St Feuillien Cuvée de Noël

Brewed by Brasserie St-Feuillien / Friart
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Le Roeulx, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Ah Noël, quelle belle période pour la bière ! Bon ici on approche de la Chandeleur, mais c’est autorisé comme bière d’hiver, et donc tout va bien... 9% abv, tout ceci doit réchauffer quelque peu. Couleur roux foncé, un rien cuivré en transparence. Clarté opaque, sauf en transparence. Bulles moyennes bien vivantes au centre du verre. Mousse beige moyen qui tombe et nappe mais sans aspect crémeux. Odeurs de prune, poire cuite, pointe de candi, pruneau, épices fines. Volume plus liquide que soyeux. 1ère bouche d’un bel ensemble vin/fruits/bois mais paradoxalement sans texture stucturée. 2ème bouche sur le croissant, la cassonnade, la prune, mais toujours aussi souple. 3ème avec un nez d’avoine et un équilibre céréale/houblon. Arrière-bouche un peu vineuse. Longueur sur la pomme de terre, les fruits mûrs, très bien mais pas de réel décolage. Levure souple et vineuse. Alcool bien dosé, sans excès. La finale manque jute d’une texture plus « solide ». Donc beaucoup d’espoir, une très belle réalisation, qui manque juste à 1/50ème...

As soon as I popped the cork on the 750 ml bottle, I could smell this wonderful caramel malt aroma. Further inspection led to a sweet yeasty bread and some brown sugar. The beer is the red/brown color of strong tea, slightly hazed, and topped by an impressive head of creamy tan foam. Good head retention and lacing. One delicious brew - with caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and fig. There is a hop bitterness for balance that is not detected in the flavor until the finish - where it is a bit spicy with a mild citrus character. Toffee, black tea, leather, spice, bread dough, and alcohol linger in the aftertaste. Medium to full body, with gentle but very full carbonation.

UPDATED: JAN 27, 2013 Attractive aroma, a bit of holiday cheer and a tingle of season felicitations. Malty flavor with some classic saltiness provided by the frothy, vigorous palate, which bursts with carbonation and then fades quickly from the reddish body. Enjoyable caramel and touch of spice. My favorite Christmas beer.

Mostly clear red-amber with massive, flotsam, tan head / Lively, bright nose of candied, medicinal orchard fruit and herbs / Medium body, vibrant fine-bubble carbonation, lightly sour and modest sweetness, delicate with good hopping, and some bitterness on the finish / Elegant flavors of turning apple, caramel, pecan, leather, root beer and other herb, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, and oak / Great stuff.

330 ml bottle. 2011 vintage. Pours a very dark brown/red with huge head. Full aroma of toffee and roasted malts. Flavors of sweet toffee with light spices. Incredibly creamy and warm. A great Belgian.

Bottled under Speciale. Red tinted amber with a retaining off white head. The nose is my only complaint as it is a bit shy and doesn’t develop much. The palate however... this enters with some sweet flavors, develops defined sweet cherry and caramel through the mid palate and a bit of black tea on the finish. Gorgeous!

A spectacular christmas ale, with scents of all the christmas spices. It's the most convincing seasonal brew, I have tasted. It supports heavy christmas food perfectly and it's become a christmas tradition itself.

UPDATED: NOV 15, 2006 Deep cloudy orange color, plum-like sweetness. Starts smooth, ends sweet but in a yeasty sort of way. Excellent.

Keg, 2003-11-29, 9-5-9-4-18
Dark ruby color. Alcoholic malty nose, honey, herbs (Drambuie). Incredible flavor: malty, sweet, a lot of raisins; then caramel, spices (nutmeg, coriander, …), gingerbread, sweet orange peel. Gorgeous! The best Belgian ale on keg that I had!

Keg, 2003-01-13, 5-5-7-3-14
Wonderful ruby color, thick generous head. Malt aroma, pretty sweet, too poor hop, a bit metallic, missing a real character. Caramel in the final.

No doubt about it. This is an exellent Christmas Brew from Belgian. Not to bitter, nor to sweet. Nice dark-brown color, with a longlasting creamy head.