De Ranke Père Noël

Bottle from The beer Circus, Nov ’07. Pours murky amber / brown with large frothy head. Citrus fruity aroma / doughy / grassy. Taste is earthy / hoppy / some cloves & spice. Pretty enjoyable beer, nice offering from De Ranke.

(330 ml (bottled 7/07, part of a Shelton Bros. Christmas gift pack) from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/maine/topsham/bootleggers-beverage-warehouse/9056.htm target=blank>Bootleggers) Pours murky amber with a smallish off-white head. Aroma is fairly strong pine with a bit of rock candy. Mouthfeel is soft, smooth and medium-full. Flavor is mostly pine and bitter, not to the degree of a big IPA or anything but definitely tips the scale towards hops with only a weak malt backbone to support it. Very light rock candy and caramel malt sweetness underneath pine. Lingering bitter aftertaste. Not bad but not balanced enough.

Pours a hazy yellow/orange color with a sticky, long lasting, beige head. The aroma is mostly sourdough with some earthy hops. Flavors are dirty, earthy hops, with pine needles, musty horseblanket, and some mild clove. A very interesting beer, a little on the watery side, though.

On tap. Pours a hazy light amber with a small, white frothy head. Sweet with some bitterenss. Aroams of peaches and Belgian yeast. Light alcohol touch. Soft carbonation. Medium to full bodied. Long dry finish.

11.2 oz bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. Viewed as a hazed and gloomy bright orange with a firm topping of head. In the nose, light citrus is detected as well as spiced yeast and a soft reminder of soap. The flavor is very putrid and carries a strong sour and bitter taste that is not to my liking. Aftertaste is metallic strange. Glad I had only purchased the small bottle instead of the normal sized one.

The body looks very "unfiltered", but all doubts disappear when you start drinking it. This is one of the best Yulebeer I’ve had, and it surprised all my guest at +mas table.

Looks like a typical super hoppy ale in a goblet, but wow!!! cheers to the glorious taste of Belgian yeast and hops!! Lots of carbonation, lotsof light, repeat light, hoppy flavor, really refreshing and great with mouth coating foods like eggs and cheese. Well done!!

750 ml green champagne bottle. Crowned & corked. Best by date is 09/2012. Green paper wrapped bottle, no label. Poured out a dirty orange color, with a foamy tan head. Since this beer is only 3 months old, I’ll rate it as is. Aromas are of earthy noble hops, dry biscuit, yeasty funk. Flavors are yeasty funk, tingly carbonation, some damp basement. Well balanced, especially for a Belgian. Decent mouthfeel, lively & tingly. Finished semi dry.