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Ommegang XV

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Another Belgian Strong Dark from Ommegang, I wasn’t sure if I’d go for this “extremely limited” release, but dammit, they put it in a tin canister thingy and I’m powerless against fancy packaging. So here we are. I’m not sure exactly what makes this worthy of their 15th anniversary, aside from the fact that it’s big and dark and strong. They claim it’s unlike any other ale they’ve brewed, but I can think of two obviously similar beers in their lineup. How does this stack up to the solid but straightforward seasonal Art of Darkness? Or, for that matter, the admittedly unique and most excellent staple beer that is nonetheless big and strong and dark, Three Philosophers? Only one way to find out:

Ommegang XV Anniversary Ale

Ommegang XV – 15th Anniversary Ale – Pours a dark brown color with amber highlights and half a finger of bubbly tan head. Smells faintly of Belgian yeast, a little spicy with biscuit and maybe a hint of fruit. Taste is sweet, lots of spice from that Belgian yeast, some caramel, a non-roasty chocolate character that’s really nice and perhaps unique (definitely sets it apart from Ommegang’s other Belgian Strong Dark styled beers). Mouthfeel is well carbonated, almost but not quite effervescent, medium bodied, relatively dry for such a big beer, though there’s a bit of stickiness in the finish. It’s all rather well balanced though, and that’s a good indicator that Ommegang is hitting on all cylinders. They’re at their best when they’re doing stuff like this. Overall, an easy drinking, very well balanced, complex brew, worthy of a look, though it’s a pretty steep price tag. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9.6% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 12/31/12.

Ommegang has recently gained some notoriety for partnering with HBO to create a series of Game of Thrones beers. The first beer looks to be a relatively ho-hum affair, a 6.5% blonde ale. Certainly will be approachable for the non-beer-nerd fans of the series, but I’d be more excited if they did something really wacky. I can’t say as though I’m excited by this. I like Game of Thrones fine, and Ommegang was the brewery that got me into beer, but somehow this combination isn’t doing it for me. I suppose it will prove beneficial to both companies though, and as corporate tie-ins go, this is much better than most. I do wish success on Ommegang though – maybe if they can make enough money, they’ll start an actual sour program or something (they’ve made overtures in that direction in the past, but nothing regular).

Tired Hands HandFarm

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Tired Hands held a bottle release today, which, as far as I know, is their first official such event (I’ve heard tell of mythic one-off bottles, and even seen a few empties floating around as decorations, but I’m pretty sure this is the first real release). Approximately 500 bottles of wine barrel aged FarmHands (a saison, one of their two mainstay house beers) was available, and it sold out in less than an hour. Here at Kaedrin, we’re big fans of Tired Hands, so we made sure we were there. Not a particularly nice day to wait in line outside, but I’d guesstimate that around a hundred folks were in line ahead of me, and it looked like the supply was dwindling mightily by the time I got my share. As per usual, all the beer dorks on line were amiable folk, so it was a good enough time, and I’m glad that I didn’t arrive too late to get my greedy paws on some of this stuff.

Alrighty, that’s enough preamble, let’s get this party started:

Tired Hands HandFarm

Tired Hands HandFarm – Pours a bright but hazy straw yellow color with half a finger of white head. Smells funky, lots of vinous aromas from the wine barrel, some musty, spicy farmhouse yeast character too. Taste is sweet, again lots of vinous white wine flavor here, but the more traditional FarmHands flavors (musty yeast, some grainy malt complexity, a little spice) come through in the middle. A nice sharp sourness also hits pretty quickly, and a pleasant tartness continues through the finish. Not a ton of oak, but it’s there too, blended well with everything else. Mouthfeel is lightly but appropriately carbonated, a little pleasant acidity that delivers the sourness, but it’s crisp and bright, and it’s an easy drinker. It’s not super dry, but it makes overtures in that direction. Overall, this is a well crafted, balanced, complex beer and I’m happy I got my hands on some. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 5.2% ABV bottled (500 ml wax dipped). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/13/12.

