St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

Bottle@Home. Vanilla and raisin aroma. Hay, dark brown colour, beige head, good lace. Sweet, light bitter, malty, spicy, prunes, raisin. Smooth and warming. Flavourful, nice balance.

Draught at Decembeer beer festival in Tel Aviv. Deep reddish-brown with a medium beige head. Aroma of raisins, prunes, malt, caramel and candi sugar. Sweet flavor with malt, sugar, dried fruits, some licorice, a bit of spiciness and some alcohol. Full-bodied.

L’aroma è un po’ strano quasi di dolci sereticci, con molto miele/caramello ma note pungenti/asprigne; da bere è un discreto spettacolo anche se forse ho beccato un fusto licchelacche.

0.75L bottle, hazy dark brown colour, small fluffy head. Strong, dominating aroma of malt, just a little one dimensional. The flavour is made of masses of dark, intense chocolate, dark bread, berries, cherries plums and a melange of dried fruits. Also multitudes of spices - cinamon, nutmeg and cardamon. Full body, pleasantly sweet but not cloying, with a thick texture and a long sour friuty aftertaste. I haven’t tried too many festive beers to know what to expect but i have a feeling that this is one of the better ones of its kind.

750 mL bottle. Poured deep, deep red with fizzy head. Some splotches of lace. Flavor is sweet and spicy with plenty of dark fruit present, primarily plum, apple, and grape. Medium body. Very lively carbonation. I’ll be damned, those St. Bernardus monks have done it again.

Everything I would want out of a Belgian Christmas ale. I am tempted to call it a malt bomb, but everything meshes so well together that "bomb" would be a disservice.

750 ml bottle. A cloudy dark amber beer with a medium sized and persistent beige head. The aroma has a good maltiness and yeastiness with fruity (plums) and many spicey (coriander, cinnamon) notes. Also a bit sugary and alcoholic nose. The flavour is very sweet and lightly acidic. Overall the same notes of the nose with some chocolate. Medium to full body, lively carbonation, long finish with light to medium bitterness. One of my favourite products from this brewery, and good for a cold winter evening.

Bottle from Trinity Liquors in Spring Hill, FL. Aroma is peppery, malt, and alcohol. Pours maple syrup color...absolutely no head...does not look like your typical belgian strong...It looks like two different beers mixed together. Flavor tastes like typical belgian strong but with malt...weird. Pepper/alcohol finish. Weird coating on tongue...Warm. Overall...not what I was expecting from a Belgian Strong...Like a Bel. Strong mixed with malt...This beer is a mess...one sip tastes malty...the next tastes peppery...the last sip tasted like a shot of bourbon...Not very good.