St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

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

25.4 oz bottle. Almost clear brown with an off-white froth. Nose is yeasty, funky and light caramel. Taste is a touch hot with light banana and mild spices; nutmeg, cardamon and mace. Not as rich as the 12 but still pretty tasty.

(Bottled, 0.75l@Home) Very dark ruby with a medium, foamy, lacy and tanned head. Strong aroma of cloves, some cinnamon, and slightly grainy-rye-puddingy malt. Grainy-malty, raisiny and rye-puddingy flavor with a hint of metal. Medium to full-bodied with somewhat foamy carbonation. A reasonably smooth and full, spicy Xmas brew. Not anisey like the Abt (sampled side-by-side) - but slightly more sour and bitter, leaning towards the Grottenbier. (Draught@Kerstbierfestival 2007, Essen, way too cold) Slightly hazy reddish brown with a smallish, lacy head. Dried fruit in the aroma with caramel and grainy malt. Flavor is much like Abt, but with more malt sweetness. Medium-bodied, slightly sticky palate with low carbonation. Nice. Bottle rating coming up...

2007. Good Looking muddy brown brew with a slight orange tinge. Head pours large and stays pretty well. Head is an off-white tan in color, creamy smooth in texture, and has nice lacing. Aroma is complex with citrus hoppy-ness coming through. Allspice and a light yeasty-dough aroma , followed by many other smells including chocolate, apple, and possibly even red wine. Flavor was pleasant, starting on the sweetish side and over a long duration finishing ever so slightly bitter-sour with defined fruit undertones. Medium in body with a lively carbonated but creamy texture, the overall mouth feel is clearly the best part of this brew. Pretty good stuff.

750 ml bottle shared by highibus - Pours a slightly hazy deep amber color with a large off white head. Aroma is esters(banana), spice, and light yeast. Flavor is basicly the same with some light bready malt coming through. Medium body. A good beer. Thanks Tom.

Pours a dark brown color with garnet highlights and a beige, full, rocky, fluffy head which diminishes quickly to a average, creamy, lasting layer leaving some nice lace. Nose is certainly rich for the season with some Belgian chocolates, apple pie, nutmeg, clove, light hazlenut, and a touch of earthy hops. Flavor is certainly similarly rich; initial flavors include cooked apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, almost like spicy apple sauce. Then the malts come in with lots of Belgian chocolates, faint roast, light date, and light molasses; by the finish a decent earthy hop presence settles in with some hazlenut. Palate is medium-full, lively, and velvety with only a hint at some warmth in the finish. By the finish, the spices diminish some, the chocolates linger along with the date and nutty notes, and the earthy bitterness and warming notes round out the long finish. Actually a pretty nice Christmas beer with a rich malt apalte and nice spicing to back it up. A bit too much carbonation and a tad thin too fit into the great Belgian category, but it is a fitting beer for the season. Maybe it was put out a bit early and would benefit from some aging, but still a nice new offering from the brewery.

750 ml bottle. Purchased at Hamiltons. Dark brown pour, peppery aroma. Flavor is fruity, spicy and slightly hoppy. A little to peppery for my tastes, but pretty good.

Courtesy of Mcbackus. Pours a dark brown with a off white foamy head. Lacing is great throughout session. Has hints of spice, dark fruit, yeast, pepper, and caramel. Finishes sweet and bubbly.

750 mL bottle purchased at Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. Poured into my newly acquired tulip glass. Pours deep, rich mahogany with a huge, frothy, rocky, light brown head, mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, cookie, caramel, nutty), average hops (grass), average yeast (earth, musty) with notes of plum, baked apples, and brown sugar. Full bodied, creamy and fizzy texture, lively carbonation, and a slightly spicy and bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness and acidity, light bitterness.