 mikey (319), farmington, Utah, USA
May 1, 2008
Pores a slightly hazy dark amber color with a solid head that dissipates into a thin cap of foam. The nose is of toasty malts with a boozy perfume of peach, prune, nutmeg and clove.
The tastes starts sweet with honey, dates and nutmeg. Oak and vanilla finish it out, with burnt cherry and cinnamon notes carry you into the finish. Smooth, sweet malt body with just enough of a hint of hop bitterness to keep it from becoming cloying. A very nice holiday brew that goes down as well as any high ABV Belgian brew. The 10% abv is well hidden, opening the door for the pink elephants to sneak-up and molest you.
MakeItDrinkIt (50), Portland, Oregon, USA
Jul 14, 2008 Deep mahogany amber crytal clear color with a medium frothy light-tan head. Aroma is alcoholic, yeasty and dark dried fruits with a bit of spice and caramel. Flavor is big dark caramelly malts. Well balanced with a bit of spices and come alcoholic notes toward the end as it warms in my mouth.
azlondon (461), Greater London, England
Jul 1, 2008 Appearance: Redish brown. Very little head.
Aroma: Fruit, prunes. Bit of alcohol. Sweet.
Taste: Sweet, fruit. Raisins? Warming. Quite nice.
Info: 330ml bottle, 11/2-2008
ansermadide (145), Kyle, Texas, USA
Jun 30, 2008 (11.2oz bottle from Whip-in at home on June 30, 2008) The opener rips the red foil-covered cap off the faux-ceramic bottle with a light *pfsht*. Thing about colored bottles is you have no idea what’s inside them until you pour. The suspense thickens. Pours a comfortable Belgian color into my snifter, leaving a thick light-brown head that’s very fizzy - so much that it pops itself away in about 15-20 seconds, leaving no lacing and a light but constant supply of bubbles rising to the surface. Looks clear, but thick from a birds-eye view but more solid from the side. Aroma is of spice, yeast, and sweet malts. Flavor... very yeasty and spicy - not too malty, but just enough. A fine balance. What struck me the most is the immediate tingling I felt on the tip of my tongue as the beer first enters the mouth. A warm body, sweet, goes down easy. Can’t even tell this is 10% ABV. My tongue would guess 8% max. Leaves a spicy aftertaste, rising from the throat. Very cool beer.
REDBOSOX (28), Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, USA
Jun 6, 2008 This is a fantastic Belgian beer that really sneaks up on you. It’s 10% ABV but doesn’t taste like it. It goes down very smoothly. I just drank one in about 10 minutes. My bottle actualy says Christmas on it and it’s directly from Belgium. I haven’t seen one that says Noel before. No wonder there’s a pink elephant on the bottle. You’ll see them if you drink these too fast!
Tmoney99 (3414), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Jun 1, 2008 Bottle from River’s Bend. Poured hazy brown color with a large fizzy brown head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma was as complex heavy spicy sweet and yeast. Medium body with a smooth texture. Heavy dark fruit bittersweet flavor with a heavy bittersweet finish with medium alcohol bite. Good brew.
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