Samichlaus
(has 1 batch)
Hürlimann in Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland 🇨🇭
Bock - Doppelbock Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.45
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8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
1996 bottle, consumed 3/18/05 at the Tap Room in Detroit. Smells very fruity, notes of sherry are easy to discern, with berries, butterscotch, and slight vinousness. Pours a transluscent ruby-brown color with a rapidly disipating head. Light sediment on the bottom. Notes of plums and chocolate arise as I swirl the glass. Flavor begins with a very thick, but oxidized, caramel maltiness, with residual sugars coating the palate nicely. Sherry characteristics emerge in the middle, as it gets lightly syrupy and quite sweet. Ripe berries and some yeastiness join the mix. Flavor ends on chocolate, plums and prunes with plenty more sugar and a warming effect from the alcohol. Full bodied, for sure, but you can feel its age. Still, for 9 years, this stuff has aged tremendously well. Nothing unexpected in the oxidation/sherry notes. No wateriness or stale flavors. Low carbonation and to be honest, I didn’t think the alcohol was apparent at all.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Mar 2005
at 12:30
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
2024-08-26, vintage 1997, 27 years old, 7-4-8-4-15=38
daniele has
2021-11-26, bottled 1997, 7-4-7-3-15=36
The oxidation is not extreme, but it's evident; some smell of leather, of dark honey, very light vanilla; dusty, some malt, old furniture, and waring alcohol.
Too old, but I can still drink it.
2012-09-12, bottled 1997, 16 years old, 14.2%, 9-4-8-4-17=42
From Bière Revolution, Nancy
Hazy dark amber color, with little to no head. Very nice aroma, almost a Christmas pudding, full of malt, molasses, raisins, and a touch of vanilla. Softly carbonated mouthfeel; the liquorice starts taking over, with some evident but not yet disturbing sign of oxidisation; pleasant hints of toasted nuts; the body is maybe thinning, and there is a medium alcohol perception; the final is indeed thinner and more alcoholic.
It's maybe starting to go down, the alcohol showing too much, but still it's a very interesting beer.
2004-03-24, bottled 1996, 7 years old, 14.0%, 9-4-9-4-18=44
Deep amber color; the head disappears quickly.
Intense aroma of malt, then the caramel and finally a light phenol; then, in waves, the phenol, spices, cookies, liquorice.
Thick, oily, very sweet; a lot of caramel and malt, with nuts, roasted nuts and a delicate fudge; light soy sauce.
Ends with a very strong caramel aftertaste, along with some liquorice and (only now) a warming alcohol feeling; correctly balanced by the necessary bitterness.
Perfectly matured (doesn't show the age), this brew could last forever; despite the many opinions against it, I can really say I love it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Mar 2004
at 01:45
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
[Vintage 1996, sampled January 2nd 2004] The aroma is strong and sirupy with notes of alcohol, plums and prunes. The color is a clear dark brown and it has a small but extremely fast disappearing head. The flavor is extremely sweet - too sweet or not balaced well enough for me. But the flavor contains notes of prunes, plums, alcohol, wood and caramel - a lovely complexity. The alcohol runs slightly over the tongue. I must admit, that I like a fresh version of the Eggenberg better than this one - I don't know if it is the age or the recipe - I'll get wiser as time passes, since I'm storing some Eggenbergs for enjoyment in the future. A big thank You goes to Alex (fiulijn) for trading me this one - I really appreciate the opportunity to try this beer.
Tried
on 02 Jan 2004
at 17:24
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
1997 Vintage:
Brown colour with strong ruby highlights and a very thin tan head. Super-strong alcoholic aroma with hints of grapes, malt and pit fruits. Tons of sweetness comes from the glass as well, representing caramel, dark fruit and caster sugar. Full-bodied; Strong malt flavour overridden by alcoholic tastes. Good dark pit fruit qualities come with the beer as the glass develops. Afteraste filled with the alcoholic tastes and with the malty goodness. Overall, a fairly good beer which was a treat to sample! I got this twelve ounce bottle in a trade with Suttree in Knoxville, Tennessee, Thanks Phil!~
Brown colour with strong ruby highlights and a very thin tan head. Super-strong alcoholic aroma with hints of grapes, malt and pit fruits. Tons of sweetness comes from the glass as well, representing caramel, dark fruit and caster sugar. Full-bodied; Strong malt flavour overridden by alcoholic tastes. Good dark pit fruit qualities come with the beer as the glass develops. Afteraste filled with the alcoholic tastes and with the malty goodness. Overall, a fairly good beer which was a treat to sample! I got this twelve ounce bottle in a trade with Suttree in Knoxville, Tennessee, Thanks Phil!~
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Oct 2003
at 22:40
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottled, 1996 version sampled in September 2000.
Nut brown. Very malty, very sweet. Big flavour of caramellized sugar. Mature.
Nut brown. Very malty, very sweet. Big flavour of caramellized sugar. Mature.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jan 2003
at 00:51
5.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Strong heavy dark fruit aroma and flavor. Unbalanced toward the malt, hard to drink - even aged (I sampled the 1996 bottling in 2001). Malt flavor comparable to Thomas Hardy's Ale. Overwhelming on the palate. Maybe I should just get another '96 bottling and store it for 5-10 years. That might do the trick.
Tried
on 25 Mar 2001
at 10:13
2.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 3
Flavor 1
Texture 4
Overall 1.5
Terrible. Just awful. Simple revolting. Cloying, and lacking any semblance of balance. 30 IBUs just doesn't cut it for a beer of this gravity. It wouldn't be so bad if the mash was done with the world's best malts, and by brewers who know how to extract those malts with style. But Hurlimann is not Andechs, Ayinger, Sillamae or 't IJ. Hurlimann can't mash their way out of a paper bag. Beer should not taste like soy sauce. Thank god the new Samiclaus is going to be made at Eggenberg, where they know how to make big beer.
Tried
from Can
on 29 Nov 2000
at 19:10