Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all you kindred beer lovers everywhere!
Well, I mentioned this one was coming, a belly-warmer if there ever was one. Samichlaus, or “Santa Claus”, a beer brewed once a year on December 6th, and a true Christmas celebration for all of you are lucky enough to find it. Maybe if you are good, Santa will leave some in your stocking next year!
Hurlimann isn’t around anymore, but their high-ABV classic is now brewed by Schloss Eggenberg in Austria. Hurlimann was a Swiss brewer known for pioneering methods of producing high-ABV beers. How high? For years, this was the highest ABV brew you could find, a monstrous 14% ABV. That’s like a big oversized glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. How about this 1-liter Maßkrug full? That’ll get you going! Actually I suspect their regular beers might have been in that stein - a liter of 14 ABV brew would likely send you to an early grave! I don’t have a Schloss Eggenberg stein, but I have a Hurlimann – fun to dust off and honor for this tasting!
I have to admit, there is a place for these brews primarily late evening sippers or nightcaps - like a fine wine, liqueur or brandy. I’d be interested in how many yeast dumps you’d need to get the ABV up that high without freezing distillation. 14% would do in most yeasts very quickly, new soldiers needed!
A beer this big has a lot of characteristics we don’t experience in most beers. For one thing, everything is more concentrated. It is more boozy, more “caramelly”, more “raisin and plum” inundated. Just bigger in every parameter we usually give these beers. Not as much head, zero lacing. I can’t really dial in the IBU for you, too hard on a beer like this. I can say that it is balanced to the malt bill, so you don’t experience a malt bomb, but the hops aren’t very forward either. It is big boozy perfection, if that is what rings your bell.
Funny thing on packaging – says 1 pint, .9 fluid ounce, 330 ml – but 16.9 ounces equals 500 ml right? 16.9 ounces? Not this shrimpy can! So obviously the math whiz keying in the label text must have been drinking this beer at the same time! I think this means they owe me another can! Gotta try it! Prost!