Verhaeghe Noel

Brewed by Verhaeghe
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Vichte, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Golden, orange colored brew. Fruity, yeasty aroma. Nice fruity and yeasty flavor too, some bitterness in the aftertaste.

Bottle 25cl. Hopduvel. Pours golden with a white head. Very dry taste. Grain & hay malty aroma’s. Hint of coriander, very short finish. Not really fitting in the Christmas style. As Joris said, more like a strong spiced lager.

(Bottle, BBE 09-03-10, at One Pint Pub, Helsinki, on 2009-01-16) Golden. Slightly hazy. Large long lasting white head. Fruity and lightly yeasty nose. Medium bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Bitterness, fruitiness, hint of sweetness, grass and bit of saltiness in taste. Fruity and bitter aftertaste.

UPDATED: FEB 2, 2012 250ml bottle (One Pint, Helsinki) - young (6:3:6:4:13=3.2)
Vanilla fudge and fruity, also malty in aroma. Fairly simple malty taste. Simple strong belgian ale. Tasty sipper.
250ml bottle (?) - BB201203, Drunk 201202
On pouring a little fruity, but it’s mashier and almondy in the glass, aroma-wise. Pale gold, small tight head. Crisp palate for its strength. More almondy retronasals, a little winey, and woody. Quite dry, some walnut papers too. Upon swallowing there’s a hint of its strength, but it’s not boozy, just a little volatile. Finish is dry and a little bit bitter and hoppy - pleasant full hops, but dry and old woody nutty ones, not aromatic at all. Initially quite thin in the mouth, but it fills out as it warms, and as the bitterness builds up. I feel that this is better than I remember it, but don’t feel the need to bump it up numerically. Maybe I overrated it before, and now the same score’s an underrate, so on average I’m spot on. Pretty solid, but moderately dull belgian blond.

Bottle. A sweet smell, reminds me a little bit of an white wine, some yeast and malt. Nice aroma. A rather little white fizzy head which disappears rather fast, the body is in a clear orange. A light sour taste of yeast with a medium duration. The body is creamy, light to medium strong with a lively carbonation and a light alcoholic finish, nice. A good beer for Christmas.

From Voldby, DK. Bottled, 080109. Golden with white head. Aroma of malt and spices. Flavor is sweet with alcohol, hop spices and caramel

Bottle, 2006. Golden color, rather clear. Decent sized head fading to lace quickly. Malty aroma, sweet, a bit spicy. Some caramel, vanilla and butter. Relatively sweet, but with good alcohol and hop balance. Not much spice, maybe a bit of coriander. Yeast flavor. A bit buttery and a touch of vanilla. A good example of a Belgian blonde, but not really original. Good hop and alcohol finish, with some sweet malt as well. Very nice hops. A touch of spice is what comes with Christmas, I guess.

bottle, Village de la Biere Strasbourg. Hazy golden yellow, large rocky white head, reminding me of the Alps. Malty and spicy nose. Full-bodied, intensively hoppy but not too bitter. Solid malty background. Quite spicy with lovely resiny hoppy notes. Lingering dry and hoppy finish.