Val-Dieu Bière de Noël

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

Oct 2005 vintage Pours a light brownish color w/ hints of amber and a large fluffy white well laced head. Yeasty oddly sweet and spiced aroma definate bread notes some light black pepper and a touch of vanilla and carmel w/ some other light fruits. Palate coats well and is nicely creamy. Flavor is lightly spiced a light pepper and some good carmels some allspice, some other spices I can’t place and a good bread dough some light fruits. Quite nice.. Thanks to Blake for sharing.

Bottled. Nice-looking beer, unclear, sparkling, dark orange body and a huge, creamy, lasting off-white head. Yeasty start in the aroma, with fruityness and sweetness following up. Fruity flavor with caramel-notes and some spices. The finish is quite sweet, with just some bitterness. Medium to full body, and not to forget; nice lacings. A nice beer? Yes. Christmas-feeling? No. (061129)

Bottle at Hörnan, Stockholm. Amber/orange color, huge white head. Fruity, malty aroma with vanilla, peach andtoffee notes. Fruity flavor with some herbal notes. A bit spicy.

330 ml bottle. Hazy, pale, light brown body with a thick, exploding beige head. Fresh, sweet aroma with traces of yeast (reminds me a little bit of an old cellar.) Flavor is fruity, sweet, spicy and well balanced bitter with some alcohol. A really nice Belgium ale.

Bottle. Nice big head with good duration. Color is brown. Aroma is sweet and fruity. Taste is sweet and fruity too. Good finish.

330 ml brown bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget). ABV is 7%. Hazy brown colour, huge head. Okay fruity aroma (orange peel and dark fruits) with notes of spices and oak. Flavour is moderately spicy and fruity with a fairly soft mouthfeel. Not the most complex Belgian I’ve had, but decent enough. Over-priced in Norway, though.

Not the best Christmas ever but pretty good all the same. One of those Christmases where you don’t get everything you want but finish up reasonably satisfied. Best thing about this was how it looked: hazy bronze with busy carbonation, an enormous souffle head and great retention. Couldn’t fault it. The aroma was rich, sweet and alcoholic. There were figgy Xmas cake notes, glace cherries, strong Vegemite yeastiness and a mead-like herbal note. The latter got me wondering what this would be like warmed up? If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out - beermail me, I’d love to know. Medium bodied and initially creamy. Disappointingly, the flavours weren’t as robust as the aroma. It showed toffee apples and pale malts before a warming salt-and-pepper finish that you can feel in the stomach lining. It was sweet but not overpowering, with moderate bitterness. Goes a bit AWOL in the mid-palate. Couldn’t help but feel slightly dudded after that wonderful appearance and promising aroma. This was like a beautifully wrapped Xmas parcel that turns out to contain socks. Nice socks - not stinky, holey, used socks or stupid socks with stupid slogans - but socks nonetheless. (33cl bottle from trade with Papsoe - thanks Henrik! No visible ’best-by’ date)

A nice light toffee ambered brown color thats fairly clear fills the goblet with some slow but always active streams of bubbles. A small/mediumish, yet firmly smoothed and compacted capping of slightly tanned and grayed foam sits atop with good length. Tons of lacing coats the glass with lots of powdery spots and a glaze of frosty sheeting. Aroma is mild yet well fitting within a malt laden nose that resembles most bock-type smells. Toffee, plum, dried apricot, and fig dance lightly, with a dash of bakery spice, but with a clean, approachable roundedness thats sweetened and deep. Flavors are much like the nose. A nicely played out mildness in tone of malts that gather in a rounded fruity, darkened sweetness with some nice notions to peach, apricot, and plum surrounded but a tender toffee undertow. Slightly spicy in a few areas that speak of vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar develope as it finishes. some nice little sticky areas remain in the sweet toffeeish malts. Feel is very creamy and smooth with a fullish medium body of silken maltyness that glides down with amazing ease throughout each sip. Just the right amount of carbonation grab hits the front and middle. Nice and lengthy with a semi chewy body that really sticks the malts on the palate and memory. Especially in the finish. The cinnamom and vanilla spice make for a nice delight as the malts soak in. Very creamy and drinkable as the lower 7% for a Tripel makes this nearly effortless to put back. A beautifully made beer that nurtures and cares for your palate with a yummy, rounded, delicate, smooth, creamy, maltyness which endures the likes of its own presense in the mind as well as the palate. You then ponder how they can make such a lovely beer. Solidly delish!