De Ranke Père Noël

33 cl bottle. Creamy white good mostly lasting head. Orange colour. Heavy malty and hoppy aroma. Great orange notes. Moderate bitter flavor. Very fruity. Moderate bitter average finish. Oily palate. nice.

Bouteille de 330 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de caramel et d’épices avec une pointe d’houblon. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée voilée avec une fiable densité de bulle. Présence d’un large col crémeux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’houblons avec une pointe d’épices et de caramel. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère amertume d’houblon en arrière goût. (Rating #1885)

Bottled August 2007. A luminescent pour of marigold and a firm, but thin cap of white, slowly to recede. Aroma of cinnamon and pear flesh; herbal, sweet, and dark. An adhesive-like spicy-tart character that suggests the interplay of mature yeasts with still-fresh hops. Lightly papery with whispers of phenols, and abundant herbs and flowers; I can almost feel the bees gathering on this aroma. Still, it’s hidden in the basement; musty, dingy and damp; the best quality of the aroma is certainly the playfulness of the yeasts with the sparkly sharp edged hops. It seems at a pretty ideal point of age for that reason.

Flavor is a dried out apple, dusted in dandelion petals, autumn leaves, and jasmine flowers. A bright mineral glint, but it’s soft, and hazy. Coriander seeds. A bit of lemon. Flavors seem to pop up suddenly and all with great subtlety; none there to steal the show but for cameo only; this is a perfect approach for a beer of this style and exemplifies what’s so lovable about it. A creamy calm of wildflower honey in the middle, tempered in a plain wooden bitterness; at times seeming somewhat empty, but righting itself quickly, into a pleasant white fruit flavor toward the finish.

Palate is brisk and bright, while somewhat autumnal in feel; medium body, slightly sharp, and long in the end; bitterness of dandelion and herb character that gets quite papery. Good yeast and hop character throughout, with enough firmness underneath for it to seem fulsome despite its general light-heartedness. Another fine offering from one of my favorite breweries.

Hoppy smell. Golden orange appearance with big head. Spicy and hoppy taste. Smooth feel.

Here comes another Christmas beer which, like television specials, seem to come in every shape and form once December rolls around. I found the bottle charming with the pint sized Santa gnome attempting to tackle an equally tall glass, as this is how I often feel tackling a heavy 750mL bottle of beer sometimes, but I didn’t fear anything from this, the Pere Noel from De Ranke. The pour produces a thick and honey-esque liquid, covering a wide breadth of oranges and reds, and capped with 1 centimeter of plain, white foam. Flecks and specks float around the glass, indicating the raw, unfiltered creation of the beer. I find the smell is relatively faint, with a certain slightly hoppy dryness and a good wheat flavor, opposite a shade of pale ale astringency. The beginning of the sip has a low-key fruity touch, exhibiting lemon and orange, with some coriander spiciness added to the mix. The aforementioned hops pipes up a bit near the aftertaste until the beer is sent onto the esophagus, leaving behind only a pale ale sweetness. Really, an elegant, low n’ slow grapefruit bitter kind of beer with a Christmas touch. I’ll drink it, but I much prefer the Belgian "cheese and wood" approach to Christmas.