Day 340, Dec 6 / Samichlaus Classic

Day 340 / December 6, 2011

Samichlaus Classic

Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg / Vorchdorf, Austria

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The strongest lager in the world!

OR… Santa Claus Kicked My Ass!

Back in January when I started this quest, a former co-worker (who we’ll just call The Hammer) brought me in a beer that he had recently received a four-pack of as a gift.  He said it was the worst beer he had ever had.  Or the nastiest thing he had ever put in his mouth. Or something along those lines.  Now, I took that with a grain of salt, because The Hammer has a kegerator of Miller Lite in his Man-Cave.

But nonetheless, I was intrigued.  So I did some research on this mysterious beer.  Samichlaus is Austria’s version of Santa Claus, who apparently travels the countryside with his creepy sidekick Schmutzli (I’m not making this up).

Samichlaus Bier is the strongest lager beer in the world, clocking in at 14% alcohol by volume.  Brewed only once a year on December 6, Samichlaus is aged for 10 months before bottling. This beer is one of the rarest in the world. Samichlaus may be aged for many years to come. Older vintages allegedly become more complex with a creamy warming finish.

A friend stopped by to help me move an old projection TV out of the basement (we failed), and we split my bottle of Samichlaus, which was brewed in 2008 and bottled in 2009.  Don’t worry, I had my 7 ounces, he had the rest.  Based on the advice of other drinkers, I took the beer out of my fridge and let it warm up for about 90 minutes to let the flavors come through.  It poured with a thick, rich red color with very little head, and the smell of the alcohol was very intense.  The beer is thick and syrupy, and the taste is very complex.  But most people would probably consider it foul.  This was my first, and most likely my last, Samichlaus.  If you’re interested, check out what the real beer geeks on Beer Advocate have to say about it.

I actually followed it up with 12 ounces of New Belgium Hoptoberfest, a lighter mildly hoppy beer.  But about 35 minutes later, the Samichlaus started to kick in, and I was drunk on a beer and a half!  Imagine if I had drank a whole bottle!