So this is some pretty great stuff. For any Tired Hands experts out there, I’d put this a peg above Mysterious Mood, another barrel aged saison they did this past summer (which, actually, has a pretty good reputation). I guess this means I’ll be hitting up Tired Hands bottle releases semi-regularly too. Fingers crossed for some Westy 13, which I really grew to love when it was on tap. I have, of course, got a bunch of other Tired Hands reviews in the pipeline somewhere, but I wanted to get this one out as soon as I drank it… I’ll save those other ones for another speed round or something. Great stuff, as always. Indeed, their Domo, a black rye saison aged in a blend of Weyerbacher Insanity barrels and Chaddsford red wine barrels, is another fantastic sour beer, lots of sour cherry goodness. Ok, I’ll stop now, as I could probably just ramble on and on about these guys. Here’s to hoping they can keep this momentum up…

La Trappe Double Feature

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La Trappe always seems like a lesser Trappist due to the fact that they’re the only one not located in Belgium. On the other hand, they seem to be the only Trappist that does much in the way of creative new beers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Breweries like Chimay and Westmalle trace their recipes back to the 19th and early 20th century, originating and codifying some of the styles we know and love today, like dubbels and tripels. La Trappe, on the other hand, coined the nebulous style Quadrupel way back… in the 1990s. And they’re still going. Both of today’s beers were first released within the past couple years (though one is simply an old beer that was barrel aged).

Alas, since I have no pre-bankruptcy Hostess snacks to pair these with, I had to settle for my normal pairing of beers with movies. In this case, since we have two very different beers, one relatively light (but not super pale), one relatively big and dark, I went with the cinematic whiplash pairing of ParaNorman and A Separation. I can’t say as though I recommend the pairing, but each movie was pretty good in its own right, especially A Separation, which I found a little languid at the start, but slowly and deceptively turned into a captivating movie. I felt sorta like the frog placed in cold water that was slowly heated to boiling, cooking me alive in the process. Or something. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, beer:

La Trappe Isidor

Koningshoeven La Trappe Isid’or – When I first saw this, I thought it was a Lord of the Rings tie-in (Yeah, yeah, not the same spelling, so sue me in nerd court. I’ll totally go free because of the Irony defense.) But no, this was brewed to celebrate the 125th anniversary of La Trappe, and is named after their first brewer, Brother Isidorus. It pours a hazy light brownish orange amber color with tons of fluffy white head. Smells of fruity, spicy Belgian yeast, one of them bananas and clove affairs. Taste is sweet and spicy, again with the lighter fruits and lots of Belgian yeast spice, more malt character than you typically get out of a Belgian pale, but it’s not a dubbel or anything. It’s actually a hard beer to classify, which isn’t to surprising whenever you’re talking about Belgian beers, but it’s very fruity and doesn’t really fit in with the usual pales, nor is it particularly dark. Somewhere inbetween. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, spicy, relatively dry, all in good proportions. Overall, a very well crafted Belgian ale. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (11.2 oz) Drank out of a goblet on 12/30/12.

La Trappe Quadrupel oak aged batch 7

Koningshoeven La Trappe Quadrupel Barrique (Oak Aged) – Batch #7 – I previously had batch #3 of the oak aged Quadrupel and really enjoyed it. That one was aged in a mixture of new oak, old Port wine barrels, and previously used quadrupel barrels, and it was all a pretty great match with the beer style. This time around, we’ve got a batch that was aged in old Scotch barrels. The distilleries in question (Bowmore, Tamdhu, Strathspey and Laphroaig) seem to be a mix of Speyside and Islay, which can be troubling. In particular, I’ve found that beers aged in old Islay Scotch barrels are a bit challenging in that the peaty, smoky flavors really tend to overpower the beer. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Islay Scotch (Ardbeg 10 is a standard at my house, and their Uigeadail is a recent acquisition that I’m sure will find a place in the rotation), but mixing those strong flavors with a beer that is as highly attenuated as this seems to be a lot trickier than, say, mixing stouts with bourbon. I thought perhaps the Speysides would calm things down a bit, and indeed, this isn’t the worst attempt at an Islay barrel aged beer, but it’s not particularly special either.

Pours a dark brown color with some orangey amber highlights and almost no head, just a ring of bubbly stuff around the edge of the glass. The smell is mostly Scotch, lots of peat, some smoke, and some of that base Quadrupel spiciness and fruitiness, though the Scotch character is clearly the star here. Taste is all Scotch, lots of peat, but that smokey, medicinal character comes out a lot more here and overpowers things. Mouthfeel is much less carbonated than the usual quad, making this feel a little gloopy. Overall, this is a lot less balanced than the regular Quadrupel or even Batch #3, and the flavors just aren’t meshing well. As it warms up, things even out a bit, and like I said, I like me some Islay Scotch, but it’s still not working that well. C+

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (375 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 12/30/12.

