Origin: Austria
Type: Doppelbock
Color: Copper
Alcohol content: 14%
Recommended serving temperature: 10ºC/50ºF
Brewery: Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
I have decided to write my first and long overdue beer post of the year about one of my New Beers Eve choices, the Samichlaus.
In doing so, I hope to kill several birds with one stone. The first, biggest and most obvious bird I kill is finally writing a beer post, over a month into the year (shame). The second bird, adding another country to the list, in this case Austria. The third and final bird is finally adding another lager to this blog, something which doesn't tend to happen to often, simply because I tend to prefer ales over lagers.
This however is not your ordinary lager. As it aptly says on the label, it is the strongest lager beer in the world (at least that I know of) with its 14% ABV. At this point the fact that I favor strong beers is hardly breaking news to anyone reading this, so I quite obviously had to try it... and I'm very happy I did.
The Samichlaus is a copper colored doppelbock that barely develops any foam.
Its smell is eminently malty sweet, with hints of honey, licorice, caramel and dried fruits like plums and raisins. Like most bockbiers, it has a much more potent odor than your average lagers, intense and penetrating, to the point of practically masking the alcohol.
The taste pretty much follows suit, with a deep sweet flavor, full of maltiness. Raisins and plums are dominant in the taste, making it slightly fuller than expected from the smell.
This fullness and body is also contributed by the alcohol content, which is somewhat noticeable going down, but still less than could be imagined seeing the number on the bottle. In any case, this alcohol end also helps to avoid the taste being as cloying as the last season of How I Met Your Mother, something which I suspect could have very easily happened without that little bit of oomph.
Overall though, the raisin-like sweetness and the high alcohol make this a very enjoyable beer, albeit maybe one which, like eggnog, you really crave in Christmas. The Samichlaus really brings out the holiday cheer and, quite frankly, goes perfectly well with the slightly spiced candies and desserts which are common during that season in many parts of the world. It can easily become one of my new favorite Christmas traditions.
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