Val-Dieu Bière de Noël

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye du Val-Dieu
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Aubel, Belgium

[bottle from Galerie Pivni, expiry "End of Dec, 2005"] Dried fruits, EtOH, wood, soft banana, butterscotch, oak, vinous sourness = aroma. Poured very clear until I added the dregs. Quite effervescent with a rocky head that recedes to a lasting, lacy, thick, white cover. Sour, citrusy, candy flavour with plenty of spice and dried fruit notes. Nice, but not as complex as the aroma let on. Light body, highly carbonated, a little sweet but in a good way.

0.33 l bottle. Copper-amber color with thick creamy head. Sweet, thick and musty aroma with toffee, nail polish remover, mint, orange and pineapple. Fruity flavor with orange, pineapple, raspberry, toffee and melon with sharp alcohol note. Sticky and musty, unpleasant.

Bottle. Dark golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruit, yeast. Flavour is fruit, yeast, sweet, spicy, alcohol.

Aroma of acidic malt! Beautiful amber color, tiny bubbles and a head that dissipates, but laces a bit. Starts with icey (not spicey) dried fruit. Passes to yeasty malt via a series of unusual but pleasant flavors. Sort of ends with mild sweetness balanced by hop. Yeast plays around a bit. It does start a bit thin, but swishing develops a significant mouth feel.

Medium light beige head over hazy reddish brown body. Light rubbery aroma. Taste is acidic tobacco with notes of paper and chalk. This is useless. I wonder if my bottle was off, given how highly others have rated this beer. I should find another and rerate. (0.33l bottle.)

Bottle. Amber colour with a huge beige head. Aroma and flavour of spices, caramel, fruit and yeast.

Bottle from Utobeer. Opaque amber with a thin creamy off white head. Smells delicious, like chestnuts and cinnamon with alcohol apparent in the nose. Taste is a bit of a let down after that aroma, slightly watery and bland. The spice is there but hidden underneath the watery finish. Goes down so smooth you barely know it’s there...All bark, no bite as they say.

Bottle. Fizzy with huge fluffy beige head mostly lasting. Slight hazy copper/orange body. Initial fruity aroma of citrus, dried fruits and banana followed by yeast, spices and caramel. Taste is yeast and toasted sweet malts, raisins and mild spices. Lively, medium-bodied with a short sourish/dry finish.