It looks like Batch #7 is the odd man out, a misfire in a series of otherwise pretty well received oak aged beers. Batch #8 is supposed to also use Scotch barrels, but they blended that with new oak, which I think could really help tone down some of that peaty, smokey flavor (the reviews on RateBeer and Beer Advocate seem to bear that out). Batches 9 through 11 were aged in old Malbec barrels, and batch 12 used old Bourbon and Cognac barrels. So yeah, pretty much every batch of this sounds great, but avoid #7.

Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA

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Another top 100 beer from Midwest ballers and abnormal label art masters, Three Floyds. Behind Zombie Dust and various barrel aged versions of Dark Lord that I’ll probably never see, this DIPA is nevertheless well celebrated by beer nerds. Beer Advocate recently made some “controversial” changes to their ratings scheme, so I think this one fell down the ranks a bit, and we all know that the opinions of a bunch of strangers on the internet are usually dead on, so this is vexing. Still, being ranked 75th in the world is pretty sweet. Let’s not waste any more time and get to it:

Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA

Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA – Pours a clear golden color with a finger or two of white, fluffy head. Smells wonderful, sugary sweetness with tons of citrus and pine. Taste starts off sweet, very light crystal malt character, but then the mango and grapefruit emerge quickly and continue into the finish, along with some floral and pine notes. It finishes with a nice bracing bitterness, which is impressive considering the high ABV. As it warms, the floral notes open up and become more prominent in both the nose and taste. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, crisp and clean, maybe just the slightest hints of stickiness, but again, this is pretty good for such a big beer. Overall, this is a fantastic beer. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/29/12.

I would put this about on par with Double Jack and Gemeni. It’s maybe slightly beefier in terms of malts than Double Jack, but perhaps not quite as much as Gemeni. I don’t know the hop schedule of this one, but I suspect there’s some of that cascade/simcoe and centennial going on, wither perhaps a few others, which I believe puts it right in the same playing field. But I’ll tell you one thing, Dreadnaught tastes a whole lot harder to get than those two. That being said, I may need to start trading with more Midwesterners, just to keep up a supply of Three Floyds stuff, which has been uniformly impressive.

Rodenbach 2009 Vintage

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The two main Rodenbach beers are blends of oak-aged beer and “young” beer. The Grand Cru is mostly 2 year old oak aged beer, while the Classic leans more heavily on the young beer. Well, a few years ago, Rodenbach started putting out these Vintage beers, which are unblended and comprised solely of 2 year old oak aged beer from a single foeder (the giant oak vats they use to age their beer). This particular bottle was released back in 2011 and came into my possession by a fortuitous turn of events. By which I mean that it was sitting on the shelf and I happened to pick this over the 2010 edition… I’m a huge fan of the Grand Cru, so my hopes were high for this one:

Rodenbach Vintage 2009

Rodenbach 2009 Vintage Oak Aged Ale (Barrel No. 145) – Pours a relatively clear, dark amber brown color (robey tones, so much clarity) with half a finger of bubbly white head. Smells of vinous fruit, cherries, oak, and vanilla, with that sour twang. Taste starts off very sweet and fruity, tons of sour cherry flavor, maybe some jolly rancher, all of which is more prominent than the Grand Cru. The sweet and sour vinegar character is more prominent than the Grand Cru, but then the oak and vanilla kicks in, tempering that sweetness a bit, evening out the brew. Sourness is present and assertive, but not overpowering. Mouthfeel is a little brighter and more acidic than the Grand Cru, but it’s well carbonated, rich, and full bodied. The sourness keeps it from feeling heavy though, and it goes down pretty easy. Overall, this is fantastic stuff, a little more vinegar and less oak than the Grand Cru (odd, considering the unblended nature of this one), but certainly worthy. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/28/12.

Rodenbach Grand Cru is one of those beers that turned me into a lover of sour beer, so perhaps it’s hard for these other vintages to stack up. They clearly share a similar character, and I’ll probably continue to seek out any of Rodenbach’s specialty batches, but the Grand Cru just hit my tastes perfectly.

