MARCH 1998

VOL.3 NO.3

Kitchen Table Tasting -- A Vertical Tasting of Nigara Falls Eisbock

Long-time readers of World of Beer will remember from this time last year our vertical tasting of the well-regarded Eisbock from Niagara Falls Brewing on Ontario, Canada (please see the March, 1997, SBWoB for details). Well, once did not seem like nearly enough, so in February, I dug deep into the recesses of my cellar and emerged with six vintages of this fine beer, plus the Eisbock Gold, a special version of the 1994 vintage that was aged in the tank at the brewery for a year and further concentrated to 8.6% alcohol by volume.

Our tasters this time around were SBWoB webmaster Kevin Fair, wine and food writer and consultant Tod Stewart, lawyer and beer aficionado Gary Gillman and yours truly. The vintages dated from 1991 through to 1997, with the exception of 1992 (which had been brewed to be particularly dry and so had lasted only a couple of years in the cellar) and the addition of the Eisbock Gold.

The latest vintage, brewed for winter 1997-1998, showed its youth in a very fragrant and sweet nose and fruity, spicy body. The table consensus was that while it made for an enjoyable glass of beer, it lacked complexity and was still a little too harsh, particularly on the finish. The 1996, on the other hand, demonstrated a maturity lacking in the first bottle, with a full, chocolaty body, greater depth and complexity, and a graceful finish.

The 1995 Eisbock, which last year displayed a full body and great complexity, had dried out considerably in the intervening months. It was still as complex as ever, however, and found favour with all of the tasters, although both Tod and Gary admitted a preference for the fuller 1996.

In both its regular and Gold formats, the 1994 Eisbock was a disappointment. There were obvious signs of some sort of infection at work in the Gold, manifested in acidity in both the nose and body, while the regular 1994 edition had what could best be described as a curious "funkiness." Neither was favoured by the tasters, although Gary said that he did not pick up on the "funk" in the 1994 and was therefore more impressed by it than were the rest of us. Interestingly, the 1994 left a significant amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

As it was last year, the 1993 Eisbock was the star of the tasting. I detected notes of florals and spice in the aroma and spice, chocolate, coffee and orange brandy on the palate, completed with a lengthy and warming finish. The tasters uniformly admired this beer and praised it lavishly.

At six years of age, the 1991 edition seemed to be in the process of passing its prime. Some oxidization was in evidence at the front of the taste and it increased as the beer was exposed to the air. Aside from that, however, the dry flavour was pleasant enough, although the complexity and depth that characterized the 1993 was merely a part of this brew's history.

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