Kuhnhenn Blueberry Eisbock - Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

huge thanks to BigBadBarrel for this bottle! Thanks Jon and an honorable mention for Tony!

Vintage 2012. A small hiss when the pressure cap came off the bottle.

poured into tulip glass.

Appearance: Inky pitch black body it might have a purplish/blue hue. Thin cap of medium brown head resulting from an aggressive pour. Cap fizzes down quickly to no head on top of this beer.

Smell: Blueberry and boisenberry jam and hint of chocolates. Smells really fruity and sweet.

Taste: Just like the nose! Big blueberries and boisenberry jam. Blueberry juice and tootsie roll finish. Maybe some caramel notes in there for good measure too. I get a touch of tannic notes that are reminiscent of an oak barrel. Big and sweet beer almost wine like, but its not too vinous like wine. Its still tastes like a fruit beer, just a massive fruit beer! If you like blueberries this is a great beer to try. As this beer warms, up the tootsie roll flavor starts to get bigger.

Mouthfeel: high end of a medium bodied beer; almost full bodied beer. Low carbonation levels. As the beer lands on your tongue you get just a little bit of tingle that keeps this beer from becoming too syrupy. 15.5% is very well hidden; not even a hint of warming booze sensation! Wow. Its rediculously smooth.

Overall: Kuhnhenn....Wow. This is a serious beer. I havent drank many Eisbocks, but this was absolutely delicious. I probably will never see another drop of this beer, but I am happy that I got to try it out! If you like blueberries and chocolates this beer is for you. Love that the blueberries dont taste fake and really makes the beer a blueberry bomb. Its a regal drink for any beer snob! I drank the whole 12.7 fluid oz of this beer myself and it did not become overbearing at any time.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 07:23:15 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

UCLABrewN84

California

4.23/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to mrbubbler for sharing this one at GRG1313's tasting.

2012 vintage.

Pours a clear dark red with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, blueberries, blueberry juice, and blueberry syrup. Taste is much the same with a strong blueberry flavor and an alcohol kick on the finish. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with great aromas and flavors but a small pour was more than enough for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2013 21:17:11 | More by UCLABrewN84

bulldogp04

Indiana

4.51/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance was dark brownish-purple with a creamy purple 1/2 finger head. Decent carbo on tap. Looks like a cabernet sauvignon.

Smell was incredible. Deep ripe blueberries interplay with Munich malt, caramel and dark chocolate undertones.

Taste was similar to the smell, but just more amplified. Ripe blueberries and malt sweetness. Munich malt melanoidins underlying the biscuit, toffee, and caramel flavors in the malt profile. Light notes of dark chocolate make appearances before the slight alcohol burn and tannic blueberry skin flavors finish the beer. Taste is reminiscent of a blueberry tootsie pop - just way more complex and outstanding!

Mouthfeel was nice and medium-full bodied with just the right amount of viscosity to support the rich and decadent flavor profile of this big fruit eisbock. Leaves your lips sticky after a few ounces.

Overall was an awesome experience. Glad to snag a bottle at the release to cellar! Should do fantastic with age!

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2013 23:44:22 | More by bulldogp04

tectactoe

Michigan

4.53/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed on tap at Kuhnhenn for the eisbock release. Same price as the Raspberry Eisbock - 15$ for a 6 oz pour, so hopefully it'll be worth it. The pour was thick and completely opaque, deemed a grey-ish, purple tinted color with a slightly lighter purple head. Full of sediment and trudge, this looked similar to purple Go-Gurt (you know, the yogurt in a tube), only slightly less thick. Swirling the glass left huge footprints and legging on all sides. It is to my understanding that this isn't necessarily how the beer is supposed to look - many people have had it and it looks very similar to the raspberry eisbock. My thought is that maybe this was near the bottom of the barrel, where all the sediment and leftover blueberry trub had collected? Either way, it looked like a monster. Thick and muddy, no light passing through.

The aroma was fantastic, just like the Raspberry Eisbock, except now with blueberries instead. It also doesn't have the chocolate-like aroma that the Raspberry Eisbock had, but I'm certain that's a good thing - blueberries n' chocolate don't mingle too well. The nose is extremely powerful and absolutely pure - fresh, juicy, ripe blueberries bombard the nostrils and put you in a patch of blueberries for just a moment. A nice layering of aromas takes place; pungency, sweetness, juiciness, even a mild tartness, though very small. As the beer warms up, a little touch of alcohol can be detected on the nose, but the amount is very small considering this baby is 15.5% ABV. Overall, such a fantastic and pure blueberry aroma, like fresh blueberry puree.

Holy sheeeeyat. As I take a swig of this, it feels like thick Vitamin D milk on my palate, or a semi-melted milkshake. This is probably the thickest beer I've ever tasted! But again, I don't think this is really how it's supposed to be. This is "bottom of the keg" type thickness right here. But hey, I'm not complaining. The taste is a full-force explosion of blueberries. Sweet, savory, juicy - it was like a mouthful of smashed bluberries. The thickness, though probably not intended, actually fit the profile quite nicely. Alcohol becomes apparent and warming about halfway through - the alcohol presence is slightly more dominant in the BE than the RE, but is still incredibly mild given the high level of it. Some very light chocolates come out from the malt on the palate, too, but are still relatively oppressed compared to the blueberry flavors - again, much more subdued than in the raspberry eisbock. A touch of sweetness and syrupy, blueberry goodness to finish it off, with a mild alcohol warmth.

Hot damn, I think I may have gotten the bottom of the barrel, because this was absolutely the thickest and most full-bodied beer I've ever had. Thicker than FIS. And I don't think it's supposed to be like that. But regardless, it was damn good, and the thick mouthfeel only added to the experience of blueberry massacre. Overall, I prefer the raspberry eisbock, mainly because I'm more of a raspberry fan. But blueberries are tasty, too, and this beer was no slouch. I'm glad I had a chance to try this one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2013 17:51:17 | More by tectactoe

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.71/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

I had this on tap at the brewery during the bottle release, $15 per pour. Sampled side-by-side with fresh Raspberry Eisbock on tap.

The beer is dark brown/black, with purple highlights at the edges when held up to a light. A thin and translucent blue film laces across the glass as it empties. Nearly no head, not surprising with the ABV and the low carbonation.

The aroma is amazing, there must be a ton of blueberries involved in the making of this beer. I initially felt the malts would overcome the fruit but it really was the other way around. Only hints of cocoa beneath the blueberry (unlike the raspberry eisbock which gives a much stronger chocolate component).

The blueberries are dominant in the flavor as well, but here the malts start to assert themselves. No alcohol in the aroma or taste, just blueberries, sweet malts, and intermittent cocoa. Phenomenal really, I had high expectations and they were surpassed. The raspberry eisbock was again much stronger in the cocoa flavor, and while I loved both beers I think my personal preference was for the blueberry. It's possible that the raspberry has aged longer prior to being tapped, in which case I would think that some age will give the blueberry eisbock more cocoa and less blueberry in the flavor. It will be interesting to see if this happens with my bottle.

The body was on the heavy side, not overly viscous but rather pleasantly mouth-coating. The flavors lasted long after each sip.

If you get a chance, I recommend a mix of both eisbocks. We did this in several ratios at our table, and to me the best mix was 75% blueberry to 25% raspberry. This gives a nice chocolate complement to the blueberry, with soft undertones of raspberry. With age on them it's anyone's guess as to the correct ratio.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2013 17:11:02 | More by TurdFurgison