Old Rasputin XIV

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I bought this beer a while ago, and then I saw on the interwebs that the next iteration (XV) was just released, so I figured it was finally time to raid the cellar and drink this sucker. I’m a big fan of the regular Old Rasputin, and that resilient video-game-boss-like historical figure is pretty interesting too, plus we all know my thoughts on barrel aging, so I was excited for this one (despite the rather high price tag):

North Coast Old Rasputin XIV

North Coast Old Rasputin XIV Anniversary – Pours a very dark brown color with a finger of tan head, great retention, tons of lacing. Smells of bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel, and that citrus and pine hop character from the regular Old Rasputin… Taste features that rich bourbon and caramel flavor, some oak and vanilla, maybe a hint of that roasted malt character, and some light hop bitterness in the finish. Not like a Black IPA or anything, though this does retain a lot of hop flavor. The bitterness is appropriate for a big stout though. Mouthfeel starts rich and chewy, but it dries out a bit, finishing with seemingly less body. Sometimes I don’t like that, but it works well here. Ample carbonation also helps cut the rich flavors while still allowing them to shine. Overall, a very good Bourbon Barrel aged stout, though I don’t know that it really warrants the price tag. Still, if I ever run across a cheaper bottle of the stuff, I’ll pick it up in a heartbeat. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 11.5% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a snifter on 12/28/12.

This is a sneaky one. I thought it was a 22 oz bottle, and it certainly looks at least bomber sized, but it’s only 500 ml (16.9 oz). You can get a 4 pack of BCBS for a couple bucks more (and if some BA nerds are to be believed, some places jack up the price of BA Rasputin to well above that, on the order of $26-$30 which is a little ridiculous), and that stuff will kick your arse. Not that this is bad, the A- is nothing to whine about and I’m glad I tried it, but still. North Coast has not endeared themselves to me with these prices (Old Stock Cellar Reserve is no slouch in that department either, though at least that bottle looks like 500 ml). I’m sure they’re all broken up about it.

Three Floyds Broo Doo

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Let’s talk label artwork for a minute here. Three Floyds obviously employs talented artists for their labels and branding, but on the other hand, what the hell? Their main logo has a skull with batwings attached, kinda like an Ed Hardy dudebro logo. Then there’s the label for Broo Doo, their fresh hop harvest ale. It features what appears to be a troll doll in a sailor’s outfit, but instead of the typically furry hair, we’ve got a sorta hop/hair hybrid thing going on. Now, this is a little odd, but kinda par for the course in terms of beer labels. However, in the background, there’s also a unicorn attempting to perform a Lucio Fulci-esque eye gouging maneuver on what appears to be a Disney princess (update: it may be Princess Peach, but the jury is still out on that one). And behind that, there’s a fairy tale castle on fire with a rainbow flying over it. None of which mentions the outer portion of the label, which is all pastels, neon swishes, and stars, like something out of My Little Pony. In a bit of self-awareness, they have at least emblazoned the sides of the labels with the slogan: “It’s not Normal” Well, they got that right.

I can’t decide if it’s the worst or most awesomest label ever, but in any case, it’s what’s inside the bottle that counts, so let’s get to it:

Three Floyds Broo Doo

Three Floyds Broo Doo Harvest Ale – Pours a clear golden (they say “apricot”) color with a finger of white head. Nose is all citrus and piney, with some floral and grassy, herbal, almost spicy hop notes coming through too. The taste has a crystal malt sweetness that provides a nice platform for the various hop flavors, which tend more towards that grassy, herbal, almost spicy side than the nose, though the citrus and pine are still quite prevalent. It could just be my imagination, but it does feel like the age has subdued some of that hop character, making this more sweet than I’m guessing it is when fresh. No info on exactly what hop varieties are used, but I’m guessing Simcoe/Cascade, Centennial, and maybe some CTZ, but who knows? Mouthfeel is crisp, well carbonated, medium bodied. Not quite something I’d call quaffable, but it’s still very easy to drink. Overall, another strong offering from FFF, I really like it, though I don’t think there’s much to differentiate it from the throngs of similar beers and it’s far from the best harvest ale I’ve had (but then, there is the freshness factor). A tentative B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/23/12.

I’ve got a few more FFF beers left in the pipeline, but hoo, I’m going to want to get me some more of their stuff at some point. They are seriously pretty awesome at this whole beer thing.

¿Impending Descent?

