Brewery: Schloss Eggenberg
Location: Vorchdorf, Austria
ABV: 9.6%
Version: Bottled
Source: Beer Ritz, Leeds

Another acquisition from Beer Ritz back in December, I was intrigued by the look of Schloss Eggenberg Urbock 23° (from the same brewery that produces the annual Samichlaus special) and decided to give it a go on the grounds that I’ve sampled far too few German / Austrian / Czech beers to-date, and this looked like a pretty interesting one to try.

I didn’t know what ‘Urbock’ signified, but Wikipedia provided the basics, so now I know: a Bock is a strong lager, first brewed centuries ago by German monks and a Doppelbock is a regional (Bavarian) variant of a Bock? And I’m guessing that “Urbock” is more of a branding-based classification, the equivalent of calling a beer a “Double Imperial Stout”? Or the Austrian version of Doppelbock? Something like that (I think I need to spend more time reading The Bitten Bullet – I’m sure Barry could set me straight on the subject…)

Provenance and technicalities aside, on to the beer itself. Urbock 23°, which is matured in cask for nine months before bottling, poured a lovely pale amber colour with a frothy white head and was effervescent to the point of ‘sparkling’, although the bubbles gradually died down and dispersed as I drained the glass. The flavours were big and bold, as you’d expect from a 9.6% ABV beer, but not overpowering. Quite malty and sweet with distinct herbal and heather honey notes and a faint hoppy bite to stop it tasting too syrupy. There was a noticeable alcohol hit but nothing too harsh and it all rounded out in a long, smooth finish. All in all: very Belgian and very tasty indeed. It also went extremely well with a few pieces of Green & Black’s 70% dark chocolate with cherries; the tart sourness and cocoa bitterness complimented the sweetness of the beer rather well.

Urbock 23° is definitely one I’d buy and drink again and it’s definitely awakened an interest in seeking out a few more interesting Doppelbocks. Something to keep an eye out for next time I swing by Beer Ritz.

Brewery: Schloss Eggenberg
Location: Vorchdorf, Austria
ABV: 14.0%
Version: Bottled
Source: Joshua Brooks, Manchester

After a top-notch curry with a few friends (at Manchester’s EastZEast) on Saturday night, we opted for a quick schlepp across the road to the Joshua Brooks rather than the longer trek up the road and around the corner to The Bull’s Head. We nearly paid the price with our hearing: the place was playing music at ear-bleed levels. But there was a drop of consolation to be had behind the bar in the form of bottles of Samichlaus (“Santa Claus”) Bier.

This Austrian brew declares itself to be “one of the rarest beer specialities in the world” and at 14% abv, one of the strongest of its kind. It’s only brewed once per year, on December 6th, and is matured for 10 months before bottling. Apparently you can store and mature this stuff for ages, but the one I sampled was the 2008 bottling, which means it was brewed on Dec 6th 2007, so mine was a relatively young version.

I have to admit that the initial blast of alcohol and sugar was almost overpowering (a couple of the other guys in our party took a sip and could take no more) but once you let your palate adjust and the beer breathe a little, it calms down to something that’s much easier to get along with. There’s still a huge hit of strident caramel and toffee, certainly, but what struck me after the third or fourth swallow was a distinct apple-tartness and a faint acidity that balanced out some of the sweetness.

All in all I’m definitely glad I experienced it and whilst it isn’t something I’d necessarily want to drink more than one measure of at a time, I might be tempted to get a bottle in for next Xmas. And I’d definitely like to try one that’s been maturing for a while. Maybe the 2003 vintage (pictured) might be a good bet. Six years’ worth of flavour development ought to make things interesting.