Abbaye des Rocs Speciale Noel

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

Pours a gorgeous dark honey color. Cloudy with lots of yeast present. Good cappuccino like tan head that persists. Sweet, yeasty smell, reminiscent of prunes, dark fruits. Fizzy in the mouth. Flavor is sweet but not too much. Lots of dried dark fruits/molasses. Little bitterness present. Incredibly delicious ale. One of the best Belgian I have tried. A+

0.75 l bottle, one year old bottle - best before 2004, 9% ABV. Aroma of Raisins in rum, caramel, yeasty wood, port, a bit lemon. Dark chestnut brown coloring, impressive creamy tan head. Flawors are dark and wooden: A bit brown sugar, christmas spices, a bit citrus, cedar notes. The spicy aftertaste peters off nicely, but a little bit too quick. Body could be a little bit more powerfull. Very nice - this is really what a christmas beer should be like. Reading the other reviews it seems like lagering this beer for a year does it a lot of good.

Fruity and heavy at the same time. Extremely well tasting and well balanced. Quite yeasty, but not too much. Very drinkable in spite of the 9 abv. Nice big head and heavy sediment. A relly mice Belgian Strong ale. Extremly nice fruity aroma. Very complex.

Bottle Conditioned. BBE 2007. Same strength as the ordinary Abbaye des Rocs - 9%. This is a wonderful beer. Soft, delicious and full of flavours. The flavours are very very similar to the standard Abbaye - though the alcohol doesn't make itself felt, the head is much bigger, and there are lumps of yeast in my glass. Very special. I would grade this as high as the standard, except I feel I may have perhaps given the standard a mark too high. I've adjusted the standard down to match this.

(Bottle, best before 2007) Pours a murky dark brown body with an average creamy light brown head and excellent lacing retention. Complex aroma of nuts, fresh baked bread warm out of the oven, warm marshmallows, dark fruits (raisins, plums, dates), bourbon, and maple syrup. Flavor of rich dark fruit, roastiness, maple, and light spices. Just an incredible delight!

Caramel, toffee, dark pit fruits (raisin, plum, fig), ginger, coriander, chocolate, molasses in the complex, sweet, spicy aroma. Darkest mahogany-brown body shines with a ruby tone and is covered by an immense, lasting, dense, rocky, tan head that laces all the way down the glass. Brown sugar, molasses, doughy yeast, mild roasty bitterness and fair spiciness though not quite as thick and complex as the aroma suggests. Alcohol is never apparent. Medium-full body with soft texture in the mouth. Creamy, fine-bubbled low carbonation. Bottle. Thanks, JoeMcPhee!

Wow, I have never seen so much yeast in a commercial beer before (I assure you some of my homebrews had more!!). The beer is almost lumby from all the yeast! Body is hazy amber orange and has a nice light brown head. Aroma is sweet toffee, caramel, chocolate, raisins and fruit. Very sweet and delicious! Flavor is full with penetrating notes of roasted malt, hops, lots of fruit and christmas spices! A very flavorfull and complex beer that deserves a higher average rating!! Outstanding!!

Bottle, 10-5-9-4-17, 2003-10-26
Beautiful amber color; generous rocky head. Wonderful aroma, deep, of malt, wood, cellar, spices… vinous. Good body structure, malty, balanced by a pleasant sour note, and a late light sweetness. Very good final as well, balanced.

Keg, 8-5-8-4-16, 2003-01-12
Red-amber color. Wallnut, malt and caramel nose; slightly spicy. Balanced, powerful, well malty, a lot of caramel. Missing some originality, just an interesting light fruitness.