De Ranke Père Noël

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

bottle. 2001 magnum. hazy orange body with a small white head. spicey and peppery at first sniff. some light tartness, funky cheese notes, fruit, and cookie malt flavour. quite nice and flavourful. A touch of alcohol in the finish.

1.5L bottle, 2001 vintage. Completely clouded golden to amber body. White ring of foam. Very hoppy nose, musty mustard seeds, cobwebs, very fluffy yeast, a truck of it. Appealing fruitiness, perfumey and mango-like cuts through the heavier honey nature. Quite corky nose, but paired with the earthiness, it gives it a bière de garde feeling that I’m quite fond of. Deep coniferous hops, very floral. Salivating hops, highly refreshing, corked flavours are also present in mouth. Slightly astringent and I can’t say it works very well. Tastes pretty clouded if I may say so.. the heavy yeastiness seems to veil other flavours and it is perhaps a bit too young, because those hops must have been something when fresh. Cookieish, very dry palate with a light acid touch. Medium bodied, light display of carbonation, surprisingly.

2001 magnum, tasted in 2005:

The Lure:
Piney hops and yeasty moss proliferate on the cork outgrowth. Perfumy, intense, but a tad unidimensional.

The Festivities:
Bitterness is amplified by the yeast overload. Piney and orange-y hops proffer a saison-like spiciness to this quirky Christmas beer. Malts are hard to perceive, and this may be the downfall of this particular bottle.

Transcendence:
A dust storm cannot help your enjoyment of a walk in the woods.

Ratebeer Mondial Gathering (tiggmtl). Bouteille de 2001. Arômes de liège. Pomette, houblon acide et épicé.

Great orange-amber color with warm glow. This beer is hazy and has a nice light colored head. The nose is complex and has accents of spices, orange-skin, fruit cakes, cereal’s, Kellogg’s frosty’s, and touches of summer flowers and hops. The taste is yeasty, nutty, and refreshing with notes of fruits, fresh cakes, spices wooden furniture (waxy) some citrus and fine hops. The afthertaste is turning dry and has some earthy tones and a nice bitter finish.

Hazy light tangerine in color with a light head of white foam that coats the glass fairly well. Strongly floral, slightly metallic, lightly smoky aroma with hints of spice and bright fruits, which give an orange/tangerine scent. Airy, coating feel. Light spice flavor, bright yeasty tones with bright fruit flavors, with a hint of herbs. Very tasty.

Couleur ambrée tirant vers le jaune, très trouble. Nez fruité hallucinant de mandarine, d’orange, de pâte a pain, d’épice, de melon et de houblon frais. Corps de moyen à épais, légèrement tartrique en bouche. Très particulier, une forte présence d’aiguille de pin et de fruits non identifiable. Bien fait et complexe, quelle belle petite brasserie, de Ranke. Les houblons sont Brewers Gold et Hallertau. Dégusté en fin de soirée avec Yvan, un des brasseurs dans le cadre du Zythos beer fest, St-Niklaas, voyage Europe 2005. _______________________________ Re-Rat 13 Juin 2005; Quelques composantes réminiscente d’une vieille saison en arômes par ses houblons à caractère de citron et de lime. Présence de levure et de résine de conifères également. Flaveurs quelque peu acide rappelant le citron, de bois de cerisier frais et jeune. Finale surprenante évoquant la sève de bois vert et étant un peu astringente. 7-3-7-4-15

Thanks to matta for the bottle! Label states Lot No. 000012 and best by 8/09. Pours a clouded amber with light ruby splashes littered throughout. Tall dense foam froth. Nose is earthy and spicy with yeast notes, dried fruit, light nuttiness and some woody notes. Taste is spicy and yeasty. Pepper, yeast, sourdough, light earthy notes, some flowery hints, wood, dried fruit and light hints of malt. Body is effervescent and bone dry throughout, especially at the end. Finishes dry with more dried fruit, yeast, dough, hoppiness, light earth tones, raw nuts, spices and wood. Very different than expected, but still good.