St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

Christmas in July. Down here it is as cold as it is probably going to be. Open the doors of the apartment and let the cool infiltrate so I can get into the mood for this beer. And a very good beer indeed. Fine fruity notes with robust malt background. Not as pudding like as I could have expected but I am not really au fait with the Belgian attitude towards desserts such as these. As always though, a fine BSA.

Bottle, John’s Grocery, Iowa City. Rustic brown pour, dingy beige head that settles surprisingly quickly. Spicy cognac aroma, grape skin, fresh cut walnut, inky raisins. Brown sugar sweetness, dates, blackberry, quite a large dose of rum heat. Fairly dry menthol laden finish, but after all the sweetness up front the overall experience is still pretty sugary. A pleasant but rather young tasting beer. Another couple years and this might come together into something brilliant, but as sampled...has a ways to go.

Bottle bought in a warehouse in the suburbs of Brugge. Deep brown pour with a large thick tan head on top. Dark fruity aroma. Caramel, dark fruit, malt, plum, Christmas pudding taste. Had this last week but also had 2 bottles last Christmas. Lovely seasonal Belgian heavyweight, I wish had some more left.

"Dark brown to Ruby red when held up to light a tall 4” cap floats on top and reduces to a thick skiff after a while. Aroma is smooth with mild spice notes some dark fruit, honey, and mellow roasted malts. Taste is very flowery with notes of rubbing alcohol. Tasty cloves give way to a hidden bitterness in the finish. Flavour has lots in common with fig Newton’s, can you even buy those anymore? Wow lots of chunks plopped into my glass during that last pour. Some cherry is showing up along with some metallic tastes. Dam why are these bottles so big my brain just exploded all over the basement. Simple enjoyable bla bla bla………"

Bottle: Poured a deep burgundy color ale with a super large foamy head with great retention and good lacing. Aroma of dry fruit and fruity ester with some candi sugar and some nicer Belgian malt. Taste is a well balanced mix between some fruity ester, some dry fruits such as figs and notes of Belgian malt. Body is full with great carbonation and no appearance of alcohol. Very well done though it probably fell short of the ABT 12.

Deep brown/burgundy with a thick frothy mocha head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma is spices, dark fruits, caramel, herbs, a hint of alcohol and some metal notes. Flavor is spices, raisins, alcohol, roasted malts, toffee, a touch of wood, brown sugar and a hint of dark honey and some bitterness in the aftertaste. Much more interesting than the aroma let it expect. Full body with fizzy carbonation.

On tap @ Map Room. Tasted like the Abt 12 w/ spices added to the mash. Nutmeg comes through clearly, but spices mask the more subtle flavors of the beer. Very tasty X-mas ale, but tries to improve on perfection.

Dark brown reddish color, nice foamy beiged colored head. The smell is alcohol, malts, toffee, candi sugar, fruits, and raisans. The taste is fruity, alcohol, rasians, candi sugar, malts, and toffee.