St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

browned orange with a medium cream colored head. dark fruit, yeast, and alcohol aroma. medium creamy bodied, slightly sticky. honey bread flavors with pit and dark fruits, a nice cherry liqueur note. not my favorite of their offerings but still great.

Nice beer, subdued spice, caramel, yeast, dried fruits, milk chocolate, nice body

Bottle. Pours a hazy oeange color with a small off-white head. Has a spicy malty aroma with hints of dark fruit and also some hints of yeast in the aroma. Sweetish malty dark fruit flavor with spicy hints and some weak hints of yeast. Has a warming malty spicy finish with some hints of dark fruit in the aftertaste.

Brown with a thick off white head. Aroma is caramel, alcohol, yeast, dried fruits, red grapes. Taste is light fruit, some yeast, light alcohol, nicely malty. Body is a bit overcarbonated.

Dark brown ale, big creamy rocky head. Malty nose, with deep malt flavors, hints of raisin and caramel. Yeasty, sour burst with a malty finish. Yummm.

Another big thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing this one that for some stupid reason never got distributed to New York City... whatever, here it is. Deep brown beer with a soft orange ruby tint. Huge moussey sticky head that last all the way through the glass. Aroma is like all of the Bernardus beers, which is to say, amazing. Heavy fruitiness with cherry, plums all wrapped in a blanket of soft Belgian malts and milk chocolate. I’d say there is more fruitiness here than in the regular Bernardus 12, but all of the other components are there. Rich spicy yeast with a fruity complexity that is hard to describe accurately. Light clove/nutmeg and black pepper on the palate. The spiciness is accentuated when it’s cooler, but the fruit begins to dominate as the temperature increases. Lingering herbal/spicy finish. Excellent!

Pours a clouded dark brown with a good sized creme head that leaves a decent amount of lacing on the way down. Nose is spices and yeast. Flavor is extremely heavy on the spices. Just buckets and buckets of them. Dough rests in the background. Carbonation is extremely full and attacks the tongue. Liquid is as it should be. This is definitely a winter style brew. It is so spice forward and heavy on the body that it is to be sipped and savored over time. A nice brew for sure.

Bottle. Pours a nice thick head. Strong spice scent and a very malty, yet Christmas-y flavor. Finish leaves a bit of alcohol, warmth.