St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Watou, Belgium

Color is a dark hazy brown. Carbonation is fizzy, creating a fluffy off white head. Aroma has a spiciness to it with some yeast and fruit. Taste is rich and spicy. Starting with a medium body it goes down fizzy with a lighter feel then I was excepting. Finish is a creamy toffee with a touch of cinnamon then some dry apple that has an almost sour feel to it, this is followed by fruity yeast esters and a nice bitterness. In the after taste the yeast seems to hold on leaving you that classic Belgian feel. Overall I think its a great Belgian strong and also a great Winter brew.

Bottle 750 ml, Appearance: dark brown center with lighter sides , medium creamy top. Aroma: light, aromatic, yeasty nose. Fruity centre , apple , plum and peach covered with creamy cover.7+ Flavor/Palate: carbonated short burst , mid brown malts with yeasty feel. Slight dry fruitiness with dry burn finishing.

Wow this beer is amazing. I enjoyed the abt 12 but didnt think it could get much better than that. Aroma is spicy with rasin, alchol, and other spices. Beer pours dark with a sticky tan head. Flavor is very balanced with a deep toffee roastiness. Beer has a lot of complex flavors going on which is excellent. I look forward to having this again.

Aroma of almonds and malt, burgundy, with a small toffee head. Flavour is pitfruit, toasted malt with notes of wood. Full bodied, very well balanced, bitter and easily drinkable. Terrific!

Why can not Christmas be all year long. Beautiful cloudy brown like mud. Aroma more like wine than beer. Flavor sweet with some sourness in there and an alcohol burn. Wonderful stuff.

Bottle given to me by my folks for Christmas. A nice gift. Pours a hazy shade of brownish red with a fantastic head and some sticky lacing. The aroma is of fruit cake, dark fruits, alcohol, candy sugar. Flavors of sweet over ripe fruit, dark sweet bread, sugar, candy, Belgian yeast, spice. Just a ton of shit going on. Some booziness in the finish that lingers on the palate. Sweet, spicy, yeasty, warming. Lots of carbonation, sticky dry finish. Good stuff.

No better way to spend a Christmas evening than sipping on a St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. 750mL bottle poured into a goblet. Pours a deep, murky brown with ruby hints around the edges. The head is a full three fingers and shows no sign of receding, leaving tons of lacing down the glass. The nose doesnt surprise too much, though there arent lots of spice presence that I may have expected from a Christmas ale. The main aromas are the Belgian yeast and candi sugar that form the base with hints of dark fruits and bread as well. The taste is also mainly that of a dark Belgian with tons of sweet malts, Belgian yeast and candi sugar. However, I definitely get more spices than the aroma would suggest as well as raisins and plums. There is a slight bitterness in the aftertaste along with some alcohol burn that warms me up a bit. The mouthfeel is creamy but with tons of carbonation that helps coat the palate with the sticky sugar sweetness that dominates. The finish is just a tad dry. Ive always been a big fan of St. Bernardus, so I was expecting a great beer and it delivered. One of the best holiday beers Ive had recently. Highly recommended!

shared 750 ml bottle. pours a brilliant deep red with a quarter inch off white head. some cinnamon and spice in the aroma. very nice over the palate... big full body up front with some yeast, spices, plum and raisins. soft on the sides and a nice strong finish. a bit of alcohol at the end as well as bigger notes of the dark fruits. this is a really nice Holiday beer...