Urbock 23° - Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg

SLeffler27

New York

4.08/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Fills an antique pilsner glass clear burnished gold with red highlights and a slight, rocky white head. Lots of carbonation cling to the glass while some rises from within.

The aroma is reminiscent of Riesling White Wine, while plums are accompanied with slight honey and lavender notes.

The flavor is mildly acidic, but sweet on entry right through a lingering, dry finish. There is a slight bitterness and an odd, fruity flavor as well.

The alcohol is warming in this full bodied beer with soft, prickly carbonation. It is ultimately very dry with a soft, smooth texture.

Easy drinking as an aperitif after four years in the cellar. While not quite to style, this one is very enjoyable and more similar to a tripple.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 12:08:01 | More by SLeffler27

Docrock

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - light copper color, almost no head whatsoever.

S - malt aroma almost overpowering, caramel, and just a hint of yeast. The alcohol is clearly evident.

T - doesnt taste like most Doppels I've had. lots of maltiness, maybe a touch of rum like flavor, but it doesnt taste balanced to me. it is sweet with minimal hop character.

M - it is smooth and mouth warming, but with no carbonation to speak of.

O - picked this up since I am a big Samichlaus fan, but this one left me wanting. a unique beer, but not sure if it fits the style so rated a bit lower due to that.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 16:44:00 | More by Docrock

Offa

California

4.45/5  rDev +25%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is an excellent, well-rounded, characterful doppelbock.

Deep gold, it has a medium off-white head slowly shrinking to foamy ring and some nice lace.

Aroma is strong, syrupy raisin, toasty bread, hints of meat and herb.

Taste is lots of fruit, raisiny bread crust, lemony herbal bitterness, hints of spice. It's creamy but lively, not too oily or thick. It is sweet but not too sweet with nice, engaging zesty bitternes to round it out.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 20:48:08 | More by Offa

UCLABrewN84

California

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pour for the 4th Annual LA Beer Week Beer Festival at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy khaki bone colored that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, and some fruity aromas. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is drinkable but fairly strong.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2012 04:22:13 | More by UCLABrewN84

danfue

Germany

3.95/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

My first review round here.
I'm just having this one in a wide and bulky wine glass.
The bottle is beautiful, with the label on the neck actually above the cap. So you can either just destroy the label with the opener or cut it off as you would do with a bottle of wine or liquor.

Urbock 23° has a nice color, deeply golden, almost orange, reminds me of a rosé-wine. The smell is intense and brings plums and fermented fruits to mind. Sticking the nose into the glass also brings about a first impression of the ABV. There's almost no foam, the one that developed after pouring was gone within seconds.

Its taste again resembles fruits, especially plums. There's a strong sweetish, alcoholic aspect and a roasted taste. The taste lasts for long after on tongue and palate.

Overall, not a classic Doppelbock of German/Austrian descent. Having a look at the website, especially the strong beer variants, including this one, seem to be designed for exporting. It's a beer for a cold evening, to be savored in small sips.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 20:24:25 | More by danfue

superspak

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

11.2 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours lightly cloudy golden amber color with a good 1-2 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Some small bits of spotty lacing cling to the glass. Aromas of caramel, biscuit, apple, raisin, grape, nuttiness, honey, toffee, herbal, and earth. Pleasant and well balanced aromas with good strength and complexity. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, raisin, apple, honey, bready grain, nuttiness, herbal spiciness, earth, and light phenolic flavors. Lingering notes of light fruits, toast, biscuit, caramel, toffee, nuttiness, earth, herbal, and phenolic fruitiness. Some good balance of flavors but the phenolic character throws it off a bit; definitely smoother tasting with tiny sips. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a lightly creamy and slightly slick mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a good pale doppelbock. It has good complexity and flavor balance, despite the estery qualities that were present. An enjoyable sipper.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 03:54:20 | More by superspak

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.08/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer would be better classified as an old ale, barleywine, or possibly some kind of strong ale category, it really doesn't remind me of the dark bread deep flavors of a doppelbock and instead is kind of sweet and Caramelly with some dried fruit.

The beer is strangely a blond color as opposed to the normal dark robust color of doppelbocks. No head, very little lacing, looks like a spirit in someways as the label suggests.

The smell is sweet, touched with some booze (not hot though), cellar must, Tons of caramel, and some dried fruits, it's very nice.. The taste is the same stuff but with some added yeast and barley malt into it too, very tasty and reminds me of some English barley wines and English old ales, like Fullers. Pretty sweet though and a little boozy which is distracting.

