 espenra (126), Oslo, Norway
Aug 7, 2008 50cl bottle from Vinmonopolet. Batch 306. It poured a dark red-brown, almost black colour with a big beige creamy head that settles down very slowly in the glass. The aroma is spicy and smells of raisins, gingerbread, nuts and herbs. The flavour is spicy and tastes of pepper, roasted malts and gingerbread. It has a long, lingering aftertaste.Norwegian christmas in a bottle.
Tranquillity (1074), Espoo, Finland
May 17, 2008 Bottled. Dark red-brown, thick beige head. Really spicy aroma, lots of herbs such as basil (!) and pepper. Nejlika for those that know what that is (ok, clove). Taste... full, strong for this strenght and the finish is fantastic.
Bragesnak (1338), Aarhus, Denmark
Apr 30, 2008 From Superbrugsen, Aarhus, DK.
Bottled.
X-mas spices and others. Dryness from roasted malts.
mybestfriend (250), Gothenburg, Sweden
Apr 14, 2008 Bottle. Pours a dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is christmas spices in abundance! Ginger, clove and gingerbread cake. Flavour is pretty much the same - ginger, clove, gingerbread cake and some bitter chocolate in the background. The finish has some roasted notes of dry ash with a nice bitterness. It’s christmas in April! I can almost hear the christmas carols (but where’s the effing snow?). This beer is filled to the brim with christmas - it’s more fun than tasty...
jspruit (87), Dublin, Ireland
Apr 7, 2008 Bought this 0.5L bottle in Denmark and drank it back in Ireland.
The color is a darkish brown/black with some ruby notes with a 1/2 finger head that is an off-white with some tan hints.
The smell is a real mixture of spices-mostly Christmas type like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom-with some maltiness and a little floral and yeasty. The smell itself is very pleasant.
The taste is very nice with all of the spices mentioned above that are evident in the initial aroma. But there is alot more to this beer than spces as it there is some dryness and malty notes that are evident too. There is some slight nuttiness and some raisin hints too. At the end of each sip are some really nice notes that are more evident in porters and the maltiness becomes stronger-I really liked that too.
The overall balance of all of these flavors is really quite impressive actually and I enjoyed the whole thing really as it feels great going down without too much carbonation.
There is a fair amount of sweetness so I can’t drink too much of this one in one sitting, but I’d like to because it is quite enjoyable. I’ll definitely look for this one next year and recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting Christmas beer.
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