Mac Queen's Nessie - Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg

patre_tim

China

3.98/5  rDev +22.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Clear filtered, medium low carbonation, copper body, a little head fades fast and has a slight bronze tinge.

S: Very amber lager like- medium toasted malts, very light, no whiskey or the likes, just a light slight skunk, cedar scent, slight smoke. Malty, not so much hops. At first reminded me of New Albion, by Sam Adams.

T: Smooth, good body, definitely get the whiskey malt (not to be taken for barrel aged which this isn’t). A toned down version of a whiskey flavour without the wood aspect. It’s a very mild beer and I’m only getting alcohol lower down at the back of the tongue and below, though its only 5%. A bit of lemon and sheltzer water.

M: Medium bready body, medium low carbonation.

O: Saw this in Michael Jackson’s top 500 beers of the world, and, having the opportunity to buy this around my 40th birthday I decided to do so. At first glance, and based on the reading on the bottle “whiskey malt red beer” it makes me think of some American ambers, but this one is way more complex with the whiskey character. I understand the classification “Vienna Lager” but personally would not like it to be placed in that category. A malt whiskey beer, with a Scottish name Nessie, brewed in Austria, makes me think this one is a style in its own right. Reminds me of buying Nacho chips that are a European brand on the train in Sweden, or a Chinese version of western food at a high end restaurant in Toronto. Cool bottle, great concept.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 15:09:43 | More by patre_tim

djura

Serbia

2.63/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Found it in Romania.

A - Whiskey to red cherry color,medium carbonation lasting few minutes,tiny white foam lasting few seconds.
S - Sweet malt with some fruits aroma.
T/M - Lighter taste for Red beers, almost as scotch and soda beer. 2 much carbonated,bitter aftertaste with some sweetness and some fruitiness.

O - Not so good,not so bad. Interesting because of whiskey malt, but overall, there is lots of better Red lagers.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 22:25:17 | More by djura

OF001

3.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

330mL btl. from an advent calendar. poured into a vintage Duvel tulip glass. 7.5C serving temp.

Matt copper pour with one finger head that rises quickly and fades to a 75% coverage island of substantial thickness within 30s. Very nice continues carbonation that continues to maintain just enough head for every sip until the last. almost no lacing.

Sweet- scotch/rum nose; light fruity sugar, fruity(brandy-ish) notes with a light, toasty spice. Pleasant but smells like an Innis & Gunn without the commercialized scotch production notes, a little more separated.

Medium viscosity that is initially smooth but the carbonation kicks in and presses down on the palate to form a matt dry texture that disappears as soon as it arrives, only the present itself again on the finish. It creams out a little and has a slightly, very slight, oily and wet quality before drying out on the finish; like the carbonation at the beginning.

Light toast caramel malts. Upfront sweetness that is somewhat artificial, has some nice, very light smokiness and spiced note. It comes across quite balanced considering the quantity of residual sugars (represented by caramel with a brief note of salt).

While I can see the appeal of this as a barely more interesting competition to Innis & Gunn without the production scotch addition (sorry but it is the closest comparison), it lack the unified contents of a production scotch barrel beer, or the depth of a proper whisky malt beer that would make it otherwise. see Unibroue Raftmen as a basic bottle conditioned example. To be honest I would take about 6-8 other brands of whisky malt or whisky/scotch barrel beers over this.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 05:35:13 | More by OF001

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, day number 6 in the 2012 Craft Beer Advent calendar. Somehow I believe that this particular offering was available in Alberta not all that long ago.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden amber hue, with two fingers of densely foamy, billowy off-white head, which leaves an undulating wall of specked painted lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of semi-sweet, grainy cereal malt, a wee bit of orchard fruitiness, and a very, very mild evocation of yeasty bog. The taste is more bready, breakfast cereal malt, some subtle apple-pear fruit notes, a still innocuous woody/peaty, um, suggestion, and tame earthy leafy hops. Any overt barrel and/or Scotch leanings are pretty much lost in the mire.