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Tröegs Scratch series of beers is always interesting, but every once in a while, they hit on something great. This beer, brewed in honor of (or perhaps to spite) the (now lapsed) Mayan apocalypse, is a big imperial stout. Their description sez: “If your tongue doesn’t disintegrate as a result of the birthday party cheesecake jellybean BOOM, it most certainly will wreak major havoc on your taste buds.” I don’t know what the “birthday party cheesecake jellybean BOOM” thing means at all, but I stumbled onto this beer on tap, and it melted my face. Makes me wish I made the trip out to Hershey to pick up some bottles. But who knows, maybe they’ll make this an addition to their regular lineup, a la Flying Mouflan. A man can hope.

Troegs Impending Descent

Tröegs Scratch Beer 83 – 2012 (¿Impending Descent?) – Pours a deep black color with a finger of brown head. Smells lightly of chocolate and a little roast – not a strong aroma, but that’s more the bar/glass than the beer (this has happened before at this place). Taste is full of rich malt sweetness, light caramel and plenty of chocolate with just a hint of roastiness peeking through and lingering into the aftertaste. Nice, well balanced bitterness in the finish. It’s a great imperial stout flavor profile. Mouthfeel is full bodied, thick, gooey, and a little chewy. Lightly carbonated but enough to be appropriate for the style. It’s a big, heavy beer, a sipping beer, but I really don’t detect much booze at all either, which is impressive. Overall, fantastic, absolutely delicious beer. I want moar. A

Beer Nerd Details: 10.9% ABV on tap. Drank out of a goblet on 12/23/12.

This could easily have made my top 40 for 2012, but I had lazily let the notes linger in Evernote instead of reviewing it. Perhaps I’ll make an exception for next year. If I remember. I doubt there are any bottles of this hanging around, but if I see any, I’m going to snatch them up.

Holiday Beer Roundup

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Holiday beer season is my favorites, but I’ve been slacking a bit this year, so let’s catch up with a few of these suckers that I had in the leadup to Christmas. It turns out that most of these beers were shelf turds (meaning, they’ve clearly been sitting on the shelf, unsold, for a while), but I’m a big tent kinda guy, so I liberated these beer from their boring shelfish lives and put them to work, fulfilling their intended purpose. Things are also looking pretty international here, but again – big tent. We’re like that here at Kaedrin. Let’s get this holiday party started:

Baladin Noel

Birrificio Le Baladin Noël Baladin 2010 – I keep hearing things about these fancy new Italian craft breweries, so I figured I’d give them a shot. Fancy bottle, hefty price tag that was fortunately marked down, how could I pass this up? Pours a dark amber, almost brown color with visible sediment and half a finger of bubbly head. Smells of dark fruits – raisins in particular, with some light spiciness and maybe a hint of darker malts. Taste is also quite fruity, again with the raisins, plus a very light spiciness. Mouthfeel is surprisingly well carbonated considering how little head I got out of it, but it’s got a medium-ish body, thinner than I’d expect, with a relatively dry component. Overall, this is a solid Belgian style beer, but nothing to really write home about. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a goblet on 12/22/12.

Hoppin’ Frog Frosted Frog Christmas Ale – The only non-foreign beer in the post, I suppose I could make an insensitive crack about Ohio, but I’m not a jerk (remember, big tent guy here). Pours a very dark amber color, almost brown, with half a finger of bubbly head. Smells strongly of traditional mulling spices, ginger, cinnamon, clove, etc… Actually smells a lot like a snickerdoodle. Taste has a nice, sweet malt backbone to match that spicy flavor profile, leaning more on the cinnamon here than in the nose. Mouthfeel is quite nice actually, medium bodied, well carbonated, but with a hint of stickiness. No real booze in here, which is nice for a reasonably strong beer. Overall, it’s a really solid winter warmer style beer, one of the better I’ve had this year. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8.6% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip on 12/22/12.

Dieu du Ciel Solstice d hiver

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! Solstice d’hiver – These wacky French Canadians threw me a wicked curveball the last time I tried them, an utterly fantastic take on a Scotch ale, so I made preparations to try more. This Winter Solstice beer pours a cloudy dark brown color with just a thin layer of quickly disappearing head on top. Smells of caramel malts and fruit, with some hops peeking through as well. Taste is sweet, filled with that rich caramel flavor with the fruits showing up in the middle and finish. Some hop presence as well, but nothing overboard like a lot of American barleywines. Mouthfeel is full bodied, rich, and smooth, almost creamy. There’s just enough carbonation to make it palatable, so it’s smooth without being still, if you know what I mean. Overall, this is a very well crafted, balanced brew. Not as eye opening as with my previous Dieu Du Ciel experience, but a pleasant one nonetheless. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 10.2% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a snifter on 12/23/12.

