Corsendonk Christmas Ale

This beer came dark black with a slight purple glow. Smelled of cloves, prunes and bread dough. Tasted almost like fruit cake with maraschino cherry, red grapes, ginger and rye bread. Mouth feel was medium with a light carbonation. This was a lot of fun to drink. The next time I have one of these, I’d like to be in front of a fire on a cold winter day with some ginger bread cookies.

Nice dark brown pour with a smallish beige head. I was overwhelmed by the sweetness of this beer. Little in the way of fruits and spices. Finished with a tartiness. I was pretty disappointed.

750 mL bottle, BB 9/25/05. Poured a clear, deep garnet with a tall, creamy cap of beige head. Nose was quite spicy, with dark fruits (plums, raisins, and figs) and herbal hoppage. Flavor began with the darker fruits (plums prominent)... with smoked beechwood plus woody and herbal hops across the middle, and mild citrus at the edges. Finish was of dark fruit, alcohol, and smoked herbs. Smooth across the middle, but a bit fizzy at the front and back-ends. Solid brew.

Bottle. Dark brown. Genearly a very sweet beer. Dominating sweetness in aroma and taste, a little fruits and spices. But a pleasant sweetness.

Bottle. Poured a dark brown with a creamy tan head. Aroma is primarily malty, hints of clove, fruit, spiciness, and raisins. Flavor is malty as well. Tasting raisins, smoke, malts, roastiness, some slight sourness, and toffee. A dry taste from beginning to end but it doesn’t take anything away from the beer. A fairly good beer.

A hazy ruddy brown with a dense light grey to cream colored head. The nose is lightly tart (that typical Belgain smell). Assertive dark sweet malts suggest molasses beside the light cloves and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is substantial and creamy, though there’s a bit of unexpected chalkiness that bugs me a bit. The flavors are really very nice. Sweet dark malt, with bright hints of caramel and roasty notes at the extremes. A hint of that typical Belgain sourness, though not nearly so overwhelming as most Belgian styles I’ve had, bringing to mind lemon in particular. (Perhaps that’s why this is the one most to my liking!) Dark figgy flavors and smokiness seem to mingle with cinnamon and cloves. In later sips I even detected that bubblegum flavor usually characteristic of a good barleywine. A slight astringency gives this a nice parting herbal bitterness. The cinnamon notes also linger in the finish. A nice brew, I just wish the bottle were bigger! Appearance: 4, Aroma: 7, Palate: 3, Flavor: 8, Overall 17 Update: 8.1.15: 2006 vintage? Appearance: 4, Aroma: 7, Palate: , Flavor: 7, Overall 16: I like this beer still, but not as much. Much of the description is really spot on. Now I’ve have had better, and this reminds me a decent dubel, but there’s much more character I think here than in most one-dimensional dubel. More toast and fruit for one. I less smoke than I remember. I think I’m now picking up this flavor as "Brett." Aha, I knew I’d figure it out one day! A bit more alcoholic than I remember. Now I find the body a bit on the fuller side, though perhaps there is a suggestion of chalk? Perhaps they don’t filter the spices out. Note: new rating reflected.

Brown with a bubbly white head. Malty, raisins, slight sourness, some smoky flavours, some spice, some peach. Fairly smooth on the palate.

12 oz bottle. Very nice deep brown pour with a fluffy tan head. Aromas were very sweet dark fruit. Raisin, molasses, spice. The flavor was very different. Very Dry. Still some dark fruit, but way drier than I had expected.. Not bad, but I expected more i guess.