Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Helles
Samichlaus is brewed once a year on December 6, and is aged for 10 months before bottling. It is one of the rarest specialties in the world. Samichlaus may be aged in the bottle for many years to come, as older vintages become more complex. Brilliant deep amber, complex dry toasted malt nose and huge intensely sweet palate. The 2007 bottling is the first bottling since 1987. 32°
3.4
546 reviews
Vorchdorf, Austria
Community reviews
Bottled, 330ml aged 12 years a generous donation to the cause by Bill, many thanks. Brown with very thin head, a couple of yeast lumps. Despite the ageing the alcohol is still quite fiery, nasal. Caramel and fruity flavours come through, apricot, plum, port wine. Big and bold. Pretty decent.
Neben dem leicht erhältlichen Samichlaus Classic, gab es eine Zeitlang einen hellen Bruder.
Meines fand ich in einer Bockbierbox oder einem Bier-Adventkalendert und damals war mir die Besonderheit des Bieres nicht gewahr.
Füch mich war es damals einfach ein weiterer Bock mit ordentlich fruchtigen Aroma.
Dabei war es so gut balanciert, dass es mir damals, als mir die meisten Böcke einfach zu alkoholisch waren, tatsächlich geschmeckt hat.
Ein durchaus starkes, tiefgründiges Bier mit einem fruchtig-torfigen Kern.
Crisp, but clear pure borwn and deep amber body with a bit of a cola glow showing a glimmer of ruby and orange tints with almost no head at all, a sliver of an off-white head on top, however. Aroma of chocolate, pure nuts, peated malts, toffee, caramelised sugars, bitter grain, rye and a dash of pitted fruits - strong in the nose. Quite strong of course, with a bunch of alcohol, naturally. Medium-bodied; Rich, very syrupy beer with a pungent grain and nutty kick that shows a ton of alcohol as well, but a more tempered nut and caramel finish with a good bitterness at the finish, primarily from the grain. Aftertaste is deep, but very syrupy and more sweet than pungent, with a lot of alcohol of course, but some softer fruit, chocolate and nuts finish this off nicely. Overall, fairly good, considering the ridiculously high alcohol content AND the very strong sugars and syrupy nature of this - pretty good to try, as well. I sampled this 33 cL bottle, purchased from Whole Foods in Arlington (Pentagon City), Virginia on 30-August-2019 for US$4,99 sampled at home in Washington on 27-November-2019.
Danke an DrNosha, schönes Bernstein mit leichter Trübung, kein Schaum, im Geruch malzig süß holzig, so auch im Geschmack, auch wenn man diese Kategorie nicht mag, davon kann man ein Gläschen vertragen
11.3oz Flasche. Drauf steht „Malt Liquor“! Abgefüllt 2015. Strahlende Bernsteinfarbe, nahezu kein Schaum. Intensiver Trockenobstduft. Etwas Lakritz, Karamell, Cognac. Weicher Geschmack. Rosinen, Cognac, Holz, Karamell. Mein bester Malt Liquor.
Aroma: highly toasty and caramel-ey, syrupy sweetness, some toffee, alcohol, very subtle herbal hop.
Appearance: clear slightly dark amber color with a small off-white head which disappears quickly. It looks more of a maibock than a doppelbock because of its lighter color.
Taste: toast, caramel, some toffee, reminiscence of malty syrup, high sweetness, medium bitterness. Hop flavor is too low to be detected.
Palate: full body, syrupy texture, medium-low carbonation, boozy, sweet finish.
Overall: This is the first maibock I've had which is definitely pure malt bomb. satisfying, but very low in drinkability and really out of balance. It tastes similar to Samichlaus Classic with slightly lower dark fruit impression.
Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty caramel toffee aroma with hints of dark fruit. Fruity malty caramel bitter flavor. Has a fruity malty caramel and dark fruit finish.
2007 bottle, held up extremely well. Smooth pour and taste. Not overly boozy.
