger madère, finale en malt avec présence de mélasse, corps moyen, carbonatation sous la moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture soyeuse; en résumé : bel exemple de bière à faire vieillir

3.8 Bottle (1996 vintage): I had tried this one before I was taking notes but glad I was able to try it again although almost 20 years later. Poured a clear dark brown color bock with a small foamy head with no retention or lacing. Aroma of Xeres, caramelized malt with light toffee notes is very interesting. Taste is also dominated by Xeres and port with some caramelized malt notes with light subtle toffee notes and balanced level of residual sugar. Oxidation notes are not overly noticeable. Body is about average with not much carbonation remaining. Glad I had the opportunity to try this one and wish I would have stash a couple of those in my cellar back in the days.

3.4 Expected more. Boozy caramel aroma. Head quickly dissapates from Red Amber colour beer. Medium To full body. Taste is alcohol and Sugar caramel. -- rated with beerbasher/winphone

4.4 Thanks Mensch! Bottle vintage 1996. Aroma is dark fruit and burnt sugar with some roast notes. Appearance is a dark faint ruby color--the bottle also has some bits of dark sediment. Taste is also dark fruit but with a tangy, fig like character that is similar to dried plums and sherry. It’s hard to believe that this is 14% as it seems to feel more like 8%. The finish is somewhat sweet with a slight hint of acid...similar to sherry. Awesome!

3.0 "i can’t imagine drinking this with food...stronger and more overpowering than even the 14% implies. it’s good to try once or twice, but a little much. Sweet...no balance, and not a ton of complexity. either that or you just can’t taste it over the alcohol."

4.5 A világ egyik legerősebb lagersöre, az biztos: 14%. Majdhogynem fekete színe nagyon csalogató, pörkölése és karamelles beütése enyhe csokoládéízzel párosul. A magas alkoholtartalom nem tűnik fel, csak a 2.-3. üveg után, de akkor is derült égből érkezik.

2.9 Cellared 1995 bottle. Poured cloudy nut brown with some small bubbles on the glass, but no head whatsoever. Herbal aroma with some candy-sweetness. Had a touch of a medicinal note, which (combined with the cloudiness) makes me think it’s oxydized some. Body is considerably thinner than when fresh, but still notably oily. The sweetness and boozy quality that this beer had when fresh is toned down considerably. There is a lingering earthy note with an herbal flavor as well. Some of the malty sweetness remains, with a caramel note to it. There was an "off" note all-around that leads me to believe that this bottle was in the process of going bad. Have another that has been kept refrigerated almost 100% of the aging time, will try and re-rate at that time.

4.0 Rich plum and fruity. Rests on the palette nicely. Good for sipping and relaxing.

4.0 250mL bottle, shared generously by fiulijn (thanks a lot, Alex), pours a deep dark mahogany with minimal head. Nose brings out notes of dark dried fruits, some soy sauce, and notes of sherry. Flavour is remarkably complex, with notes of soy sauce, dried dark fruits, caramel, and candied sugar. No notes at all of oxidation, which is remarkable for a 16-17 year old beer. ABV is remarkably well-hidden as well. This has stood the test of time - excellent elegant sipper.

3.2 Nice marroon color, thin head. The first thing you taste is a rather unpleasent teriyaki sauce flavor, followed by a lot of alcohol. As your palate becomes more accustomed to it, though, subtle flavors of walnuts, figs, butter and toffee begin to emerge

3.6 Bottle - 330ml. Cola brown body with average carbonation and a thin off-white bubbly head. Rich, enjoyable malty/hoppy aroma with cinnamon, oaky, and brown sugar hints. Alcohol is well hidden. Its robust malty/hoppy taste carries caramel, cinnamon, oaky, and fruity notes. Ends with a long, warming, bittersweet finish. Too bad it is not brewed anymore.

3.9 Pours fizzy clear dark red brown. Aroma of boozy, corn, metallic. Caramelized malt. Sweet strong caramel and toffee flavour almost like alcoholic molasses, sherry like. Very sweet but I do enjoy that. Definitely a good Christmas drink bit lacks a bit of complexity. The metallic aroma lets it down but a unique bottle nonetheless

4.3 5/XII/13 - 25cl bottle @ home - BB: IX/2000 - 1997 vintage (bottled) (2013-1121) Thanks to Franck for the bottle! Clear dark brown to purple beer, no head. Aroma: chocolate, port, walnuts, orange peel, very spicy, alcohol, caramel. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: alcohol up front, bit sourish, sweet malts, caramel, chocolate, bit oxidized, dry, slightly hoppy. Aftertaste: some alcohol, caramel, orange peel, bit nutty, quite some marzipan, bitter hops, port notes, mocha, some overripe banana. Amazing beer, has kept extremely well during these 16 years of ageing...

