St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

Bottle from O’Brien’s in San Diego. Brew poured a deep, dark brown with a medium sized, fizzy off white head. Nose had hints of raisins, plums, and other dark fruits. This beer needed to sit for a while, it was a bit rough on the take off. After about a 1/2 hour, a lot of bold fruit flavors started to appear. Ended up being a great brew!

Rating #400

Bottle. Pours a reddish brown with a big semi creamy tan head. Aroma has a dusty yeasty character with hints of dark sweet fruits and some caramel. Flavor is malty, warm, hints of candied fruits, and lightly spicy. Finish comes in short, a little earthy, and drying things out with a lightly spicy finish. Long alcohol burn. It’s good stuff and I enjoyed sharing this one with my friend today on Christmas.

Appearance: Pours a brown body with a large, foamy khaki-colored head. Quite effervescent! Smell: A nice mix of pitted fruits with notes of cocoa powder, holiday-minded spices, cracked black pepper, and yeast. Taste: Juicy dark fruits with a hearty dusting of cocoa and tossed with a mix of sugar ’n’ spice. Slight bready yeastiness. Just of earthy bitterness. Semi-dry finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Well carbonated. Warming alcohol presence. Drinkability: A fine holiday sipper (regardless of the 10% ABV) that made for pleasant Christmas Day drinking.

Pours a dark brown with a nice tan creamy head. Aroma of Malt, fruit and yeast. Taste is creamy. Well carbinated. Tastes of malt, spice, sweet, carmel.bread. This is very very nice.

Poured a red brown with a nice thick off white head. Aroma of malts and fruit. Flavors of fruit with pears and green apples taking charge. sweet malts, oak, and spice as well. Finished sweet with a nice kick from the alcohol. I’m interested to see what happens to the rest of the case over the years.

750ml bottle. Pours dark copper in color with full foamy brown head. Aroma caramel, spice and yeast. Taste sweet malt, yeast and spices.

A Mes rate: 75cl bottle at Kerstfest, Essen.
A lovely hazr red brown colour with a good off white head. Sweet malty aroma with cake and bready notes. Flavour is more of the same and lacking the usual St. Bernardus complexity. Could probably do with some age to mellow it out a little. Very spritzy mouthfeel and a little on the thin side. Still pretty decent though.

750ml bottle. Aroma is softly sweet, malty, fruity and lightly spicy, with notes of red grape, apple, berry, orange zest, dark bread, milky chocolate, raisin, cinnamon, allspice and clove, with a faint leafy, herbal, floral hop character underneath. Deep, translucent mahogany color with a thick, lasting, foamy head and matching lace. Flavor is spicy and mildly bitter to start, some faint pepper and licorice, turning sweeter and maltier, even a touch of roastiness noted before the spicy, warming, dark fruit finish, with lingering touches of spice cake, doughy yeast and rum-soaked raisin. Creamy, effervescent mouthfeel with a decidedly full body. An indulgent creation, and one to be savored.