This is hard to enjoy cause it's so damn strong!! Actually first sampled it late night, so by the time I got half way through I was falling asleep so capped it and finishing the rest now. Very sweet flavors, almost like a strong apple cider. Aroma and tastes of wheat and barley, perhaps some fruit in there somewhere. Clear light to medium brown appearance. Hard to hide the alcohol on this one. Definitely meant for sipping.
2010 bottle. Dark brown, cloudy with lace. Doesn't look like a helles at all. Oxidized nose, caramel, raisins, plums, chocolate. Super sweet flavor, fruity, tons of raisins, plums, plus peaches and a peppery finish. Super rich and oily, almost flat. Old and oxidized, huge fruit, fun stuff.
Bottle. Clear orange golden with a small head. Aroma of honey, toffee, umami, alcohol. Extremely sweet, caramel, toffee, honey, notes of oxidation, warming alcohol sensation. Medium bodied, oily, sticky. Complex, but too sweet and boozy for my liking.
Flaska från SB. 2014 vintage. Massor av honung och honey drops. Stor söt och värmande och riktigt balanserad. Snygga ålderstecken, ljus torkad frukt, riktigt söt nektar och så massor av honung. Gott
Brutally sweet, like a cup of caramel and toffee soda, with apple esters and a bit of fig and cardboard underneath. Not a lot of burn for a 14% behemoth, but needs a boatload of hops for balance.
Bottle, very little bubbly head, clear dried apricot orange color, aroma of alcohol, brown bread, smokey hint, candy whiff, appealing in a strange kind of way, very sweet and cloying, alcohol, nuts and candy. Not too imteresting and quite difficult to drink.
33cl Bottle @ BierPost.com Onlineshop, Wildberg, Germany.
Amber colour with a thin white head.
Aroma is malt, sweet, dried fruits, alcohol.
Taste is malt, caramel, prunes, figs, alcohol.
Full body, soft carbonation.
Bottled in 2015. Not as complex as advertised, but quite corpulent. Alcohol content pronounces sweet character.
Bottle. Bottled in 2015. Clear golden with no head. Sweetish aroma with notes of caramel, prune, raisin, dried fruits, apricot, wood, alcohol and fruit syrup. The flavor is very sweet and mild sour with notes of wood, dried fruits, prune, raisin, caramel, sugary, lots of alcohol. Oily texture, full-bodied. Very nice although it will probably be much better in a few years.
Doppelbock de 14 % abv, pour pas moins de 32° plato.
La bière passe dix mois de garde après le brassage le 6 décembre.
De plus, mon exemplaire était à 6 mois après sa date.
Couleur roux aux reflets bronze, à la clarté nette, pure.
Bulles très fines, en fontaine centrale, lentes.
Mousse inexistante, laissant le liquide parfaitement lisse,
pareil à un vin.
Arômes de vin de Collioure, pointe de muscade, miel de tilleul.
1ère bouche fluide, à la très belle entame malt cara, raisins secs.
Arrière-bouche longue, raisinée.
2ème avec du porto blanc, raisins secs, pointe de mûres.
Arrière-bouche avec une crème de cassis.
3ème qui offre du muscat de beau calibre.
Arrière-bouche longue, complexe.
La longueur nous donne du moscatel, porto blanc et du pruneau.
Jambes strictement lisses.
Levure de classe.
Alcool progressif, mais qui ne supporte pas les remontrances ...
Finale suave.
CONCLUSION : ces bières, qu'il faut toujours faire vieillir, sont de
véritables élixirs, du concentré de bière .. Vive le schloss ..
0.33 l bottle from 'BierPost.com', best before June 2021. Clear, deep amber with a thin, frothy, slowly diminishing, white head. Sweetish-malty, slightly fruity and a little boozy aroma of honey, vanilla, dried apricot and butterscotch. Extremely sweet, malty, slightly fruity taste of honey, dried apricot, candi sugar, butterscotch and some vanilla, followed by a long, moderately bitter, fairly boozy and warming finish. Full body, oily mouthfeel, almost flat. Very interesting sipper, quite a unique experience, not overly deep but very intense. Liked the dark version better.
