Stille Nacht Reserva 2013
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

 

 

 

Tasted both from bottle and draft at the 2014 Kerstbier festival in Essen, Belgium. Unlike previous vintages, this one was bottled only for OBER, the beer club that sponsored the festival and none of the bottles are for sale, even at De Dolle brewery. If any bottles were left, maybe they'll be back at the festival in 2015. The base beer Stille Nacht was aged in a wine barrel from Château Castigno, Languedoc, France. That winery produces a white (Roussane and Grenache) and a red (Grenache, Syrah, and Carignane) under that brand. The white is not barrel aged but the red is, so this beer must have been aged in the red wine barrel. The appearance was clear and golden, with a slight haze. Tasted sweet and quite white grape vinous, but not as sweet as a sauterne (and we had Château d'Ychouffe available to compare with), although there is a touch of red wine notes way in the background. A puzzler, to be frank, regarding the wine contribution, but the basic elements of Stille Nacht were present, particularly high residual sugar and Belgian yeast fruitiness. It is clearer in appearance and smoother than the base beer, with some of the yeast fruit esters and phenolic spice having been rounded out. The wood comes through adding some vanilla notes. Bottom line: it is a delicious, complex, vinous beer. However, SNR 2010 was tasting better, now having benefitted from 4 years of aging. I expect this vintage will improve with age as well. The bottle version was better than the draft version, having a little more carbonation while the draft was served too cold. This review is focused on the bottled version. Hope to be able to taste this again when it has more age on it.