De Ranke Père Noël

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Belgian Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Brown bottle, 33 cl, best before November 2012, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savoured on April 26 2008; eye: copper, hazy, voluminous creamy white head that disappears rather rapidly, good lacing, slight effervescence; nose: yeast, spices, caramel, light fruity, light citrusy; mouth: hops bitterness amplifies the alcohol for a not so pleasant feel but that feeling becomes more pleasant as the beer warms up, caramel is quite present, light fruity, pepper, alcohol, light orange, finale in hops with a good presence of alcohol and pepper, lightly harsh in the throat, lightly sweet, mildly bitter, medium body, slightly oily texture, rather carbonated, mild astringency; overall: disappointing FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 33 cl, meilleure avant Novembre 2012, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savourée le 26 avril 2008; œil : cuivrée, voilée, mousse blanche volumineuse et crémeuse qui disparaît plutôt rapidement, bonne dentelle, très légère effervescence; nez : levure, épices, caramel, léger fruité, léger citrique; bouche : amertume du houblon amplifie l’alcool pour une sensation pas très plaisante mais qui devient moins déplaisante au fur et à mesure que la bière se réchauffe, caramel est pas mal présente, léger fruité, poivre, alcool, léger orange, finale en houblon avec une bonne présence d’alcool et de poivre, légèrement rugueuse en fond de gorge, légèrement sucrée, moyennement amère, corps moyen, texture légèrement huileuse, plutôt carbonatée, astringence moyenne; en résumé : déçu

Aroma is a light fruity scent with a slight yeast tone. Color is a brownish orange with light carbonation and a very thin but tight head. Taste is cidery and bitter. Starting with a light/medium body it goes down with a crisp bite. Finish comes in bitter with a cider like feel and more bitterness. In the after taste the bitterness turns sharp with a sour taste and a strong alcohol feel. Its all bitterness, there’s no malt or tasty Belgian yeast and the alcohol is way to strong for a beer that has 8%. I am very disappointed with this, maybe I got a bad bottle, it just not a good brew.

Bottle - not sure of age but its dated as Best by 2010. Poured a hazy bronze, with a foaming head but little carbonation in the beer itself. Palate was soft, a tad thinner than expected with light carbonation . Aroma beings with a sugary bready malt, very light phenol and just a vague fruitiness that could be tropical. Flavor shows a little bit of herbal hop and an indistinct spice somewhat of thyme. Pretty balanced with a nice easy finish, though thinning out toward the end.

On tap at DBA. Poured a dark brown with a thin head Nose was spicy, and ? Had some hints of maybe chocolate, and coffee tasting. Lighter and thinner mouthful than its dark appearance. Had a sort of stale taste to it, even though it was freshly tapped keg. Not bad, but not my favorite flavor.

33 cl bottle. BB 08/2012. Deep amber-gold beer, creamy white head. Aroma is lovely and spicy, fresh noble/floral Saaz hop character. Lightly floral and spicy. Lean pilsner and belgian malts. The flavour is quite a bit maltier than the aroma suggests. Some light breadiness and a touch of caramel as well. Spicy hops on the back, but the bitterness is quite lean. Fairly herbal/grassy flavour on the back. Pretty nice beer.

~Pours a cloudy cider colour with small dimishing off white head. ~ The aroma is spicy and fruity ~ Taste has a quick spicy kick and then turns a little bitter from the hops. Kind of a dusty hop flavor. Ashy maybe. Like drinking smokey water. ~ Dry with a bitter finish. ~ This beer doesn’t really appeal to me. Scent is decent. Taste is a little strange. Would be nice if it was a little sweeter. Wont buy again unless it comes in a xmas pack again.

Pours a cloudy, orange color with a white, creamy, rocky, full head; longevity is good and lacing is little but nice. Nose is nice but not great; notes of estery and dusty yeast with lighter notes of spicy and grassy hops, caramel, and some orange citrus notes. Flavor is similar with lots going on but nothing special; certainly plenty of yeast bringing some estery notes as well some celler notes of must and dust. A moedrately light bitterness from the grassy hops is felt throughout with some peppery notes as well; other notes include honey, coriander, and some orange citrus. Palate is nice; soft to lively, creamy but drying a bit, maybe even almost oily, and almost medium to full. Finishes quite progressively with the sweetness diminishing first and the yeast notes following, leaving only a lingering grassy spicy biterness and dry hints at citrus peel and maybe some oregano? One of those beers that took some time to appreciate but, by the end of the bottle, seemed new and imaginitive. Not an earthshattering brew but strangely unique.

My bottle had a beautifully sweet, fruity aroma with a think hazy pour. The frothy white head died down quickly revealing a hoppy (but less than I expected for a Holiday Ale) palate with hints of citrius and other spices.