Pours slightly hazy caramel with a minimal head. Aroma gives up sweet toasted malt, caramel and dark and stone fruit notes. Flavor yields caramel, toasted malt and fruity tones, a hint of woody hops. Mouthfeel presents firm, viscous body and fair fizz. Prost!
pale and bright red/amber with a very small and short lasting white head, pours like syrup, aroma granular, sweet, warm wet malts, taste is heavy cloying sweetness, alcoholic, thick syrupy, caramel, toffee, longlasting very sweet finish. full body and soft carbonation
Bottle. Bottled in 2015. Color: Clear orange amber, very thin fast disappearing white head. Taste: Over medium sweet, malty, syrup-like, notes of honey and white sugar. Lightly hints of caramel and nuts. Boozy, warming mouthfeel. Sticky palate. Full body, soft carbonation. Some complexity. Nice doppelbock. Personally I prefer the classic dark version a little bit above this Helles.
Aroma is heavy sweet, marzipan, honey and ripe fruits, light alcoholic. Clear amber color with a small white disminishing head. The taste is very sweet with honey and vanillia. Mouthfeel is oily. Finish is sweet with no bitter. A great beer, not as deep and tasty as the classic one. 0,33l bottle.
$5.60 bottle from Wine Warehouse. Pours gold with a dusting of a white head. Aroma is sweet malts, brown leaves, grass. Flavor is wickedly sweet malts, stone fruit, sweet tea, nuts, grain, grass, brown and green leaves. Perhaps too sweet for me.
Copenhagen 14/1 2018. 33 cl bottle from Ølhandleren in Give. Red label with an deranged looking Monk. Says on the label that this is "The World's Most Extraordinary Beverage". So expectations are high.
Pours clear, orange amber with small extremely bubbly white head. Head disappears after 5 seconds leaving what looks like an real unhealthy urine sample behind.
Aroma is strong with a sweet intensity and quite heavy on the alcohol. Some sharp sourness lurking in the background.
Low carbonation and medium thick slightly sticky texture.
Flavor is heavy sweet followed by rudimentary bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet and slightly spicy.
Quite cloying and nauseating to be honest. But also very Christmas-like. In my book it is not usual to run into a beer with an ABV of 14. But I would not call it "Extraordinary" in itself. If you are into very sweet and boozy Christmas Beers this could be your thing.
Orange amber pour with a thin layer. Aroma is sweet caramel malts, honey and definitely mold, shed and alcohol. Full on sweet and halfway medium bitter. Over medium body with soft fizzies. Tough one to finish.
Pours a very lovely, clear reddish-hued gold from a bottle, white head quickly dissipates to a small ring. Boozy vanilla caramel aroma and flavor. Good beer.
I was able to pick up a 4-pack for $20 at a respectable liquor store several times over the years. One 12 oz. bottle is an absolute knockout of a beer. It's almost wrong to call it a beer - at 14% ABV it's more like an extra-drinkable liquor. It's been too long since I've had one to recall all the luxurious details; just know that everything about this brew is perfection. It will leave you warm inside and fill your palate with an indelible joy you'll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. If you've never had one and you're lucky enough to come across it, make sure you secure a few bottles and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Not the classic Samichlaus but the Helles, still brewed only once a year (on Dec 6). Pours hazy copper, no carbonation, minimal head vanished after 1 minute and no lacing. Very sweet aroma, sweet malts, and lots of sweet winey notes (Marsala and Sherry). Very sweet taste as well, toffee, sweet malts, sweet wines, booze. Very strong, enjoyable as a "dessert wine". Quite thin bodied, flat carbonation and forever sweet. Good beer.
Pours golden ruby with a thin head that quickly vanishes without a hint of lacing. Aroma is sweet prunes with a hint of booziness that lies beneath. Taste is raisins, clove and honey. Aftertaste is minimal with a slight burn. A good beer, but to carry the Samichlaus name, I expected more.