St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

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

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.

Crushed with Jakebra. Huge fruity nose on this one. Plums, raisins, berries, awesomeness. Flavor isn’t as good but is still excellent in it’s own right. Put off drinking this one for a while for some reason, but I was very pleased with the results.

Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of roasted and caramel, herbs for the hops, musty basement and earth for the yeast, and background notes of brown sugar, alcohol, clove, red wine, and slight boozy hint. Head is large, rocky, off-white, with excellent lacing and is fully lasting. Color is murky, dark brown with a dense amount of small particles. Flavor is heavily sweet and moderately acidic to start and the finishes is moderately acidic and lightly bittersweet. Palate is medium, syrupy, has a lively carbonation and finishes lightly alcoholic. A great, well rounded Belgian Strong.

Soft Belgian aroma from the bottle, candied at times, doggy at others. From a tulip glass, I got the distinct aromatic impression of McDonald’s french fries with ketchup. Go figure. Good bottle, label, foggy brown beer with a lot of fizz and a fluffy tan head. Sweet and sour, earthy, astringent. Trailing witchcraft herb aftertaste. The middle was vacant, like a melted, watery chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream bar. The foam is unmercifully metallic. The Saint blew the shift here. MSL, on markdown.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a creamy tan head that left plenty of lacing. Aroma was malty and yeasty with dark fruit, raisins, candi sugar and a bit of caramel. Flavor is deep and rich with caramel, belgian yeast, dark fruit, brown sugar and winter spices with a full body and a nice dry warming finish. Excellent xmas brew