The feel is smooth without a ton of carbonation, not hot. Medium body.

Overall, again, the beer is not a doppelbock to me. If it were in a different category, it would be so much better rated on this site.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2012 23:57:48 | More by Dreadnaught33

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from Hy-vee in West Omaha, NE
No bottled on date
Poured into an Ayinger willi glass

Eggenberg's Urbock 23 is, true to name, a doppelbock that avoids most of the heavy, densely bread-meets-thick-caramel flavors traditional doppelbocks may employ and instead focuses on rich, but light-tasting sweetness akin to dried light fruits and butterscotch. While not super complex, and the ethanol content is a bit of a deterrent, I generally enjoyed this beer. If I had someone to split a bottle of this with in the winter months of each year, having one of these a month might be an enjoyable tradition to uphold.

Pours a 1cm, off-white head that collapses, quickly, to a thin ring around the sides of the glass. Body is a dark golden-orange color away from light, pale orange when held to my lamp. Some sluggish carbonation is visible in the transparent body.

Aroma is of malt sweetness, a bit of butterscotch, honey, and modest ethanol.

Taste opens with strong, rich, sweet caramel malt flavor. Continued caramel flavor into the mid-palate, with butterscotch arriving, as do dried fruit esters, perhaps dried and sweetened guava and papaya. Closes out with a flash of ethanol, which gradually lessens to a strong presence. This lingers to the finish, where it is joined by some subtle sweetness and dried fruit esters.

Body is medium-heavy to heavy with a modest carbonation that makes sipping this big beer appropriate and easy to do - there's no rush to gulp. The dry finish furthers this, each sip proves satisfying and cleanly dry on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 05:41:28 | More by falloutsnow

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, light to medium orange amber. Slight head and no lacing. Sweet malt and fruit aroma. Honey sweetness, malt and light hops. Sweet malt and light floral and light hop finish. A bit too sweet and not all that well integrated, but still a pleasant bock.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 03:17:11 | More by LiquidAmber

ToadManA1A37651

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

enjoying this in a san miguel snifter with etching on bottom. leaving nice popping alcoholy feeling in the back of my throat makes the fine golden nectar go down easy. no bitterness, but malty goodness. there is no fruit that i can detect maybe a prune or two, but barely.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 02:08:35 | More by ToadManA1A37651

Brianhophead

Alberta (Canada)

3/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Urbock 23 pours into my glass the color of burnished gold. Minimal carbonation supports a bone white head with only modest retention.

S- Urbock's nose is all malt up front. Malts smell somewhat buttery to me, kind of like a Werther's candy. Buttery malts give way to honey and something pleasingly floral. Finish is strongly alcoholic, though. Alcoholic presence gives the beer's nose a somewhat antiseptic quality. This detracts from Urbock 23's otherwise pleasant aroma.

T- Urbock 23's mouthfeel is full, almost buttery. Buttery quality gives the palate a decent caramel quality in the front. Flavors are pretty linear and straightforward here. Malts move into a rounded center and then straight into a big alcoholic presence. Alcohol really dominates the flavor not allowing many other flavors to come through. Finishes with the alcoholic harshness you might expect.

The problem I have is that Urbock feels like it would be at best a fairly straightforward beer. But its alcoholic nature disrupts an otherwise average drinking experience. Urbock 23 smells and tastes somewhat of rocket fuel.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 01:52:19 | More by Brianhophead

zaphodchak

Virginia

4.08/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thin white head, body slightly redder than apple juice. Some fine lace.

Nose is light fruit, a trace of apple but mostly dry pear, which is kind of a pleasant surprise.

There's a bit of a tang of leafy hops (which I don't actually think works that well) at the front of the taste, then the pear and fruit. Finish is pretty dry, almost pilsnery.

Mouthfeel is relatively smooth textured, clean finishing.

Quite a pleasant doppelbock, different than others I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2012 16:50:46 | More by zaphodchak

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle that has been ageing since 2009...

A - Pretty nice copper-coloured body. I've heard the beer is pretty pale when fresh, though. Clear. Very little head and no lacing.

S - The smell is full of caramel and apples (with a distinct cider-like quality to it). Hints of alcohol and yeast.

T - It does taste like a doppelbock, with its nice roasted malt flavours and hints of caramel and apple. However the ageing and the ABV have given the beer some qualities of cognac or calvados (or even rum), adding some grape and wood notes and a bit of cinnamon-like spiciness to the flavour profile. Quite sweet and not very bitter, with just a little bit of hop flavour remaining.

