Abbaye des Rocs Speciale Noel

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

Bottle 0,33ltr:Hazy brown ale from this pleasant brewery, well sweet and very fruity.

On tap @ Delirium. Deep and rich in every description of this Christmas Beauty! Dried fruits, sugars and caramel malt add tons of complexities. Smooth finish as well.

Coloração âmbar escura/avermelhada. Creme bege razoável. Notas de café, torrefação, nozes e amêndoas. Presença de sedimentos grandes no fundo. Carbonatação média. Encorpada. Creme denso, mas não persistente. Final levemente seco e amargo.

Bottle Deep, muddy brown body. Off-white fizzy head. Aroma of hops, yeast (no caramel or spices as one would expect from the looks). Lightly bitter, lightly sweet flavour. Not very well balanced.

Pours a deep mahogany with the tan lace that one expects in a premium Belgian beer. The immediate aroma was cherries, but as the beer warmed to room temperature more complex aromas of raisins, currants, dried figs, and old bread. This is an oily, medium-bodied beer that feels well-carbonated. Very malty, as one would expect from the style. The taste is not as complex as the aroma. The dominant tastes I experienced were plums and a little bit of licorice.Notable absence of distinct hops, which again, is characteristic of the style. Dry alcohol finish. A bit of a metallic feel lingered on my tongue after swallowing. This is a Belgian strong ale. I expected a little more spiciness since it is a seasonal, but despite the absence of orange peel and coriander and other seasonal spices, this is a nice example of a Belgian strong ale.

33cl bottle- Dark brown/amber in colour with a bit of a haze. Peach and plums in the aroma. Plums and raisins in the taste. Quite sweet.

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330ml bottle. Murky brown with a persistent head. Sweet caramel aroma with a hint of liquorice and spices. I found the flavour to be rather disappointing - not that complex. Smooth palate though. Decent, but not a patch on some of the best Belgain noels. (edit: corrected bottle size)