Brauerei Kloster Fischingen (Pilgrim) - Pilgrim 2019 Biere Grand Cru

We now have the 10 old cognac barrels in which the beer matured for a year, emptied and bottled. Over the year, over 10% of the content has probably evaporated - real “angel share” in the monastery cellar. We have 3000-4000 bottles left. We sell half. The other half include for a few years. We assume that the beer will become even more velvety and the value will increase. The vintage beer has a wonderful gold tone. It became almost bare due to the long ripening and has little foam due to the high alcohol content. In the nose it impresses with a pleasant herbal and spice note. The palate is full, mild, with balanced sweetness and very complex flavors that you have to experience yourself. The high alcohol content is clearly noticeable in the after-drink. The vintage beer 2019 with 17.2% alcohol is probably one of the strongest beers ever brewed in Switzerland. Because the beer tax goes up to 15% alcohol we have to pay CHF 3.50 per bottle of alcohol tax. That pours out a lot! It is one of the reasons why the vintage beer 2020 is under 15% Alc. will stay. Because we are not sure whether this beer can be sold as "beer" or as a "spirit", we are careful and we only sell it to private customers and - for the time being - only in the brewery shop. The vintage beer has a price: CHF 19.50 the half champagne bottle, CHF 37.50 the 75 cl bottle. These are unusual prices for beer tinkers. The price is not an issue for wine connoisseurs. You are used to vintage, Burgundy and Château wines of completely different dimensions.