Carlsberg Semper Ardens Christmas Ale

Brewed by Carlsberg Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Copenhagen, Denmark

cloudy reddish-brown colour with a fast fading foam; aroma of raspberry marmelade with notes of licorice, coriander, pineapple and old apple; sweet and heavy, sticky; respectable malt body; long sweetish and fruity finish - a little bit bubblegum-like but quite good, in any cases hard to realize this is from Carlsberg ...thanks to Papsoe for this one !

@highlandlad’s from highlandlad. red/brown anonymous "ale" colour. malty but shallow texture - some pleasant spicy, grassy flavours with a bit of honey, and fruit cream cheese, but all a bit muted and flat in the mouth. a hit of rough alcohol in finish blurps out. not the greatest.

Øllen er ufiltreret mørk (rødbrun) og sødlig. Minder meget om de klasiske belgiske klosterbryg, men er mere rugbrødsagtig, sød og afrundet i smagen. (2005) også smagt om sommeren: Her virker den næsten for krydret. også smagt efter et års lagring. Nu er den nærmest viniøs, men kanon god. Årgang 2006 er lidt for ung i smagen, og er ikke rugbrødsagtig som 2005. Alcohollen er klar, men mon ikke den bliver bedre efter 3 mdr. lagring... Skummet er flot og holder længe. Umiddelbart mærker man ikke den høje alcohol procent. Dejlig øl, som sagtens kan nydes året rundt.

Bottled(700ml). –aged 2005, hazy amber coloured with off-white head, spicy sweet fruity and caramel malty aroma, sharp spicy and alcohol finish, not so good as Semper Ardens Abbey

Cloudy light brown color. Surprisingly salty nose. The sweet malty mouth is a great mixture of caramel, spices and milk chocolate. Warm caramel spicy finish. Alcohol well hidden. Good stuff.

RLB YEHA 05. Big thanks to Martin Engelsmann for shipping this over so we could all try it at Rich’s place. It was all Danish raters before we got our hands on this one. Pours a lightly cloudy medium to dark amber with a good lasting head. Aroma is pretty basic- standard crystal malts and some coriander upfront- light citrus and soem herbs in the back. Flavor is sweet but balanced out with some hops and spices. Light nuttiness and some hints of chocolate and other roasted malts. Finish is pretty nice but the body is a bit weak overall despite the higher abv.

Bottle. Hazy chestnut brown with creamy off white head. Complex, fruity and spicy aroma with vinous notes and a bit of old dust. Flavor is very sweet and one dimensional compared to the aroma - but still very tasty. Notes of caramel, milk chocolate and burned sugar. The alcohol is not present. Creamy mouth feel and a lot lighter carbonated than other beers from SA which I like. Too sweet for me which will probably improve with some cellaring, which is good since I bought a bunch of these, when they were on sale in my local supermarket ;-) One of the three best Danish Christmas beers this year!