La Binchoise Speciale Noel

Brewed by Brasserie La Binchoise
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Binche, Belgium

Picked this one up at Green’s one month before the sucker expired. The color is a dark caramel color. The aroma is filled with fruit. Smells like some dark fruits to me.I have a lot of little white particles floating in my beer, yeast particles? The beer is nice and smooth. The beer is just too fruity for me. I am not a huge fan of the flavor. The head on this beer never existed as I was hoping it would. Nice and malty, just not the flavor I was looking for. I can say that I have always appreciated Raphael’s paintings. One thing exceptional about this beer was the brewers ability to blend the ABV into the beer so it was not noticeable.

750ml bottle-pours a white head and slightly hazy copper color. Aroma is medium malt-sweet, medium fruit. Taste is medium malt-sweet, medium fruit-apple, clove, secondary faint hops bitterness. Good effervescence.

From a caged corked 750 ml. bottle with a notched freshness date on the back label, taken from my "cellar" and allowed to warm a bit, sampled in a tulip glass. Poured a cloudy amber hued burnt orange with a foamy, bubbly topped off-white head that slowly settled into a thin creamy lacing. Aromas of coriander and orange peel, a very light spiciness, bubble gum, apricots and peaches, and a sweet maltiness that meshes with the alcohol. Good, steady carbonation and a crisp, dryish, creamy smooth medium-full bodied mouthfeel. Good, balanced taste, toasted caramel grainy malts, butter toffee, orange peel, coriander, a nice peach fruitiness, spicy, herbal hops that provide a soft bitterness, the alcohol meshes with the peaches and spices, provides a slow warmth in the palate, and a dry, spicy, toasted grainy finish with the grains lingering a bit in the aftertaste. An easy, smooth sipper, very enjoyable, pleasant on a chilly spring evening.

Cloudy deep amber body with a large frothy off-white head and lots of floaters. Sweet fruity aroma with a caramel background. Dry caramel flavor with some light fruit hints and a touch of bitterness.

Bottle as Reserve Speciale from Party Source, KY. Poured hazy amber with a moderate creamy off-white head that lasted with good lacing. Moderate sweet fruity aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium spicy sweet citrus flavor with a medium bittersweet and small alcohol finish of moderate duration. Good spicy citrus brew.

Cloudy amber hue, with a beige head, leaving laces, yeasty, fruity nose, with a nice coriander, curaçao spiciness, with a floral lavender accent, some fruity candied apricot notes, toasted malt in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, fruity, caramelized malt character, with a candied orange peel fruitiness, some nutmeg and coriander spicy accents, a sweet mellow alcoholic warmth mouthfeel, leading towards a sweet fruity, malty and a faint hop bitterness finish.

The color of maple tree sap. Pale head with tenacious lacing that breaks like an ice flow and takes it’s time drifting. Smells beautifully of tangerines, rasberry, malt and the air right before it rains. Very refreshing. The flavor was unfortunate. A little weak and the citrus lacked, but the alcohol was well disguised.

I think it says it was bottled on 06-06. For lack of better words, it pours amber with decent clarity and a nearly full, off-white, fizzy; settles quickly to a mostly diminishing bit and leaves no lace. The second glass has plenty of yeast floaties. Intriguing nose with date and clove to go with whisps of alcohol and a spicy/earthy, alomst vinous tone. Wow, the flavor is has lots of notes that are unexpected; starts with a raisin/date note then you taste some roast, almost cedar-like with anise maybe. A decent bitterness goes with the roast. Palate is medium, lively, and a bit watery. Finishes mostly sweet with yeasty notes, lemon zest, and some bubblegum before earthy bitter notes finalize it. Certainly a beer that gets your palate thinking one thing and then something totally unexpected happens. Kind of difficult to pin down what I just drank, but it certainly was nice to be pleasantly surprised with this Belgian. Not spectacular but something that I will take the time to rate again.