The 12 25 beers of Christmas has got bigger!
I have been having such a great time that this series of tastings will continue for a full 25 days up to Christmas Day.
Corsendonk, founded in 1982 is an Abbey beer brand whose brewing is contracted out to brewers – currently these beers are brewed at Brasserie Du Bocq in Purnode. The brandname refers to the Priory of Corsendonk in Oud-Turnhout.
Corsendonk Christmas Ale is a deep dark ruby beer with a solid and thick head of beige foam that does not dissipate. A rich aroma of ripe stone fruits steeped in alcohol, redcurrants and cherries, sweet port wine and wine gums. The taste is full bodied and tangy with berries, coffee, liquorice, treacle and a subtle hint of Christmas spices. The finish is aniseed and bitterness with a gentle warmth from the alcohol. Delicious. ABV 8.5%
Day 12, Slaapmutske Christmas
Brouwerij Slaapmutske is another brewery based in Melle, East Flanders. Their range of 7 beers includes Slaapmutske Christmas.
A dark brown, almost black beer with a thick head of beige foam, the beer has aromas of malt, apple – hops, yeast, spice and alcohol. The taste is a lovely fizzy mixture of sweet carob syrup, malt, dates, raisins and a hint of apple fruit. The finish is sharp with coffee and chocolate before moving on to bitterness and then warmness. Very nice. ABV 7.4%
Day 11, Tsjeeses Reserva (Port Barrel Aged)
Now 13 years old, award-winning craft a range of innovative and exciting beers from a variety of ingredients and methods. Constantly evolving they have recently produced higher strength beers and also some that are barrel-aged. Now based in an old schoolhouse in Oostvleteren, West Flanders they have an impressive tasting room with up to 30 of their beers available on tap.
The Tsjeejes series of beers are a range of Xmas ales. The Reserva Port Barrel Aged is a deep amber beer with a thick off-white head. The aroma is very sweet with malt, hops, caramel and fruit – green apples and pear. The taste is full bodied with an overriding caramel sweetness, toffees and the tiniest hint of port. The bittersweet finish moves on to apples and alcohol warmth. Not sure about this one, the barrel ageing doesn’t seem to add much and the label is just plain daft. ABV 10%
Day 10, Kapittel Watou Winter
I’ve been looking forward to this beer as I love this brewery so much. Brasserie Van Eecke have been brewing in Watou since 1862 and they are famous for their Hommelbier and their Kapittel (Chapter) range of Abbey beers.
Watou Winter is a deep dark brown beer which pours a large beige head. However, the head disappears almost immediately on pouring. The aroma is roasted dark malt, caramel, cinnamon and some yeast, but not much else. The taste is fizzy and sweet with chocolate and is bitter with some sweetness later. The finish is bitter and more fizz. Very disappointing, I will need to re-evaluate this one with a big bottle! ABV 7.8%
http://www.brouwerijvaneecke.be/
Day 9, La Binchoise Special Noel
Brasserie La Binchoise is named after Binche where the brewery is based, a small town in Hainault on the border with France. The town stages a famous carnival every year on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. The brewery was founded in 1987 in a 1920’s brewery that had lain dormant.
Special Noel is effervescent and pours deep dark orange with a thick head of foam. The aroma is floral with fruit, mainly apples and some bananas, hops and spices and a whiff of sherry alcohol. The taste is tangy with more fruit and gets slightly creamy at the back of the tongue. Again, there is a taste of sourness, possibly from some Brett yeast. The finish is very bitter on the tongue and then you get chocolate, fruit, roasted malts and alcohol warmth. Very nice and an angelic label. ABV 9%
http://www.brasserielabinchoise.be/
Day 8, Gordon Xmas
Anthony Martin took over the reins of this long established distributer and brewer from his grandfather John. Many of their own beers are commissioned by other brewers, including Palm in Steenhuffel. They have recently opened the Bourgogne de Flandres brewery in Brugge this year.
Gordon Xmas pours deep dark brown with a thick beige head. The aroma is rich with bitter chocolate and caramel, burnt toast, raisins, port and spice. The taste is deep with coffee and chocolate at the forefront, brandy, cloves, figs and liquorice. The finish is not too long leaving you with a warming mix of coffee grouts, toast and cocoa. Beautiful label and bottle top. ABV 8.8%
Day 7, Brouwerij Huyghe, Bobeline Christmas
Founded in 1906 by Leon Huyghe, Brouerij Huyghe is located on the main road that runs through Melle in East Flanders. Their most favourite beer is Delerium Tremens golden ale, notable for its pink elephant motif.
