Stiftsbrauerei Schlägl Bierabo

What's in the box: A selection of Schlägl's character beers, the brewery's more distinctive specialty brews, in 0.33 L bottles.

Stiftsbrauerei Schlägl is the brewery of Schlägl Abbey in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria, and it has brewed beer there since 1580. Its Bierabo, called "Charakterstark", centres on the brewery's character beers, the more distinctive specialties in its range rather than everyday lagers. The shop lists the subscription at 109.80 € including 20% VAT. The site does not clearly say how often deliveries arrive, how many bottles each one holds or how long the commitment runs, so check those terms before ordering. The brewery also features a monthly beer. Recently that was Der Kobold, a hazy 6.2% IPA brewed with hops from the brewery's own hop garden and sold in 0.33 L bottles with a 0.20 € deposit each. The ingredients are a real strength: water from the granite of the Bohemian Forest, Austrian malt, the abbey's own organic rye and Mühlviertel hops. Regular beers such as Chorherren Pils and Roggen Gold cost around 2 € a bottle in the shop, which helps you judge the value of the subscription. Visitors must be 18 or older to use the site. The shop also shows a notice about a data protection incident, so some shoppers will want to read it before paying. For fans of traditional Austrian brewing with a monastic story, this is a credible and characterful choice.