3.3 Kupfer, kaum schaum, aroma etwas fruchtig, alkoholisch, malzsüsse, leicht löungsmittel, geschmack extrem süss, zuckrig/sirup, zu dominierend, etwas fruchtig, fein peickelnde rezenz

3.9 Bottle, 1996 vintage. Almost clear, light brown in color and with a minimal sized off-white head. Meaty, malty aroma with dried fruit notes, prunes, some burnt hints and a distinct oxidation note that doesn’t do any harm. It’s sweet on the palate, full-bodied and not as warming as I’d expect. Some pine cone notes, as well as wort, malts and raisins. Lasting finish. A really wonderful one, surviving all the cellar years very well. Pity it’s gone now. 130111

3.5 Bottled in 1988, states it is a rare imported brown ale. Even states something about possibly being the rarest Brown in the Guinness Book of Records, haha. This beer still has some heat after 25 years, caramel, malt, vanilla aroma. Taste is some caramel, wood and alcohol...

4.0 Bottle. !996 vintage. Dark brown colour with a beige colour. Aroma is alcohol, malt, licorice, oxidation. Flavour is alcohol, malt, licorice, oxidation, fruit, caramel. Full body. Very nice beer.

4.4 1996 bottle. My goodness, this is something special. I love Sami, but this was intruging. Never thought I would try the Hurlimann version. Alcohol is hidden behind big tawny port flavours, ripe berries, vanilla and bourbon. It still has a body on it and it’s still very much got the goods. Fantastic. Thank you to Marc for this treat.

3.9 Bottle 1996, courtesy of Beer3000. Pours dark brown with a tiny off-white head. Aroma of malt, burnt bread crust, alcohol, oxidized malt, biscuits and fruitiness. Flavor is sweet and malty with some oxidized notes, crust, mint, warming alcohol and caramel. Medium to full body, soft carbonation. Nice .

4.3 Rating #6000, 1995 vintage. Poured a lovely shade of dark garnety-mahogany with just a loose ring of off-white head. The aroma was deep, seductive, and very powerful, with raisins, molasses, licorice, soy, and faint toasted nutty notes.. a little peppery Cognac-like burn on the back of the nose, but it was almost soft for 14%.. decadent. The flavor opened with a quick tart simple sugary hit before giving way to delicious well-aged maltage.. molasses, well-aged caramel, and a kiss of maple on the heavy core.. a blend of the same malts with some sherry and cognac on the long, belly-warming finish. Heavy-bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. syrupy, but not cloyingly-so.. overall a great beer that perhaps got even better over the last 16 years.

4.1 Bottle at world of beer. Pours court with no head to speak of. Aroma is full of vanilla and bourbon. Taste is all dark fruit with a little vanilla and bourbon on the finish. The alcohol is there but doesn’t seem to be fourteen.

4.1 Very strong and tasty beer. Being a doppelbock has a nice malty taste that goes along with its alcohol punch (hence the small bottle). Great in snowy weather, which is fitting for being named Santa Claus .

3.9 12oz bottle (1993) shared by Doug, thanks Appearance: Clear dark brown, no head but some legs on the side of the glass Aroma: A great nose of toffee, dark fruit and some sweetness Taste: Dark fruit, toffee and hot alcohols Very nice. The aroma was awesome.

3.9 1993 bottle. Pours a dark copper color with no head, oily. A wonderful nose of plums, malt, sugars, sweet brown sugar, cake. The flavor is very good and certainly shows the 19 years: sweet sugars, a bit of heat, some cardboard sourness from oxidation, plum and port, sweet rich malts, actually quite hot. Lots of age, but holds up quite well. Tasty. No body.

3.3 rbesg07 grand tasting, 1985 bottle. close to black with a purple tinge and unsurprising lack of head; aroma of golden syrup, sultanas and bloody nose; loads of soy sauce gives it a terriyaki taste with hints of old tinned tomato juice. somehow likeable in a clunky way

2.5 Pours a deep purple color, with aroma of plums, alcohol, and sweet rum. Taste is very much as advertised, you can taste the alcohol content from first drink. A slight rum taste but the alcohol content flavor masks everything else. Surprisingly clean aftertaste, I’m glad I got to try one, but I’m not a fan.

5.0 Là on est au niveau stratosphérique. Une bière brassée en 96, mise en bouteille en 97, et encore buvable en 2012! C’est un peu un porto, quelque chose que l’on sirote lentement. Un feu d’artifice de saveurs en bouche. Quelque chose d’énorme vraiment. Si vous avez l’occasion, goutez la!

3.9 1997 Bottle at Monks. Pours a deep purple almost black. Aromas of plum, rust, malts, candy sugar. The smell overall was a malt ball once it warmed. Very good but a little sweet for me.

4.0 1996 bottle. Poured a cloudy dark brown with a very thin head. Big smooth malty goodness. Burned chocolate caramel. Very boozy and very sweet but both elements have mellowed with age. Way too drinkable for the abv. Sense that agewise the bottles are beginning to turn, so dont wait too long.