Pouring deep golden orange with an off-white head Christmas has a sweet, toffee and mandarin aroma with malts and acid in the background. The taste is fizzy and sweet, toffee apples with malt, cereals, hops and some spice. A long, dry, bitter finish. Not as rich as other Christmas beers. ABV 7%
Day 6,Brasserie D’Achouffe, N’Ice Chouffe
The Brasserie D’Achouffe poured its first beer in August 1982. Initially a hobby, the brewery grew to incorporate a fantastic cafe and brewery shop and opened itself to beer tourists. Set in beautiful Ardennes countryside and rolling hills – the valley of the fairies (two of their dwarves are featured on the label – shame they’re not wearing Christmas jumpers!), Achouffe was acquired by Duvel Moortgat in 2006.
This donker winter bier is deep dark brown, this is another beer with a beige head that dissipates quickly. A big aroma of winter fruits soaked in brandy, port wine, malt, yeast and alcohol. Traces of spices and herbs – they add thyme to the brew, along with curacao liqueur. The taste is bold with caramel and chocolate, tangy citrus zest, liquorice, plums and alcohol. The finish is long and warming with hop bitterness and a feeling of having just scoffed a boozy mince pie. Lovely. ABV 10%
Day 5,Saint-Monon, Speciale Fetes
The best label yet! Brewery Saint-Monon has been around since 1996, is located in Ambly in the Nassogne region and not far from La Roche en Ardenne. It is named after a Scottish monk who came to the area in the 7th century.
A cloudy, deep dark brown beer, the beige head disappears almost as soon as you pour it. The aroma is malty and bready with hops and a warming port background. The beer is smooth and full-bodied with sweet caramel flavours and alcohol-steeped plums and then a big hit of aniseed and coriander. The long bitter finish moves on to cocoa and coffee grouts and then leaves you with spices, especially aniseed and then alcohol warmth. A high alcohol festive porter. ABV 7.5%
Day 4,Abbaye du Val-Dieu, Biere de Noel
Another surprising beer but not for the same reasons as the last one. Pours almost orange-coloured with a thick white head. The aroma is bread/yeast, floral hops, roasted malt, sweet tangerines and esters. The taste is peachy-sweet, caramel, hop-bitterness, spices and orange peel. The finish is bitter-sweet, tangy and spicy and quite powerful considering the (relatively) low strength. More a Tripel than a Kerstbier.
Abbaye Val-Dieu is a former cistercian monastery located in the vicinity of Aubel, near the Dutch border in the Province of Liege. The abbey closed in 2001 when the last 3 surviving monks left. The brewery has been operating on the site of the abbey farm since 1997 and produces a range of abbey beers.
ABV 7%
Day 3, Gouden Carolus Christmas
Wow, what can you say? This beer is so packed full of flavours that I can still taste it two hours after drinking. Pouring deep and dark ruby red with a beige head which unfortunately dissipates quickly. The aroma is reminiscent of stone fruits soaking in brandy and port for a Christmas pudding. It is malty and spicy with pepper and cloves, then anise when the beer warms up. The taste is rich and complex – they use 3 Belgian hops and 6 ‘exceptional’ spices – and you get waves of caramel, plums, spices, a huge hit of liquorice and a lot of alcohol. The finish is deeply warming from the high alcohol content, sweet and not too bitter with an EBU of 11. The warming feeling lingers on for a long time. An after dinner treat. And it has a great label too! ABV 10.5%
A review of the brewery and its tour can be viewed on an earlier post.
Day 2, Super des Fagnes Christmas
I first visited the Brasserie des Fagnes near the French border in Couvin, Province of Namur back in 2004. Set in beautiful countryside, the brasserie includes a brewery museum, a modern brewery and a tasting room which is large enough to host regular events which run from beer and music festivals to children’s days. The food is damn fine too.
Their beers are available in bottle but taste fresher on tap, where they are pumped directly from storage tanks in the brewery. The 50 plus beers produced each year include seasonal specials, celebration brews and recipes inspired by the local flora and harvests. To help with production, much of their beer is contract-brewed by Brasserie Du Bocq, in Purnode near Namur.
Christmas is surprisingly easy drinking for a strong beer and is deep brown in colour with a thick beige foam. Forest fruits, caramel, toffee and spice aroma with booze always evident. The beer is deliciously malty and hoppy with rich raisin and plum pudding flavours – cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The finish is long and very warming. Wifey has always had a soft spot for Brasserie des Fagnes and loved their Christmas beer. ABV 8.5%
http://www.brasseriedesfagnes.com/
Day 1, La Grelotte
La Grelotte, une bier de fetes is produced by the Brasserie de Grain-Dorge in Hombourg which opened in 2002. It is located near the border with Holland and located midway between Maastricht and Aachen.
‘The Shivering’ is a deep, dark beer with a beige and creamy head, the aroma is of port, raisins, bread, ripe apples, hops and is very boozy. The taste is earthy and bitter-chocolate, warming with spices including cumin and pepper. A long bitter and caramel finish with a satisfying brandy warmth at the end. A great start to Advent! ABV 9%
Beer Sommelier Kew 