La Binchoise Speciale Noel

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

Bottle from Onlyfineales.com, had this 28-12-07 This beer was fine enough but ultimately quite unexciting. It poured a deep amber colour with a large rapidly receding white fluffy head, aroma of toffee and malt, there was sugar and spice and all things nice, but it wasn’t that great and I can see I’m going against the grain with this one, but tough, I was not overly impressed.

Probably the best Christmas wassail in the world. Unbelievable depth of flavor, with a complexity that is nearly indescriable. I had this beer ten years ago, only to re-sample this Holiday season. It was the return of a beloved, long lost friend. Prosit!

Appearance is very nice and the lacing is just fine. It has a sweet soapy smell that I have never had before. It is dark brown to amber in color. The taste is very sweet, unlike most of the Belgians. The flowery hops are just great. The flight friuty taste is flowery and overwhelming. The mouthfeel is very smooth. Nice on the palate. Overall I will try this again in a few months, but nothing to go nuts about.

pours a cloudy amber gold with spicy yeast aroma. chewy palate, spicy yeast/pepper presence. dry finish.

Pours with a frothy, four-finger thick, tan colored head. The beer sits in my glass a darkish, amber colored, red tinted color and shows a brilliantly clear, deep reddish copper color when held up to the light. An interesting mix of spice and malt meets my nose upon the first smell. Fruit aromatics are also noticed and lean towards notes of aromatic, tart apples, touches of plum, pear and even some wine grape like notes (mostly white varietals, but also a touch of berry like red varietals). The aroma is lightly woody, but sharply aromatic with various esters and phenols; spice notes of ginger, white pepper, clove and that previously mentioned wood like note are all noticeable among the melange of aromatics. Malt aromatics of toasted grain, lightly browned soda crackers, dusty malt and a substantial fresh, whole grain bread note really perk up towards the middle and finish. This really has quite an interesting note, the yeast character really shines here, but has a nice backdrop of supporting malt character to hold it up.

Some zippy carbonation provides a touch of fizz as this first hits my tongue. The beer is lightly sweet and fruity with notes of aromatic apple varieties, raisins, and a touch of tart / sweet plum. A back note of malt provides some structure with austere flavors of crushed pale malt, dried biscuit notes and a lingering, lightly astringent toasted grains husk note in the far finish. Pretty light bodied for a beer of this strength, but it does have a medium heft to it; at times (especially with the interaction of light tartness and light sweetness found in this beer) it can even be down right quaffable. The flavor is not as spicy as the flavor was, but there is still a solid yeast contribution here; flavors of clove, a touch of white pepper, some ginger and a hint of a spicy oak flavor. The finish has a certain astringency to it that seems contributed by a mix of alcohol flavors and perhaps some phenolics and additional esters. This provides a bit of sharpness and at times seems a bit like cardamom in the finish.

This is an interesting beer. I really like the nose on this one initially. Somehow the flavor did not quite deliver, though it is still pretty complex and flavorful. The relative light body was also quite welcome, but somehow I just feel that the beer taken as a whole is missing a little something that would make it quite good.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ

Bottle. Pleasant aroma of some fruit and spice. Peach and apricot. Some sweeter toffee malt and dry, slightly spicy yeast. Pours muddy orange with a fizzy bright white head. Caramel and fruity malt on the tongue quickly followed by some zesty and spicy yeast. Medium bodied with lively carbonation. Finishes with some yeasty dryness and a tad watery.

poured a orangish copper with a nice off white head. Aroma was spices and sweet malt. Good belgian dark fruit alc flavour with a mild spice in the back ground. Nice reserved xmas ale.

Bottle, bought @ Kolding Vinhandel. Pours a slightly muddy orange amber with a fine creamy white head. Aroma is rather spicy, some cloves, vanilla, caramel and Belgian sugars. A nice creamy mouthfeel. Flavour is relatively spicy with lots of Christmas spices and a relative dryness. Alcohol is well hidden, but the beer warms me up nicely. A little Saison-like in its feel.