The bubbles are fairly laid back in their merely supportive nature, the body a steady medium weight, and generally quite smooth - dealing only really with a low-key pithiness. It finishes off-dry, the bready, biscuity malt still holding sway, and the middling noble hops staying true to their station.

A pretty decent Vienna Lager, I don't know where all this talk of Scottish whiskey barrels and Highland malt is getting us - none of it really manifests in the beer itself. Which is fine by me - I like this as it is - a well-flavoured, enjoyable, and altogether drinkable malty lager.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 04:03:37 | More by biboergosum

Cookeeman

3/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is Beer 6 from the Rieder Advent Calendar. It pours a pale clear amber, with a thin head that remains for a long while. There is a distinct sweet aroma, slightly reminiscent of rye/whiskey, bread maybe? I'm not crazy about the flavour: there's a sharp metallic taste that doesn't belong, and unfortunately there aren't really any other flavours potent enough to mask it. There are some bready notes, and the whiskey malt adds some complexity, but there just isn't much here. The finish is very clean, but weaker than I was expecting. Another underwhelming offering from this calendar.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 03:19:01 | More by Cookeeman

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Craft beer advent...

A: Coppery bronze with an off-white head, good retention, leaves some nice lace.

S: Sweet toffee, pear, hints of peat.

T: Light toffee & caramel, not really smoky but there's some raspy earth/peat character, light floral hopping, modest bitterness.

M: Smooth, moderate body as a very light residual sweetness.

O: A well-crafted, easy drinker. A bit of an eclectic mix (Scottish ale and Vienna Lager), but I think it really works. Now I want to try the previous (stronger) version.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 00:54:04 | More by Derek

Bryn

Alberta (Canada)

2.25/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

11.2 FLoz bottle

A - Toffee colouredand transparent. No head after a minute. A few small white bubbles along the side.

S - Cheap lager. It reminds me of warm lucky lager. It also has a slight whiff peat, but it is very slight.

T - Slightly sweet, malty very weakly flavoured.

M - refreshing, doesn't linger. Like diet coke.

O - EHHHH I wouldn't buy it again, but I will drink down this bottle. It's not a very flavourful beer. it doesn't taste offensive, it's just not that exciting.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 23:31:55 | More by Bryn

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle poured into tulip 25/9/12

A clear amber with just a few bubbles but a dense finger of off white foam that quickly falls to a thin film leaving a few partial rings of lace

S some fruity notes with some toffee, wet wood and other earthy tones

T spicy malts and its a little sweet, very faint smoke and everything else from the nose is there in one form or another

M a little slick with and nice and creamy from the bubbles, earthy finish with a little spicy kick

O decent stuff and something different, I wont be writing home about it but its worth trying

I was expecting a smokey peaty beer but the smoke is very mellow hard to pick out, not a smoked malt brew but decent stuff

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 18:08:55 | More by wordemupg

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.23/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a medium burnt orange amber, half finger off-white head dissipates to a film and thick ring around the glass with slight lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, dark fruit, slight hint of whiskey barrel. Flavor is thin sweet malt, slightly grainy. Finishes abruptly with only slight hints of malt and grain. The aroma is nice, but the flavor is very thin, tastes almost watered down. Body is light and uninspiring. I remembered this being really mediocre a few years ago, but after trying other beers from this brewery though maybe I had tried an old or bad bottle; decided to give it another taste.This is a very pleasant beer trying to escape from too much dilution, I'm sorry it's a miss.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 03:36:32 | More by LiquidAmber

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.2/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

New recipe bottle. Though I think this one is 4 years old. A bit on the old side for a 5%er.

It pours a slightly hazy reddish amber with a foamy white head that leaves some nice lacing.

Smells like an old, malty lager. A bit more aromatic perhaps, a different character with the whisky malt but not too much.

The flavor is unique. It is rather spicy with a butterschotchy caramel running through it. Well-carbed.

