Abbaye des Rocs Speciale Noel

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

750 ml bottle opened at the very end of the Ratebeer Mondial gathering, so I got a nice big sample, ha ha! Lasting big white frothy head atop a dusky brownish yeasty body...thick bready, farmy, caramel-infused nose with hints of tobacco...in the body, black tea seems to appear in a dream dominated by cigar ash, wine-filled caramels, and prunes...toasty, smoky finish...a bit of a disappointment from this fine brewer, too harsh and ashy, but interesting and worthy of a second try under less palate-destroyed conditions.

From tap. Cloudy, red-brown beer with a small creamy head. Sweet malty aroma. Sweet spicy start with a slightly chalky bitter finish. A nice soft beer.

Dark brown with small head. Candy-like aroma and taste (funny sweetness!?!), figs and dates. Medium body. Think this will age well.

Red/brown with a lot of yeast. Nice creamy head. Nutty toffee aroma with figs and some banana. Flavor is nutty, with sweet fruits, some toffee. Creamy finish.

Aroma:Sugar,raisin and strawbery... Appearance:Hazy red amber,good head,chunk of yeast... Flavor:Sugar and strawbery...

Bottle at Kulminator. This orange/brown ale poured with a modest beige head and a strong toffee aroma. There is a robust caramel flavor with a slight amount of carbonation and a little hop bitterness at the finish.

750ml bottle, hazy dark amber hue, with some floaties swirling around and a white head, yeasty, spicy, fruity nose, with some toasty, caramelized malt notes, with a chocolatey, curaçao, clove spiciness, with some aromas of dark dried fruits of raisin, date and plum follow through on a full-bodied palate with a yeasty, fruity, spicy, toasted, caramelized malt character, with some candied orange peel, raisiny, datey, plummy accents, with a hint of nutmeg, clove, brown chocolate, some candy sugar, within a warmth mouthfeel, leading towards a malty, chocolatey, warming finish.

2000 vintage (7 years old) at the Kulminator, only 3euro. pours dark with red tint and creamy tan head. nose is pretty awesome with fruity notes of raisins and berries with big caramel malts and hints of toffee and tobacco. flavor is bold, dark, fruits, and tobacco. there’s a charred note to it that seems to bottom out the palate leaving it flat and short, possibly this has well past its peak but the soul of this beer is still intack as well as its fine flavor. mouth feel is full carbonation perfect and smooth a nice beer but the charred note seems inappropriate and doesn’t enhance the beer but overwhelms the other delicate notes.