Corsendonk Christmas Ale

Brewed by Du Bocq
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Purnode-Yvoir, Belgium

Dark brown and hazy, with no head retnetion. Nose of caramelized candy sugar, porto, and alcool. Nice wonderful taste of sugars at first followed by torrefied malts in second, with a peak of alcool warmth and finishing with smooth hops in the end. Vanilla comes out near the end. Rich body which also varies in time, keeping the beer interesting. 8-4-8-5-16

Corsendonk Festivus 2004, on tap at Moan and Dove, Feb. 10, 2006.Dark reddish brown with a thin off white head. Aroma of prunes, candy sugar, apples and licorice. In mout, nice maderization of sugars, with nice raisin notes, light hops, sweet candi sugar, smooth and pleasant. 8-4-8-4-15

Appears to be a 2002 bottle (best before Sep/2004, just arrived in stores). Head is initially average-sized, fizzy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark orange-brown, light density of tiny particles. Aroma is moderately malty (caramel, cookie, milk chocolate), moderately yeasty (cobwebs, mold), with notes of clove, orange, and anise. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is lightly acidic, heavily bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. The malt sweetness isn’t nearly rich/thick enough to match the big bitter finish, making this stark, thin, and unbalanced. Aroma is a bit yeast-heavy, but otherwise pleasant. Well hidden alcohol. Third [and almostly certainly final] review, not a fan.

Bottle. Creamy white fully lasting head, dark brown colour. Fantastic aroma with loads og orange and licorice, flavor just as good as aroma. Wonderfull palate, and it doenst taste of 8,5 ABV

Medium-brown, little head that dies quickly; looked like a barley wine. Strong brandy/plum aroma/flavor, with some noticeable alcohol, licorice, raisins, perhaps just a hint of nutmeg, and more bitterness than I expected. Warming, good body, slight astringency at the end. I looked forward to this for a while; though the holiday I drank it closest to is Halloween, I am pleased.

Bottle from Johns Marketplace in Portland OR. Dark reddish tinged amber color with a slight beige head. Aroma is sweet darkish malt with fruit cake? Citron? Medium body with frothy carbonation. Flavor is darkish malt, with non-hot spice and fruit cake. It’s damn pleasant, and there’s no way I would suspect this is 8.5 abv. I would not argue with -smoky, spicy and citrus-, but I don’t know that I would figure that out on my own. Finish is pretty balanced. This is a really, really good ale.

Dark brown body with some garnett highlights. The huge head is a light khaki color. The aroma has cinnamon, toffee and some pears. There is also a hint of chocolate. The taste has some light pears with vanilla and cola. There is also chocolate in the finish. A nice and light body for the large abv. A solid Christmas beer.

Molasses and citrus blend nicely with bready and spicy notes in the chewy malt forward aroma. Opaque darkest brown body is topped by a huge and fluffy, fine bibbled tan head that recedes slowly and coats the glass with lace. Bready malts are joined by a treacly sweetness with some spice and citrus fruitiness. Never cloying and alcohol is never apparent. Tannins and light orange character emerge and strengthen as it warms. Very drinkable. Medium body with moderate effervescence that bombards the tongue with pointy little bubbles. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature. Bottle (BB 16/09/07, leftover from YeHa 2005).

All 3 bottles I had of this holiday beer were outstanding. Complex on the nose and palate with hint of figs, caramel, semi-sweet chocolate, nutmeg. Spices are noticeable but do not dominate, great balance of sweet and tart, the alcohol actually helps clean the palate leaving a smooth aftertaste. Can't wait to try next years offering. A fan of all Corsendonk beers.