St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Watou, Belgium

On tap @ Map Room. Tasted like the Abt 12 w/ spices added to the mash. Nutmeg comes through clearly, but spices mask the more subtle flavors of the beer. Very tasty X-mas ale, but tries to improve on perfection.

Dark brown reddish color, nice foamy beiged colored head. The smell is alcohol, malts, toffee, candi sugar, fruits, and raisans. The taste is fruity, alcohol, rasians, candi sugar, malts, and toffee.

Crushed with Jakebra. Huge fruity nose on this one. Plums, raisins, berries, awesomeness. Flavor isn’t as good but is still excellent in it’s own right. Put off drinking this one for a while for some reason, but I was very pleased with the results.

Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of roasted and caramel, herbs for the hops, musty basement and earth for the yeast, and background notes of brown sugar, alcohol, clove, red wine, and slight boozy hint. Head is large, rocky, off-white, with excellent lacing and is fully lasting. Color is murky, dark brown with a dense amount of small particles. Flavor is heavily sweet and moderately acidic to start and the finishes is moderately acidic and lightly bittersweet. Palate is medium, syrupy, has a lively carbonation and finishes lightly alcoholic. A great, well rounded Belgian Strong.

Soft Belgian aroma from the bottle, candied at times, doggy at others. From a tulip glass, I got the distinct aromatic impression of McDonald’s french fries with ketchup. Go figure. Good bottle, label, foggy brown beer with a lot of fizz and a fluffy tan head. Sweet and sour, earthy, astringent. Trailing witchcraft herb aftertaste. The middle was vacant, like a melted, watery chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream bar. The foam is unmercifully metallic. The Saint blew the shift here. MSL, on markdown.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a creamy tan head that left plenty of lacing. Aroma was malty and yeasty with dark fruit, raisins, candi sugar and a bit of caramel. Flavor is deep and rich with caramel, belgian yeast, dark fruit, brown sugar and winter spices with a full body and a nice dry warming finish. Excellent xmas brew

bottle. pours a dark brown with a thick foamy tan head. looks like specs of cinimmon in the head. smooth. a little past christmas by now but still a good beer

Brown bottle, 750 ml, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savoured on April 4 2009; eye: reddish brown with caramel reflections, lightly hazy, good effervescence, voluminous beige head that falls and turns into a nice sheet, lots of lacing; nose: lots of caramel malt, spices, coriander, clove, liquorice, light tobacco, yeast, bread, sugar, candied fruits; mouth: lots of caramel malt, spices, light coriander, lots of liquorice, light hops, though I do not taste the alcohol I can feel it, sugar, candied fruits, clove, finale in liquorice with presence of malt and spices, full body, slightly harsh texture, mildly sweet, slight astringency, slightly bitter, rather carbonated; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 750 ml, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savourée le 4 avril 2009; œil : brun-roux avec des reflets caramels, légèrement voilée, bonne effervescence, mousse beige abondante qui tombe et se transforme en une bonne couverture, beaucoup de dentelle; nez : beaucoup de malt caramel, épices, coriandre, réglisse, léger tabac, levure, pain, sucre, fruits confits, clou de girofle; bouche : beaucoup de malt caramel, épices, léger coriandre, beaucoup de réglisse, léger houblon, bien qu’on ne goûte peu l’alcool on le sent quand on boit, sucre, fruits confits, clou de girofle, finale en réglisse avec présence de malt et épices, corsé, texture légèrement rugueuse, moyennement sucrée, très légère astringence, très légèrement amère, plutôt carbonatée; en résumé : bien aimé