Beer Tasting: Castle Brewery Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier (2005)

The Beer: Castle Brewery Eggenberg Samichlaus
Style: Doppelbock
Reviews: Beer Advocate Rate Beer
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Packaging & Date Stamping: 11.2 oz. brown bottle; "Bottled in 2005" stamp

From where & how stored: Purchased from Circle Liquors in Somers Point, NJ in Jul. '06, transported home, and stored at 42F since then

Pricing: $xx.xx per bottle

Availability: approximately 10 months after the annual brew date of December 6th

ABV, IBU, and Other Available Stats: 14% ABV
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Bryan's Notes
The Look:
- yellowish-orange color
- virtually no head
- brandy-looking consistency/texture

The Aroma:
- big alcohol nose; sweet raisins and figs as it warms
- are there notes of wood in the nose?

The Taste:
- taste doesn't match up with the aroma...not a bad thing
- weird, but I seemed to detect a bit of vegetable flavor
- but it disappears quickly into a burst of sweetness and alcohol
- barleywine smooth and just a touch of bitterness
- Definitely more rich flavors as it warms....is this really a lager?

The Verdict: Adam asked if I thought it is more like the d'extra or 120 min...I say d'extra. I can only imagine how age-worthy this beer would be....so I saved one (hm, but for when only time will tell).
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Adam's Notes
The Look:

The Aroma:
- cotton candy figs in the nose
- no sulfur to distract you
- like a brandy

The Taste:
- sweet malt fig consistent with the nose
- more like d'extra than 120 min
- reminds me of their ice bock we reviewed
- slight peppery tinge from the alcohol

The Verdict: I enjoyed this so much. A real standout from all the other seasonals. Hard to imagine this is a lager ;-) Thanks Bryan!