De Ranke Père Noël

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Belgian Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Bottle. Amber beer with a huge off-white head. Easrthy, spicy hop aroma with some sweet malt. Spicy, sweet, earthy flavor with pepper and some xmas spices and caramel. Lingering spice. Medium body. Strange spice/hop bitterness combination that gets better.

750ml bottle, with a best by of 11 2010. Pours a very hazy orange with a frothy two finger head, that settles slowly to a thick cap, leaving behind a thin, patchy lacing. Smell; mildly spicy and a little musty. There’s a little bit of hops in there as well. Pretty nice, but the aromas are fairly subdued, with nothing really standing out all that much. Taste; I was pretty surprised with the first few sips, because there was some nice fruit flavors that were not present in the nose. There’s some mangoes and pears, but there’s also a touch of some tart fruits. This finishes with a mild peppery spiciness, with a some bittering hops, and really dry. Mouthfeel/Drinkabiliity; mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a bit of a biting carbonation in the finish. Drinkability but would be better if it were not quite so dry.

bottle from World of Beer - just not one of my favorite Belgian at all! Malty but taste was abit off for me - hard to explain

Pale orange-brown colour and a musty aroma. Very dry and bitter taste with some maltiness.

Bottle@Oud Arsenaal, Antwerpen. Cloudy amber with a great lacing offwhite head. Hoppy nose, grassy. Good malty base, but grassy hops shines through. Very bitter, reminds me of Hommelbier. Well-carbonated, medium to full body. A nice one.

330 ml bottle, from BevMo LaJolla. Hazy amber-pecan color with a moderate creamy head that leaves stringy lace. Fruity malts, with apricot, lemon bread, spice and clover, floral hops, honey, alcohol hints and a touch of phenols. Nice sweet/tart/spicy flavor, hawaiian breads, orange peel, quince, lemon, peach herbs, coriander, clove and brown sugar. Medium body, light and smooth carbonation. On draft at O’Briens. Arrived clear bright copper color with a fluffy off-white head. Aroma of yeasty spiced bread, light fruits and floral notes. Flavor is similar to the aroma, with the addition of figs and some earthiness. Medium body and tickling carbonation. Quite nice.

Comes in a paper wrapped, capped, corked 750 ml. green bottle with a best before date, 11.2010, and a bottling date, 11.2005, on the paper wrapper. Poured a cloudy reddish orange with a frothy, rocky white head that settled into a thin, sudsy, creamy lacing, minimal amount of sticking. Aromas of tropical fruits, minerals, earthy and musty, and pepper spicy hops. Good, slightly fizzy, carbonation and a crisp, dry, slick, smooth medium bodied mouthfeel. Tastes of peppery, herbal, grassy hops with a soft bitterness, a soft tropical fruitiness, some earthy muskiness, a flash of alcohol flavor towards the end, and a dry herbal, musty, sweet malty finish. A pleasant holiday seasonal, interesting taste, easy drinkability, not bad.

Bottle. Pours to a hazy orange body under a frothy white head. Water melon rind, thyme, and light cornflakes in the aroma - appetizing. The flavor brings in green pepper spice and leaf hops over light pale malt. Finishes with a dry toastiness. Interesting spicy hops in this guy but overall not that original.