It is decent. Would love to try it fresh.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 05:05:28 | More by crossovert

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle from Hyvee in West Omaha, NE
No bottled on date
Poured into a standard US pint glass

Schloss Eggenberg's Nessie puts together an interesting beer using whisky malt that has been, I believe, dried with some light peat smoke. While this sounds particularly interesting, the results are not particularly exciting, creating a fairly typical light-tasting lager beer with some continental hop usage detectable amongst the malt characters. Quite sessionable, perhaps, but I'm afraid I'd find this a tad boring after more than one, and also a drain on the pocketbook due to the import price.

Pours a tall, just off-white head of medium and small bubbles, the foam decreasing in about a minute to a thin cap atop the beer. Leaves substantial lacing along the sides of the glass. Body is a transparent golden orange color away from light, yellow-orange when held up to it. Carbonation is easily visible and quite active.

Aroma is rather malty, with considerable caramel presence. We also are presented with a blended-in bit of peat character and a bit of leather.

In general, I'd characterize the taste as fairly simple, a bit flat, and rather light. An easy-drinker, for sure, but I would prefer a bit more robust flavor. Opens with malt sweetness on the tip of the tongue, followed by floral and grassy hops that last through the fore-palate. Mid-palate continues to pick up malt sweetness, but which also offers a bit of caramelized and slightly peaty flavors. Could see how some would characterize this as fruity, but for me, the sweetness arises from light malt sugars and not fruit sugars. Hops continue to be mildly present in both taste and bitterness in mid-palate, increasing somewhat into the close of the taste. Aftertaste has a bit of cracker character and lingering grassy hop bitterness.

The beer is light-medium in body, but bears little wateriness. Carbonation is present, but not prickly, just makes the beer foam up a bit on the palate. Fairly refreshing feeling. Finish is dry.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 20:25:56 | More by falloutsnow

Derranged

New York

3.1/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A vintage bottle of the 7.3 abv variety. Who knows how old this bottle really is. Apparently this recipe was discontinued in 2008. Poured from a 11.2 ounce bottle into a stemmed pokal.

A- Dark amber color with minimal white head that doesn't disappear right away.

S- Malty with raisins, figs and some alcohol. Smells a bit like a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

T- As I expected this was kind of bland. I'm getting malt with some rasins, slight alcohol and a slight bitter aftertaste. Almost has an artificial sweetness to it at the end. Tastes like a bottle of slightly spoiled Chimay Grande Reserve Blue that I've had before.

M- Very thin, kind of flat but is burning the back of my throat.

O- I'd swear that this was a cheap Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Very strange. I have another bottle. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I wonder what this was like fresh. Oh well.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 02:51:03 | More by Derranged

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

3.38/5  rDev +4%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle.Flute glass.Enjoyed on mar´12. Amberish gold in color.Clear. Off-white lasting creamy crown.Copious rings are left from top to the bottom. Caramel malt,hints of sugar & a very subtle whisky malt note to the nose. Puckering upfront. Gentle malt tendency & noble hop flavors.Herbal hues. Medium body,medium-high carbonation.Smooth bitter finish,wood & slightly smoky touches on the aftertaste.Pleasant drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 20:58:19 | More by GONZALOYANNA

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Jim at Sherbrooke for the sample. From a 330 ml brown bottle, peach/flesh coloured paper label around neck and cap. Pours out a clear deep golden hue, tall loose frothy white head that slowly settles.

Clean metallic grains and biscuity, bready malt on the nose, mild smoke and wood, some perfumey and grassy hops.

Flavour is incredibly clean as well, with metallic grains up front, biscuity malt, just a hint of sour citrus and peat from the whiskey malt, finishing with mild spicy, leafy, grassy hops.

Light-bodied mouthfeel, silky smooth texture, moderate carbonation.