M - The body is surprisingly smooth for such a strong beer. Creamy, relatively flat and not boozy. Medium-bodied.

O - Overall, this turned out to be very impressive, more so than their Samichlaus. The 3 years of ageing (neglecting the expiry date) have really added a nice touch to the beer and transformed the mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 03:15:20 | More by NightINgale

gezondheid

Pennsylvania

2.23/5  rDev -37.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

'Aged' bottle from TND's basement sale.

A - orange soda/cream soda shade. lots of carbonation rising through the glass.

S - malty, syrupy, rumy, some bitter aromas but not specifically hoppy. complexity in the nose belies what is to follow.

T - alcohol is evident right up front, then a thick honey syrup. smooth toward the finish then a lingering astringency.

M - I do like this aspect the fuller body of the beer is nice the carbonation releases flavor and aroma which, unfortunately, are the downfall of this beer.

O - disappointing. I made some really good finds in that bar basement sell-off this was not one of them.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 22:32:30 | More by gezondheid

pixieskid

France

3.8/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours just like I thought it would when I read "Pale Doppelbock". Nice golden color with a solid 2 finger, white head.

Nose; candy sugar and bready, some booze too.

Taste; pretty simple and straight forward; sweet and a bit syrupy, bready, a mild bitterness throughout, finishing with a lingering honey note.

Overall; Austria's Duvel if you will...it's bright in color, fairly strong carbonation, decent balance, abv is well hidden, and itdefinitely gets the job done!

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2011 18:46:13 | More by pixieskid

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - a clear golden which is surprising, short head dissipated to a thin covering with some lacing
S - notes of bready malt, licorice root, mild fruit, and some alcohol
T - bready and biscuity with some metallic hop flavour, black licorice, but the alcohol builds and eventually dominates
M - bready but relatively light with medium carbonation and an alcohol burn at the back of the throat
O - a decent enough beer but the flavours are a little strange and really don't work as a doppelbock, and the alcohol stands out a little too much

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 06:18:50 | More by joemcgrath27

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Look much different than I expected, like a golden ale or something. Head is set at 1/4 of an inch with some pretty stellar lacing and tons of bubbles rising. Still can't get over how clear this Doppelbock is.

S - Smell is very sweet and has almost a kind of white grape tint to it. Also smells very sweet with quite of bit of caramel and sugar goodness.

T - Sweet malts play pretty well with the alchohol that almost taste of cotton candy. I am surprised that there is no alchohol taste (maybe a bit in the finish) or burn. Almost like sugar coated grape candies if that makes sense.

M - A touch heavy and it does warm the belly.

Overall a very strange take on the style with an excess of sweetness that I enjoy but not very much of a rum raisin bread that I would expect. Still it wasn't bad.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 03:43:54 | More by DrDemento456

dragonWhale

New York

1.73/5  rDev -51.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

So, I have been daring myself to try this for sometime and finally got up the grapes to make it happen.
Looks like cream soda in my pint glass, bubbles sticking to the sides of the glass, small head that dissipates into bubbles rising from the bottom. Clear, upsetting.
Smells sickly malty. I know it's a doppelbock, but this is like a cotton candy smell almost. A little bit of oxidation. Some alcohol.
Tastes way too sweet, cloying, a little old. A little alcohol behind the overwhelmingly distracting sweetness.
I'm not sure who to blame here, the brewer for making this or the distributor for their awesome unrefrigerated warehouse. I'm just going to go with both and never have this abomination again.
Sadly, was forced to pour the last 4 oz or so out and immediately open and crush a can of Avery IPA. It took over half of the can to get the cloying sweetness out of my mouth. Ack.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 13:49:48 | More by dragonWhale

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: 1/8" white head that dissipated quickly over copper coloured liquid with excellent clarity.

S: Malt, citrus, yeast, and alcohol.

T: Grapefruit followed by sweet malt and a bit of a dry finish from the high ABV.

M: Medium to low viscosity with a medium to low level of fine carbonation. It suits the beer.

O: This is the first "pale double bock" that I have ever tried, and I liked it. Very different and interesting. Despite how smooth the beer is, the sweetness and alcohol finish of this beer may turn off some people.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 22:25:10 | More by DaftCaskBC

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Urbock 23

Appearance: A stunning clear gold with a solid inch of bubbly foam. Carbonation bubbles rise slowly and seemingly drunkenly to the surface.

