La Choulette de Noël

Brewed by Brasserie La Choulette
Style: Bière de Garde
Hordain, France

(BB 4/06) Clear russet. Foamy mixture of large & small bubbles with islands of dense cream. Aromatic caramelized malt husk notes with tropical fruit esters, musty yeast, and fresh hop hints. Softly fuzzy, but full in body. Onset of dry, leathery roast grabs foothold amid distant pale malt notions, which soften the underlying mineral astringency. Firmly acidic, but softly irony, at the same time. Dainty, but staggeringly complex, fusion of grainy malt, iron, and musty yeast dryness collide with softer notes of acidic apple must, nuts, and buttery yeast. Pervasively juicy malt notes resurge with a thunderous roar of toffee-glazed cake and a briefly husky Munich center. Dryish finish tightens the date and caramelized malt sweetness, before completely washing the sweetness away, leaving only a trace of floral hop spice in its wake. Gracefully rustic.

grapey chocolate aroma. pours a cloudy brown. taste is sour watery tea. an off bitter flavor that sucks, my notes have scrawled across them"christ this is horrible, this is bad tea disguised as beer"

Deep amber brown with a thick tan head. Mettallic roasted malt with some molasses and woodiness. Rich in the mouth with a sweetness that creeps across the tongue. Molassses, burnt carmel, some fruit and eathy marzipan. Not bad winter treat.

Lightly hazy brown body with a fizzy dirty tan and white head. The aroma is sweet and dusty. Caramel and lots of yeast. The flavor is much the same,. Harshness in the aftertaste. Acidic and sweet. Ok but not real great.

This bottled brew marked best before April of 2006 poured a large sized head of long lasting fine to large sized white colored bubbles that left behind a softly carbonated transparent copper brown colored body and a good lacing. The aroma was mild with smooth malty notes. The mouth feel was tingly smooth and contained vinous notes that mellowed in the finish. The flavor was mildly vinous with malty and hoppy notes.

Poured ruby amber with a medum tan head with big floaties...smell is hoppy and alcohol...taste is malty sweet with some spicy tea bitterness...not bad!

Bottle. Low bitterness with lots of tannins. Acidic. Slightly smokey and woody.

Pours a slightly hazy dark brown with a thick frothy off-white head. Mildly earthy sweet caramel Belgian malty aroma speckled with cinnamon and cardamom and a touch of dry smoke. Starts sweet and malty with nice complexity and decent body. Very smooth and drinkable, leading up to a semi-dry earthy toffee finish. A nice and enjoyable Biere de Garde, but not quite as intense as La Bavaisienne.