La Moneuse Speciale Noël

Brewed by Brasserie de Blaugies
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Dour-Blaugies, Belgium

25.4 oz bottle 2005. Enjoyed poolside at Disney’s Polynesian on a Monday morning. Dark apple juice with a creamy, light tan head. Nose of yeasty mulled cider and cloves. A bit of orange and a hint of green banana. Yeast and some spice remain. Moderate carb; almost light. Dries at the end. A refreshing winter.

Pours turbid brown/tan with medium khaki head. Aromas of cobwebby malts, some spices, some hops, and some peaty, woody toffee/brown sugary notes. The flavor was a bit of a letdown, with the caramelly, spicy, cobwebby malt, plus some peaty yeast and toffee hints. Medium palate.

Bottle has a blue label with winter scene on it and "special winter ale" printed on it, so it looks different than the picture provided here. Pours a cloudy copper color with white head. Aroma with a hint of spice to it, but not really much there. The palate is soft, but not thin. Taste is dry, effervescent, and sour/bitter at the end. A good saison, but might not but enough to keep me coming back.

In short: A nice toasted semi-wild, semi-dry Belgian ale with a superb mild but complex spicy character. Great brew.
How: Bottle 750ml. Consumed when about 6 months of age
The look: Cloudy golden body with a generous beige head with medium retention.
In long: Nose has a pleasant array of spicess. Taste is very toasted, lots of toasted bread with only a little caramel, yeasty dryness, a light wild yeast character, nice spicy character, some berries. The spicy character is very well done because it manages complex while not being too upfront. No specific spice comes through, it is just… spicy. Superb full body lively mouthfeel. Somewhat dry. Everything is well done in this beer but the main attraction remains the spcies and there’s enough of them to confuse Martha Stewart.

Bottle, my bro brought it up from Orlando. pours a brown/ dark amber color. smallish white head. aroma is of sweet malts, caramel, and hazelnuts. flavor is similar, with carmel, brown sugar, hazel nuts. has a nice clean finnish, flavor kinda reminds me of Rogue hazelnut brown, but i think this is better. light and refreshing, yet not lacking anything in the flavor department. i really liked this one. definatly underated.

2005 bottle. Pours amber with a decent white head. Smells of funky barnyard initially with some nice citrus and perfume elements eventually peaking through. Taste is light and airy with nice delicate citrussy elements and a slight woodsy finish. I’m looking forward to comparing this to the 2001 bottle I have in my cellar.

Bottle at Akkurat, Stockholm. Vintage 2001. Cloudy orange appearance. with small white sheet. Fruity and funky aroma od dried oranges, all-spice, wet grass, honey, cork, outdoor smell and wet wood. Flavour starts of orange-peels, dried apricot and minerals. Strong carbonation. Cheesy notes of wet wood and minerals in the afteraste.

750 mL bottle. Pours hazy orange with a tall foamy head and lined lacing. Aroma is yeast (earthy, barn, horse blanket) and malt (lightly toasted grain, meal), sour fruit, hay, straw, oak, cellared notes. Tart grapefruit, medium sweetness, medium acidity and bitterness, with a lingering rind tartness and some tropical fruit notes. Medium bodied, fizzy and spicy palate, slightly dry.