Svaneke Jule Spektakel

Brewed by Svaneke Bryghus
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Svaneke, Denmark

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottled. A leftover from Christmas :) Pours deep brown with a small beige head. Nose of yeast, malt and spicy notes. Sweet flavor with dark fruit notes, spice and a bit of alcohol. Medium bodied, oily texture and soft carbonation. A little malt bitterness in the end. OK.

Dark brown color with small head. Good yeasty and spicy aroma. Good christmas beer with lots of spices but still in great balance

UPDATED: SEP 29, 2012 161111: Dark brown color with small head. Good yeasty and spicy aroma. Good christmas beer with lots of spices but still in great balance.

Bottle. dark brown color. Roast, dark chocolate, Mon Chérie and caramel in the slightly spicy aroma. Full bodied. malty sweet, soft spicy flavor with caramel and milk chocolate. Confit fruit. Fairly complex.

Really nice Belgian-style ale. Not really "christmas beer", still good solid strong dark ale.

Appearance Deep brown, almost black, pours a rather light head for a beer of this type. Aroma A delicate balance of malt, hops, dried fruit, and fresh spiceness. Taste Malt, typical for a Belgian Style Ale; some fruitcake type mixture of spices and sweetness balances the maltyness. Warming, with a hint of chocolate in the aftertaste. Hops are not predominant. Overall I’ve never heard of this Danish brewery located on the island of Bornholm, but their website lists a selection of very interesting looking beers — such as a Chocolate Stout and a Red Hot Chili Ale — and if their Jule Spektakel is anything to go by, they might be very good indeed. This beer is certainly Belgian Style in most of its characteristics, but it has added spicyness and some sweetness resembling dried fruit. The combination is tasty, and quite fitting for a Christmas Ale. The beer is very rich and heavy though, so the 500ml is maybe a bit big, this might be better off served like a Trappist beer: smaller bottle and from a goblet. A Christmas Spectacle indeed!

On tap at Ølfestival 2011. It pours a clear, copper colored body under a dense, beige head. Dried fruits, prunes mostly, and caramel notes in the aroma. The flavor is sweet, yet it feels quite dry on the palate, medium bodied and pleasantly carbonated. Caramel and fruityness, as well as a little bitterness towards the end. Some raisins too in the end. Well, it certainly drinks easily and it’s far from bad tasting, but it’s just one in the crowd. 110528

UPDATED: NOV 13, 2012 Bottle. Pours a red-tinged dark brown with a small, beige head. Aroma is slightly sweet with lots of pith, some pine, caramel. Some christmas spices, clove. Taste begins pithy, slightly piney and caramel. The malts take over later: caramel, roasted, some dried, dark fruits, tones of coffee and wood. Palate is full, sticky, not much carbonation. Feels more like a toned-down black double IPA with their combination of pithy hops and sweet caramel malts, but this is not as intense. Not to my liking.

(Bottled, rated 2011-11-04) Clear, very dark brown with a small head. Dried fruit in the nose with some spiciness, lightly roasted malt, yeast. Flavor is fermented strawberries with a touch of roasted-caramely malt, and a touch of anise. Medium to full body, low CO2. Could be a decent brew, but the fermented strawberries mask everything else.

500ml bottle provided by Finn, thanks. Bubbly, beige patches at the surface of a deep, dark-brown red-tinged body. Dark malts, dark fruits and liquorice in a rather mild aroma. Dark malts, dried fruits, ash, and a tad of yeasty fruitiness in flavour, all of it added by a spicy touch. Bitter support towards the ending. Likable and good drinking on a dark Christmas eve (Tromsø, 24.12.2011).