Bush de Nuits (Scaldis Prestige de Nuits)

Brewed by Dubuisson
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Pipaix, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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75 cl. bottle sample @ 18th Christmasbeer festival in Essen. Comparable wine / barrel profile to Prestige & RR Consecration – same barrels used (Prestige & this, not Consecration & this), I believe. This one hasn’t got the weird additional flavours, much clearer, more wine, great stuff. Dark amber / fox red with a white head on the sides. Nose is very vinous, lots of sweeter red wine, red wine grapes, sweetly fruity, oak. Taste is sour grapes, lots of old wine soaked wood, Bordeaux, red wine, sugar, malts, some herbs, oaky in the back, light tannin’s, candy, vanilla, ripe fruits. Cleared out body, some oak dryness. Lovely stuff – really elevates the base, great wine (lots) added.

Bottle from 2009, thanks Meisty! Pours unclear thick syrupy amber in color with tons of sediment, small floaties, in the the brew. The aroma is sweet bringing whiskey like notes from the oak, definitely wood coming through. The flavor is sweet as well, the wine shines through nicely with some malty sweetness. The flavor is so smooth for such a high ABV, bringing virtually no heat at all.

Bottle. Clear dark amber/light brown body with a sparse off-white head. Aroma and taste of stone fruit (cherries), wood, toast and port. Geuze like in some respects, but with a rich, warming body. Balanced body, with a slightly bitter finish. Low carbonation, medium bodied, warming.

UPDATED: DEC 16, 2012 Sampled at OBER Kerstbierfestival 2012. A bit unclear amber colored brew, virtually no head. Smell and taste malts, lots of alcohol, some sourness, spicy as well. Pretty sharp and spicy. Fizzy carbonation, medium body. Not my thing.

Bottle at VANØ Bergen’s Christmas Gathering 2012. Pours a hazy nut brown body with a small white head. Aroma is oaky vinegar-like herbal tones, hints of caramel, dark malts and alcohol. Taste is well-rounded wooden dark malt tones, herbs, hints of hay and red wine. Medium to full body and carbonation. Nice enough, and very original. This is a beer that, due to the barrel aging, straddles in the middle of the road between a BSA and a sour. Interesting, but I had higher hopes somehow.

Pours dark orange with visible sediment and a long lasting white head. Chardonnay dominates the nose. There is a sour oakey taste that finishes oh so smoothly. Enjoyed at Monk’s cafe in Philly. $40 for a 750ml.

Grazie a Sabrina per la bottiglia. Birra da grandi occasioni, proprio per questo sembra risultarmi poco bevibile, con i suoi esteri, la sua dolcezza che ricorda i canditi, la quantità di alcool importante.riesce comunque a rimanere una birra di livello, elegante, nobile.

My Bottom Line:
Apple cider and farmhouse character seep from this Barrel-Aged Belgian Strong Ale’s aroma, leading to wooden intensity, bubblegum and alcohol warmth.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the misty red.
-Fruitiness is also redolent of black cherries.
-The soft prickling of carbonation makes the beer feel even more intense flavor-wise.
-Wooden tannins are prominent throughout.
-I was expecting more elegance from the Nuits St-Georges barrel; this is very flavorful, but perhaps too brash to truly be world-class. Too expensive too for my wallet.

Bottle.

Bottle. Brown hazy pour with tan cloudy head. Aroma is full of red wine and oak tones. Flavor is more wide spread, some oak, wine, light Belgian sugars, some darker malt tones. Well done.

Bottle at Belgian Beer Weekend, Brussels. The colour is very hazy dark amber with a very small off-white head. Sour aroma of wood, leather, rowanberries and cloudberries. A bit sweet flavour of red currants, sweet berries, wood and leather. Has a slick mouthfeel, and a light bitterness. A fantastic and complex ale.