Smell: Bready, malty, alcoholic, faint smokey aroma

Taste: Smooth and even. A malt sweetness pulls through. Very mild noble hopping and a small hit of alcohol at the end. Using pale malts in vast quantities, and a potent lager yeast strain, this pale double bock fits the bill quite nicely. As it warms, the alcohol comes out a bit more and the sweetness sits there as well.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, lighter feel, finishes sweet

Overall: A big beer, with mild flavors but the force is strong with this one. Alcohol reigns supreme. Consider my night, capped.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 07:30:59 | More by Stinkypuss

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - A pure, clear honey body with a thin white head atop.

S - Sweet honey and syrupy malt sugars wafting around. Warm, sweet alcohol and caramelized sugars in the nose.

T - Burnt toffee and caramel up front. A big batch of sweet malt and faintly bitter alcohol. Warming and sweet through the whole sip with a butterscotch sauce left to mind in the finish.

M - Pretty smooth with the viscosity of the malt syrup dominating here. Warming alcohol and a semi dry finish.

O - A great choice for a snifter worthy warmer.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 03:06:21 | More by BeerForMuscle

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.23/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pale double bock...okay...really not what you'd expect from a dopplebock, or even a bock. Golden colour, almost like a lager or a pale Euro ale...light white head.

Light malty scent, light spice. Smells like a Euro ale to be honest. Taste is much richer - brown sugar, spice, citrusy hops. A bit bitter and processed, but not nearly as bad as the scent lets on. Good dose of alcohol in there.

Light body, but surprisingly thick for the appearance. Not a horrible beer, but it seems like a weird high-powered mix of a bock and pale Euro lager. Euro malt liquor, maybe?

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 06:01:45 | More by BDTyre

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle, a "Pale Double Bock", according to the label.

This beer pours a clear, bright golden yellow hue, with one fat finger of thin foamy eggshell white head, which bleeds away at a somewhat lazy pace, leaving a low sudsy ring of lace around the glass.

It smells of sweet pale bready malt, some floral hops, and a softly prickly booziness that increasingly reminds me of nail polish, as I continue to sniff away. The taste is more sweet pale malt, with caramel and biscuit tendencies, which are a tad hard to discern over the astringent sweet honeyed alcohol edge that now seems to have pervaded from the get-go.

The carbonation is present, but on the low side, the body medium weight, but mostly from a cloying boozy sugar character, which is tellingly hard on the overall smoothness. It finishes sweet, the grain and booze pushing this dangerously close to classy malt liquor territory.

Yikes. Castles and counts, blah, blah blah. The big ABV is just barely integrated, and we're thus given a bit of breathing room beyond the sweet grainy malt. That said, the near 10 full points of booze are somehow easy to sup away at, once you become acclimatized. Worth it, if your goal is getting warm, without actually gagging.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 22:50:38 | More by biboergosum

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

330ml bottle poured into tulip 6/6/11

A clear golden liquid with a fair bit of carbonation but not much in the way of head or lace

S some purple candy, honey, a little booze and some candied corn maybe

T caramel and biscuit to go along with what I smell and the booze is even a little stronger in the mouth

M well carbonated and thicker then the color would leave you to believe but the booze burn takes away from it

O nothing stands out and nothing other then the booze takes away from the beer being enjoyable, pretty average

Not the best offering from this brewer(mind you I've only tried Samiclaus) but at 3 bucks a bottle I had little to lose

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 01:16:12 | More by wordemupg

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From a 330 ml brown bottle, black paper around the neck up to the cap. Pours out an impressively clear straw hue for a doppelbock, I have a feeling this is going to be a sexed up Maibock. Tight creamy white cap that retains to a short white cap.

Sharp alcohol and clean rounded grains on the nose, some spicy and grassy hops in the background. Bready, biscuity malt reveals itself in time as well.

Sweet warming alcohol up front in the flavour, soft rounded bready malt follows, while finishing with an intense sharp alcohol kick and some intense spicy hops that linger on into the finish. Reminds me more of a quality high-test beer than anything.... Gets cloying after a while.

Medium-full mouthfeel, smooth yet slick texture, carbonation and alcohol add some bite to it.

Somewhat palatable in small doses, this walks that fine line between crafted beer and malt liquor. It strikes me as a Bock that would be very well balanced at a lower abv%, while the alcohol seems to dominate and throw things off as it is now. I change my assessment of this being a sexed up Maibock, it's more of a rocket-fueled Maibock.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 05:34:49 | More by IronDjinn