Winterkoninkske (Winter King)

Brewed by Brouwerij Kerkom
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Sint-Truiden, Belgium

Bottle. Pours a clear dark amber with a quickly dissipating light brown head. Aroma is quite one note with sweet malts, particularly caramel notes. Flavor is sweet with caramel and cereal notes with and undertone of liquor and just a touch of hops. Beer is particularly rich and smooth.

33 cl (11.2 oz) bottle, $3.49 at Binny’s, July 09. Probably not so much a "winter warmer" as a simple seasonal; but Belgian style, so you get high malt and alcohol content anyway. A sweet malty smell starts up as soon as I open the cap. Notes of brown sugar, black cherry, currant jam, and sloe gin. The initial pour, into a narrow tulip glass, brings up a lot of fizzy bubbles along the side, leading to nice spritzy head like a C-O-L-A co-ho-la. Taste follows up the aroma with sugary sweetness, more traces of the fruit flavors from the nose, A bit of aged hop comes out late in the glass. Some of the yeast from the refermentation is present, too, so pour this bottle carefully if you want to avoid the dregs. Sweetness never takes over, which could come easily when this beer has a soda sized amount of carbonation. Instead, juniper contributes to a slightly dry finish that keeps this beer enjoyable.

Bottle. Sweet aroma filled with malt, raisins and prunes. Dark brown colour with a red tone and large light brown head. Sweet slightly spiced flavour which ends with some nice hops bitterness. Malt, prunes and alcohol.

Dark brown beer with a large coffee coloured head that quickly faded to leave a constant thin band, aroma is sweet and licorice. Taste is malty, brown sugar and slightly toasty but saying that a little muted - alcohol is very well hidden.

Brown colour with a medium white head. Aroma is malt and brown sugar. Flavor is very sweet of brown sugar, a little too much. But a okay winter warming beer with a long bitter aftertaste.

Initial smell is chocolate, brown sugar, and hints of sweet berry. Dark brown with a cola like head that is creamy. Tastes of chocolate, oats, a little berry mixed in. Overall a very nice holiday brew that is perfect for the cold weather, and I plan to enjoy it each Christmas that follows!

330. Pours an opaque dark brown with a thick, surging, towering, creamy tan head that looks just too good to drink. Actually, whether it’s too good to drink, it’s just too big to drink, because you need to wait five minutes before you tip this one unless you want a nose full of foam. Big shortbread, date, and fig nose. Quite Christmassy indeed. Creamy body on the high side of medium, almost thick. Nutty, datey, figgy, shortbready and slightly toasty mid-palate. Very much in the spirit of the mid-winter holidays, sweet and complex. Rewards you for drinking contemplatively. High enough abv to punish you for drinking quickly. Hides the booze well though. Nice little Christmas ale.