Emelisse Winterbier 2011 – I’ve heard good things about these brewers in the Netherlands and have had some pleasant experiences with their brews first hand, so let’s try some more. Pours an amber brown color with minimal head. I inadvertently poured a big slug of yeast into mine glass, so this thing was cloudy as can be, with chunks o’ yeast floating all around. Fortunately, that didn’t adversely affect the beer, at least by my count. Nose is quite nice, fruity sweet with what could have been spice, but I couldn’t quite place it. I may be imagining things. Taste follows the nose, nice sweetness with ripe fruits and a note of brown sugar, finishing with a balancing bitterness. Booziness is apparent, but not overpowering. Mouthfeel has a low carbonation, perhaps too low, bit it comes together well enough. Medium bodied, a little booze. Overall, a solid wintery ale, but I think I’d rather have had a fresh bottle. Still, these crafty Netherlanders intrigue me enough that I’ll seek out more of their stuff… B

Beer Nerd Details: 9% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/26/12.

A thousand pardons for the lack of pictures on two of these. I’d fire up MS Paint, but I’m no artist (read: I’m too lazy at the moment). You’ll just have to use your imagination. This, more or less, wraps up the holiday beers for this year, but don’t you worry, I’ve got plenty of facemelting stouts and barleywines on the way, wintery to their core, and perhaps a few IPAs and sours as well, just to keep things interesting. Stay tuned.

Samichlaus Helles 2007

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I discovered Samichlaus a few years ago and immediately sought out some bottles to lay down in my cellar. Breaking out a vintage bottle on Christmas eve whilst I belatedly wrap presents is quickly becoming one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Last year, I cracked open bottles of both 2009 and 2010 and was quite impressed with how well the age treated the 2009 edition.

Today’s beer was actually bottled in 2007, but it’s also the Helles version of the beer. Helles is German for “bright” and this beer is supposed to be a paler version of the traditional Samichlaus, but the trouble with this is that the beer has such a high original gravity that the end result looks more or less the same as the traditional variety. Back in the day, Michael Jackson noted that: “In recent years the brewery has accepted the traditional view that Christmas and winter beers should be dark.” This translates to the fact that the brewery only puts out the Helles every four years. However, it appears that they haven’t completely given up on the idea, as I’ve seen 2011 bottles around.

In truth, this may be the oldest beer I’ve ever had (aside from a miniscule sample of 2003 120 Minute IPA I snagged a while back, but I don’t think that should count). Fortunately, I bought this just last year, so it’s not like it was sitting in my cellar for 5 whole years. Let’s see if age has treated this one well:

Samichlaus Helles 2007

Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier Helles 2007 – Pours a clear amber/orange color with visible sediment (my bad) and next to no head at all, just a thin film of white head fading quickly to a ring of head that eventually disappears completely. Smells strongly of dark fruits, cherries, sweet malts, and maybe some booze. Actually really nice, better than what I remember from other Samichlaus vintages. Taste is very sweet, intense flavors of caramel giving way to fruitiness, plums and cherries, and a sorta rummy booze liqueur character pervading throughout. Mouthfeel is sticky and syrupy, but carbonated enough that it doesn’t get cloying, lots of alcohol heat, a sipping beer for sure, but it’s got a very smooth, almost creamy texture that I’m going to credit to the age of this particular bottle. Though I’ve never actually had the Helles before, given my experience with the regular Samichlaus, I’m going to say the age has actually improved this beer considerably. I’m really enjoying this more than I expected. It feels more like an old English Barleywine than a doppelbock (or helles, for that matter), and I’m guessing that a bottle of this stuff would age really well for many years (even more than the 5 year old bottle I’ve got here). A-

Beer Nerd Details: 14% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 12/24/12. Bottled in 2007.

At this point, I regret not loading up on the 2007 when I could. But I still have a few bottles of the 2009, and each year thereafter. So let’s just say, you’ll be seeing this every year.