Kerst Pater Special Christmas

75cl bottle from Knightly Spirits (Orlando, FL). Pours a dark mocha brown with a one finger tan head that settles quickly to nothing. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of toffee, caramel, syrup, and dark ripe fruits. Flavor is very similar to the aroma with brown sugar, syrup, and sweet malt notes. Generally medium body with a sweet and slightly tart finish. Nice ale.

(750 ml bottle from Tully’s) Soft and tasty...Pours very dark cola brown with one finger of khaki head. Aroma of brown sugar, dark fruits, candy-malt and molasses. Mouthfeel soft, light, smooth, almost buttery. Quite nice. Flavor of dark chocolate and dark fruit sweetness. Lighter notes of brown sugar and molasses, perhaps plum. Light spice towards finish. A light bit of hops tickles the tongue. Sort of reminded me taste-wise of Allagash Odyssey and to a lesser extent a quad like Rochefort 10. ABV well-hidden. Very nice.

33cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, complex X-Mas brew, hazy, good head, the best of the Pater Lieven range

750ml corked bottle from 2006 and served in my large Karmeliet tulip: Pours a deep ruddy brown with a long lasting fizzy tan head on top and clinging lace. The aroma is interesting to say the least with hints of fig and pomegranate, white wine vinegar, cardamom and kaffir lime leaves, pumpernickel and rye bread, bakers bitter chocolate, herbal hops, and some horse blanket yeast esters which all told I am sort of digging to whole nose on this one. The taste does not match or meet the expectations of the aroma. sweet syrupy fruits and malt over a layer of earthy yeast components. Some spice, band-aid and candi sugars upon the finish. The whole flavor profile seems to be a bit too muddled and lacks focus. The mouth feel is fizzy and a not rich nor oily enough for all those weird flavors going on. Initially I liked what was going on but in the end found disappointment. Methinks aging did little for this brew or perhaps I have not aged it long enough?

Sweet, fruity, grape-berry aroma with yeast and light vinegar. Pretty opaque, a tight, fine-grained, bone colored head. Fizzy, light vinegar, fruity, mouldering, candied flavor with a little vanilla. Spritzy mouthfeel, herbal bitter finish with lingering sweetness. Metal on the lips. Liquor Loft, closeout rack.