Tuesday 28 December 2010

The eleventh beer of Christmas

Castle Brewery Samiclause 2010



Hardcore 14% Doppelbock lager from Austria, formerly the strongest beer in the world (it seems so long ago now). This beer undergoes 10 months of lagering before filtration and bottling. I remember years back having bad first impressions of this beer, but I've grown to like it. It's heavy going, and surely the ultimate beer for being stuck indoors on a blisteringly cold winters night.

Very deep golden bronze with plentiful carbonation but never any head retention. Expect lots of boozy warming alcohols, virtually no hop presence, and a rounded warming sweet sherry, syrupy, toffee sort of character finishing with heaps of warming alcohols. The carbonation keeps the sweetness in check. It's also a great talking point at parties as everyone seems to make something slightly different of it. Alternatively you could cellar it a few years or more, it should age well.

1 comment:

Ricardo Matos said...

Yes Robert,
When I tasted the Samiclause in September 2010, liquor found very dense and very alcoholic.
The worst thing is that here in Brazil Climate not conducive to tasting, just south of the country the weather can favor in winter.
Ein Prosit!!