2.7 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 11/20
330 ml bottle (bb 09/2013) from a Belgian Christmas Sampler Pack at Bevmo Salinas. Nose is caramel, cloves, yeast, and a hint of red wine. Very lightly hazy copper with a medium beige head. Flavor is a bit vegetal, with bitter, and caramel notes. Not a great BSA!
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Clear copper of colour with a beige head. An aroma of caramel, sweets and liqurice. A flavor of caramel, malt and bread.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle pours amber with an average off-white head and excellent lacing throughout. Aroma of flowers and light fruits. Flavors of apple, pear, honey, and ginger with a metallic and light hop finish.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
a cloudy copper looking brew that simply put is a very good take on an alcoholic gingerale, ale. gingerale taste and carbonation with a vegetable and fruit finish. a hop character of breathing in pineforest from overhead in cold weather. frothy and moderate in body. done well. the yeast invigorates well and the alcohol is warming with a soulfullness.
3.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Fruity, with holiday spices. It is a cloudy brew that doesn’t pack a huge alcoholic punch but was a nice drinker on Christmas day.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
330 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 8.5%. Dark amber to copper colour, cloudy in the end, big off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of brown bread and caramel, hints of brown kandi sugar and oak. The flavour is malty and medium sweet with notes of caramel, brown sugar and brown bread, some spicy notes too, moderate hops in the finish. Warming mouthfeel. Quite nice.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
750ml from Total Wine, Durham. It’s a failure of the imagination not to have this beer’s label be a photo from the giants parade. Bummer. Nice heavy pour, dusty amber and with a big sticky head. Nose of mellowed yeast and spice, kinda bread pudding-ish. Mouthfeel is moderately sticky, with a touch of heat as well. Nothing about the flavor really stands out when compared with Carolus, Chouffe, or other solid holiday entries. But overall, I found it to be a decent, faded, spicy BSA.
3.4 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
750ml The beer pours a reddish orange with a big head that fades and maintains it’s self in smallness. The aroma is clove, apple, allspice, and wet cardboard. As the beer warms the cardboard aroma lesses giving way to some nice rose like scents. All in all there are nice things going on in the aroma here but that crappy cardboard thing just sort of throws them all off. The flavor is much better and does not taste particularly oxidized at all as I had expected from the aroma. Instead I’m presented with a dry hoppy beer reminiscent in these characteristics of Orval with less if any brettanomyces influence. The beer is spicy and has plenty of nice fruity and earthy notes. This just falls a tad short of magnificence, I’ll likely try it again next year if it comes this way.
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