Pleasant and clean, although the whiskey malt doesn't really add much in the end. Certainly a Light Scottish Ale, worth trying once at least though not overly memorable.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 02:57:58 | More by IronDjinn

yemenmocha

Arizona

2.9/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Kept an open mind, but just can't see the love in this beer from some. Pours hazy pale amber to golden hue, with tan head that recedes to almost nothing quickly. Nose isn't very assertive with a hint of toffee. Palate offers a weird fruity/sweet malt focus that I haven't seen in many beers. Soft medium body. Soft on the finish too, with more malty sweetness and minimal hop influence overall. Meh.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 02:19:58 | More by yemenmocha

paulozanello

Brazil

3.7/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep golden color with some reddish tones. Very clear. Lots of fine carbonation with tiny bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Head is light tan and shows good retention and lacing.

Aroma is dominated by malt with bread, cereal grain, caramel, and nuts. Also some honey and slight touch of citric and floral hops is perceptible towards the end.

Taste is again malty with bread, cereal grain, caramel and nutty notes. Not nearly as sweet as the aroma previously suggested. The balance is nicely done by mild hop bitterness along with a very subtle floral note from european varieties. Some smoky notes are also present. Long finish with malts dominating hops, as it should be.

Body is medium to low with high carbonation. High drinkability.

Overall a very well made scottish ale where the malts really shine through, but not to the point of being too sweet - Hops do a good job of keeping the balance. I'd love to session this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2011 00:02:20 | More by paulozanello

janubio

Spain

3.25/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml. bottle, pours an amber, rather than red, colour, with a good head that fades leaving a ring. Smell is poor, only grain and some malts. It feels good and carbonated in the tongue, but the taste is also poor: grains, malt, some caramel. I can't find the whiskey anywhere in this beer. I enjoyed drinking it, but it's not exactly what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 19:33:28 | More by janubio

colts9016

Idaho

3/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass at 45 degrees:

Appearance: A one finger creamy white head that has fair retention. The color of the beer is amber color with coppery orange hues. The clarity of the beer is clear with some carbonation bubbles. In the beer there is a touch of haziness from yeast.

Nose: A medium malty that is toasty, honey, vanilla, yeast, caramel and butterscotch.

Taste: A medium malty flavor with earth, peat, fruity esters, caramel, honey, yeast, butterscotch, and a biscuit note.

The mouth feel is coating, carbonated, and cloying.

Overall: The body of the beer is medium with a medium finish. This beer is good but not great.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 04:48:50 | More by colts9016

bagpiper2005

Idaho

3.2/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pour: Medium orange in color. Two and a half fingers of fluffy white head with good retention and some lacing on the glass.

Smell: Slightly tart, fruity aroma with a caramel backbone. Slightly bready.

Taste: Rather lackluster. A light malty taste with some hints of tart fruit. Clean finish with just the slightest hint of peaty Scotch. Not much going on.

Mouthfeel: Light-to-medium with low carbonation (almost too low for the weight). Very clean and smooth, however.

Drinkability: It's OK. I can drink it, but it's not the best in the world. Goes down easily.

Final Notes: This beer is alright. It's not what I want in a Scottish Ale though. It could use twice as much malt as it has in it. Disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2011 23:32:57 | More by bagpiper2005

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.05/5  rDev -36.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I was hoping for something more like the Samichlaus in this brew. Ended up being a little disappointed. This beer has a nice reddish color and thats about as far as it went for me on the positives of this brew. I really wanted to enjoy this but I found this beer to be on the weak side a bit. I was surprised... The aromas didn't really do too much for me it smelled a little funny not sure how to put it really. The head vanished and it was a little on the flat side. Scottish Ales are usually very good to me but this one just didn't make the cut.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2011 22:57:15 | More by Knapp85

Preismj

Illinois

2.3/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 1

a: gold color with a bit of a pink tint, uneven head dissipation. A little bit of lacing, though for the most part a very watery look.

s: gotta be honest...smells EXACTLY like my dog's blue buffalo food. Very grainy, thinking a lot of barley (maybe oat?) coming out here.

t: tastes like it smells. I suppose I get a hint of the malt, but not much. It only comes out in the sweetness. for the most part, this is very very very very very grainy. I am having trouble enjoying this, though as it warms, I get a bit more of the malt. Overall, not my thing...and I tend to like red ales. I feel like I've got dog food in my mouth.

m: mouthfeel is tremendous, actually. Hard to classify this with the appalling taste I get, but the feel is good, nice and smooth with a good balance of carbonation. Cool and crisp.

d: I've had a few sips and while it is getting a bit better, my first reaction was that I didn't want to keep trying it. At about $4 a bottle, this isn't what I expected. Only 5% abv so I suppose I didn't expect that boozy quality here, though quite sad that I get no heat and a ton of grains which, honestly, I am not thinking are tasty.

