Feest Noel
Three Taverns Craft Brewery

2020 bottle, poured into a St. Bernardus Chalice.

A: Pours up a deep, cola brown with a quickly receding beige, one-finger head, with nice lacing. 3.5

S: Aggressive notes of black pepper and Anise, and a strong presence of nuttiness. The Anise/Licorice flavor dominates here. 3

T: A bunch of flavors march forth at once, all seeming vying for attention, the result is that after the smoke clears so-to-speak, you’re left with a vague sense of maltiness and some general touches of dark fruit. The spices all create a frenzy of confusion that makes this beer difficult to parse through. There are notes of caramel in the maltiness, followed by a medicinal bitterness that I suspect is coming primarily from the allspice. 2.5

M: Medium body, silky mouthfeel, under carbonated. 3

O: Immediately, confusion, I think this beer severely lacks focus. Syrupy? Maybe. Rich? I wouldn’t really say that. I’ll clarify that I’m reviewing a 2020 bottle of this, and it may well be better fresh, but I’m going to tell you why I don’t think that matters: 1. A age statement on a beer is NOT a recommendation to drink fresh. 2. This is a QUAD, it is a style that people associate with aging. 3. There is a reason that many quads are corked, so if the argument is that a cap doesn’t have as good of a seal, I would agree, but that’s not on me. The bottle says this beer is meant to evoke mystery, and I’ll say on that point they certainly succeeded, though not in the way they may have hope. I think mystery in a quad is a laudable goal, when approached properly, but this isn’t it, and I think an explanation of proper mystery is best done by way of contrast. This beer is mysterious because there are so many flavors vying for my attention that I don’t know what I’m tasting, but that’s not really mystery (which is seductive and enticing) that’s confusion (which is frustrating and repellant). I think a beer that does what they are going for right is (prepare to not be surprised) St. Bernardus Abt 12, and I’ll tell you why: The 12 starts with a strong base of lovely, distinct, layered and familiar notes, you have your bread, you have your dark fruit, you have your (SUBTLE) spices, and then there are the little things, they intrigue and nag at you because you’ve not noticed them before, they’re fascinating, and they remind you why you keep buying this beer, it is familiar and mysterious, there is a warm companionship, but like with any great relationship, there is still excitement and surprise which is unexpected, but not out of character, that is mystery I want, this is mystery I don’t. 2.75

You have to love all things dark, spicy and festive for this but that's me. Think English spice cake or real gingerbread. Pours like coke and not much head but other than that a phenomenal winter brew.

 

Look: Everything here you'd expect for a Quadrupel Ale. Mahogany brown with a light colored head that melts to a ring around the edge.
Smell and Taste: Sweet malts mixed with bitterness of the spices. I think it's the cloves that I don't care for.
Feel: Little bit high on the carbonated side.
Overall: I'm not crazy at all about this brew. I don't think it has to do with me drinking it in the heat of the summer but who knows. May be I will have to try it in the proper season. If it is better around Christmas I will revise my review. For now, I'm moving on.

I love Christmas ales but not this one. It was hard to finish the entire pour. I couldn't tell if it was the spices used or how it was brewed but something was just off and I don't think it was because it was a faulty batch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Feest Noel is merriment in a glass - a spiced Christmas ale meant to evoke joy and mystery. This Belgian-style Quadrupel uses dark roasted malts, imported Belgian Dark Candy Sugar, and spiced accents of cardamom, allspice and cloves. Make this rich ale a part of your holiday celebration." Brewed in the style of a Belgian Quadrupel with spice added. Available in seasonal 750ml. bottles and on draft.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a snifter glass.

(Appearance) Pours a foamy cream head of a pale tan color over a murky dark brown body. Retention is very good and lacing is light and patchy. 4

(Smell) Very potent spices forward; mace and allspice most prevalent, with fading undertones of cardamom, atop a nicely caramelized malt body of dark candied sugars, delicate roasted barley, bread malts and dark fruit. Potency is moderate/full. 4.25

(Taste) Potent spiciness of allspice and mace forward against a bread malt and dark fruit body with a creeping pinch of grain alcohol. The dark candied sugar and fruit is a pleasant aspect, but it grates against a somewhat rougher-than-expected malt body. I had hoped that this vintage would have held up a bit better. 3.5

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, lightly residual, silky, lightly chewy, medium to briskly dry. Carbonation is moderate to full, generating a medium frothiness and a briskly crisp finish. Body is medium+ for the style, medium/heavy overall. Balance is moderately earthy and peppery spice and slight grain esters over sweetness. Alcohol presence is moderate and there are no off characters. 3.75

(Overall) This 2014 vintage seemed to suggest that storing a bottle was a viable option, and for the most part, it has held up decent, although there is a bit more exposed grain alcohol heat than is probably tolerable at this point. I don't think this should be held onto for two years, possibly one, but fresh is the most sound choice, especially considering the fragility of the cardamom, which is nearly absent two years down the road. 3.75

Three Taverns Craft Brewery's
Feest Noel
3.79/5.00

'14 bottle opened at the brewery. Deep copper-brown with light tan head.

Tons of Christmas spice on the nose and on the pallet; cardamon, nutmeg, allspice , cloves. Decent amount of carbonation for a Quad. Sweet but not overwhelmingly so, well balanced between the malt and the spices. Great beer for a winter weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

look: clear, dark reddish brown. Moderate off white head that mostly dissipates and leaves messy lingering, lacing.
smell: subtle aromatic spice and peppermint. Malty, yeasty quad underneath.
taste: Kind of the nose in reverse. The base quad isa more prominent and the holiday stuff there but in the backseat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very enjoyable. The spice flavors are there, but not overly powerful or overwhelming to the palate. This is a good thing. The mouth feel was surprisingly light and clean, especially given the alcohol content. Definitely good for sipping on during the Holiday season / winter months.

 

 

 

Poured from a growler. Pours a nice dark brown with a small head. Smells exactly as advertised. The spices come out in the taste as well. Good amount of carbonation to give it some balance. Not very boozy for 9%. Great holiday beer. Worth a try.