Big Sky Biere de Noel

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Missoula, Montana USA

Bottle: pours a mix of crimson and and smokey quartz, the head is glacier like..super thick, glassy, icey, mountainous...lacy...sexxxy. smells of caramel, chocolate cake, raisins, toffee, and butter. Very inviting and sweet & dessertish nose. Musty and somewhat metallic intro to flavors...notes of nuts, toffee, and intricate weavings of complex caramel. The mouthfeel is somewhat cluttered and flat feeling notwithstanding the adequate carbonation. Bitterness seems very present for the style, which maybe contributing to the mouthfeel situation. Flavors are nice though, they really got some good stuff out of those malts.

Pours a translucent reddish orange with a healthy head that sits on top of the beer like a crown. Smells like buttered popcorn, butterscotch, and buttered rum...butter. Taste is smooth like butter on hot toast, kind of floral, and warming. I’m not really in the mood to describe the abundance of flavors and feelings I’m currently experiencing.

7550mL bottle, no date (975 of 1800) from Ledger’s. Clear copper orange with a 1 1/2 finger beige head, pretty good retention. Aroma of figs, some raisins, brown sugar up front with molasses and some spicy Belgian yeast behind. The flavor adds some chocolate notes and faint dry roast. Sweet caramel tends to dominate, though there’s a lot going on. The finish is actually semi-dry (thank you Big Sky for not making a cloyingly sweet Belgian Strong!) with bitterness peaking around a 3, with the alcohol seemingly stronger than the stated 8.75%. Full body with moderate carbonation. Very pleasantly surprised with this one.

750 ml bottle - thanks riverside!! 2007 vintage; cloudy, dark amber; flat, syrupy and slight funk on the nose; wine-like flavors and also kind of musky; a little butter with some chocolate, sugary fruit juice

Bottle from Julie Thanks! Dark brown with a foamy off white head. Floral caramel toffee molasses chocolate clove and huge nutmeg aroma and taste with vanilla notes. Excellent.

bottle #281/1800.gold foil .. not sure what that means but it is from superdave70. Aroma of sweet molasas. Murky bron body with beige head. Flavor was abit odd with some caramel but a stong bitter bite on palate odd brew.

Also had a red foil topper from a bottle bought about 2 years ago or so. Had a smokey aroma with some chocolate notes. Odd colored body with beige head. Sweet caramel flavor with an alcohol grain bitter bite so that was all that was the same beteewn to two.

Superdave’s was better imo

bottle #281/1800... not sure what that means but it is from superdave70. hazy chestnut-y brown with a thin tan ring of a head. there is something very comfortable about the aroma?!... brown sugar candied nuts, chocolate, grain, spice, bruised apples, vanilla and medjoul dates. it tastes a whole lot like a chocolate covered werther’s original butterscotch candy!... alcohol is noticed but it is slight and very welcomed as it clears the palate of flavors of malt powder, grain, brown sugar, dates, vanilla and flowers. a very mild bitterness comes in late on the finish. medium to full bodied but strangely thin enough to drink this entire bottle myself. i very easily could at the abv% and not have a headache in the morning. really enjoyable... 8/4/8/5/17/4.2

Bottle sample at the Draft Magazine PBS Beer Festival. Pours a cloudy brown with a thin tan head. The nose is caramel and brown sugar. The taste is caramel, molasses and dark fruit. Medium mouthfeel. Decent.