Overall, very disappointed here. I like red ales and this one sounded like it had promise, though compared to some out there, this is bottom tier and a waste of a nice glass bottle. Very sad about this one.

Oh well, always next year.

as an edit to my post...always possible I got a bad batch...though I am not getting much of the malt that other people mentioned (I like to review first, and then compare to what others have said). I am very sad if this is just a bad bottle as I will likely never give it another go...again, sounded like it'd be a great one to go for, though this is just not me and I just cannot appreciate this if I have what is indeed a good batch.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 03:08:21 | More by Preismj

beerdrifter

Germany

3.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked this up at Ammersino Feine Getränke in Vienna, Austria. Clear yellow-amber pour with one finger head and decent lacing. The nose is earthy and grassy at first, but becomes sweet and fruity with hints of caramel and a touch of whiskey. Lots of toasted malt and caramel in the taste along with some nuttiness, grass, vanilla, and a touch of oak. Nice dry but slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Kept waiting to taste some whiskey, but sadly it never appeared. And since the label says it's known as the "Whiskey among the beers", I think it's a pretty epic failure. It's not a bad beer, but definitely doesn't deliver what it promised.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2011 17:08:14 | More by beerdrifter

alpinebryant

Connecticut

4.28/5  rDev +31.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Single Nessie purchased around $4. I was excited to see this as Samichlaus is one of my favorite beers. Nessie did not dissappoint me.

Pours a very thin white head with a smell of scotch ale, malts and some residual malt sugars. Taste of scotch ale, remarkably well done and smooth. There is a taint of light cherry in the distance with oak. Consistency also very similar to Samichlaus without the 14% alc. Just enough scotch flavor to call it a scotch ale, remarkably smooth and enjoyable. I would love to be able to get these in 4 packs however I never see them.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2010 23:55:38 | More by alpinebryant

BeerNinja007

New Hampshire

3.78/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I found this single 330mL bottle in a dusty box at Hoosick Beverage in Troy NY. The sticker said $3.49 but it rang up as $2.99. No date but it looks damn old, so I guess we'll see how it goes. Served cold in a chilled pint glass.

A hard pour into the center of the glass gives 1/2" of eggshell foam from this fairly flat brew. The brew itself is clear and copper colored. Nose is a fairly sweet smell of cherry cough syrup, earthy, and a little alcohol zing. Mouthfeel is moderately thick, not with malt but with sweetness. The rest of the smell is spot on too... some dark cherry, earthiness (wood?), and a little spicy alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2010 02:03:16 | More by BeerNinja007

MillRat

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

So this Austrian takes off his Tyrolean cap, dons a kilt, and goes into a bar...or something like that. Brewed by the folks that bring us Samiclaus using imported Scottish whisky malz, hops, and hop extract. Note there's no whisky or old whisky barrels involved here. Just a redirection of malt from the distiller to the brewer. This ain't one of those "extreme" beers.

Pours an "old gold"en yellow with no real head retention to speak of. Aroma dominated by toffee, with just a hint of smoke, at least by Bamberg standards. This is still a nice clean lager beer, might have been able to get close to this just with Munich malt. Otherwise the hops (& extract) are there in a subdued supporting role.

Nice medium body which goes down easily. This could be a nivce session beer, but have some friends to talk with, since this beer just doesn't have enough going on to keep your attention for all that long, but it would be nice in a supporting role where you do notice the flavor as you take a swig while your friend has the floor.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2010 13:44:28 | More by MillRat