Bière De Noël
Brasserie Thiriez

Bière De NoëlBière De Noël
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From:
Brasserie Thiriez
 
France
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
Ranked #25
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
83
Ranked #23,474
Avg:
3.67 | pDev: 13.62%
Reviews:
56
Ratings:
84
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 17, 2023
Added:
Oct 03, 2005
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  6
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.76 by emerge077 from Illinois

Apr 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.73 by WDJersey from Colorado

Nov 01, 2022
Photo of beergoot
Reviewed by beergoot from Colorado

4.12/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Clear yet dark brown body; thick, lively carbonation; huge rocky head, dense and creamy, light khaki colored. Fine aroma; malty and herbal; peppermint and raspberries; roasted malts. Wonderful flavors; suggestions of rye and light cocoa; light phenol presence and bitterness. Heavy mouthfeel; smooth, soft and silky on the palate.

I like this beer. It offers some subtle complexity with no one element dominating anything. There seems to be a wheat component to this beer, especially with the mouthfeel.

Pouring temperature: 54 °F; bottling data: unknown
Dec 19, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by zotzot from Vermont

Dec 30, 2020
Photo of Greywulfken
Reviewed by Greywulfken from New York

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Says, "French holiday ale brewed with spices" on the label; stylistically like a Belgian dark featuring seasonings of the season lol - this is an excellent holiday ale - warm dark fruits and a leathery shellack, spices both savory and sweet, making me think of stuff like cardamom and clove, nutmeg and cumin... Mildly bitter; only mildly sweet, too - which I like - smooth, plushly-carbonated, medium-bodied feel, little bit of tack left behind on the finish...
Nov 26, 2020
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.31/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bonne Noël to all of my friends as the eradication of my Bottle (!) Backlog continues unabated here at Chez Woody! I almost blew it & opened something else at this point, but then a bolt of inspiration struck & I'm going with this gem, instead.

From the Bottle: "French Holiday Ale brewed with Spices"; "Brewed & Bottled by Brasserie Thiriez Esquelbecq, France"; "Daniel Thiriez brews his rustic ales in a tiny farmhouse brewery just over the border from Belgium. His Christmas ale is a ruddy amber and has a pleasant dry, hoppy finish. The flavor is largely of malt, but there is a subtle hint of spice from orange peel and allspice. Like all of Daniel's ales, is infiltered and unpasteurized."

I started out to Pop! the cap on this monster, but it had a substantial cap that required a bit of prising to remove. I was very gentle in terms of my C-Line pour into the awaiting glass as there was a heavy presence of lees on the punt/kick. This also resulted in naught but wisps for head. Everything is a trade-off these days. Color was Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity, so my efforts had paid off. Nose was reminiscent of spice cake! OMFG, I haven't had spice cake in years. This had exactly that bready, biscuity spiciness that I loved as a wee lad. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was an interesting admixture of musty, slightly funky yeast, pungent spiciness & a bready maltiness. It makes me curious as to whether Daniel Thiriez & Dany Prignon of Fantome know one another and/or compare notes. This was VERY reminiscent of a Fantome beer! I was finding it to be quite enjoyable, becoming spicier as it warmed. Spicier & funkier! Man, this was quite the treat. Aha! In transcribing the verbiage, it becomes clearer. Definitely allspice! The rest may have faded during its time in storage, but it had become a tremendously drinkable spiced ale. It certainly fit into the Style Guidelines. Finish was dry, as any beer imbued with spices should be expected to evince. I'll have to keep an eye out for future arrivals. YMMV.
Apr 19, 2020
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.97/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
A superb yeast makes Thiriez' Biere De Noel stand-out.
Looks are driven by this yeast, a full foam that settles and is replaced by active protein swirls; my cue that this ale is still alive. The label is classic French graphics. Smells are mostly malt with subtle holiday spices. Tastes are the same, a well-integrated ale in which a rustic yeast is making the most of letting the ingredients work together. Only in the after-taste do I get sweetness and, then, it gets supplanted by spicing. Mouth is full enough; bubbly; a nice, comforting texture for the holidays.

I had Noel before dinner and continued it with a simple garlicky soup with a rich broth. Noel was respectful of my kitchen, but a saison would have been a better pairing.

This is only my second from Thiriez, so I owed them a brewery review and went on their website and... no English button to be found by me. But the photos and graphics are pretty and I gather this is a family brewery and they serve good food. I also want to thank Shelton Brothers for bringing Thiriez to Illinois which is difficult. But as I said in my first review, I am looking for Thiriez' biere de gardes.

12/20/22 Had another copy on the Solstice. And guess what, it has a Shelton Bros label on it. The brew also tasted beyond its prime. But my fault for being too aged ales. But I've edited the above review and rating and largely agree that old copy accurately reflects a fresher copy. Joyeux Noel !
Dec 15, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Nichols33 from Massachusetts

Dec 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by Elicoleman from Colorado

Dec 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.67 by shelby415 from Oregon

Dec 23, 2018
Photo of Svartrhand
Reviewed by Svartrhand from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The label was pretty accurate. Very present hoppy notes initially from the dry hopping but settling quickly to a slightly smokey strong malt finish. Hints of spices.

Pleasant beer.
Feb 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4.1 by BeerNDoggerel from Illinois

Dec 26, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Hayley_86 from Netherlands

Feb 22, 2017
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Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.08/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
i definitely have a little beer of the moment personal bias going on right now. i have come back into this recent full fledged love of rustic belgian (and here by proximity, french) ales of all persuasions. i got in waves with styles, usually drinking the season or honing in on something specifically, but lately i just cant get enough old world belgian stuff, and this is a great beer in that yeasty green bottle fashion. deeo amber to mahogany in color, an inch and then another inch with a twirl of head on it, creamy tan colored and fading only slowly. some fish food looking yeast flakes settle to the bottom of my red wine glass quickly. the aroma here is the same as the flavor, partial oxidation, strong rustic belgian yeast with a soft spice and a nice malty base thats both sturdy and interesting. dried apple and cherry notes to it, a little brown sugar sweetness, but this is neither sweet nor fruity. its balanced instead between the more bready elements of the grain and the yeast. the beer has a spice profile, earthy and dusty and festive, but the ale does not on the surface appear to be spiced, rather its a phenomenon of the yeast, which is the subtle star of this show. fuller body with a lot of bubbles, the texture is really right on for the holidays. we passed this around while opening presents on christmas eve, and while it didnt necessarily set the mood like the label implies that it might, it also did not seem out of place for this occasion. well done, i love these guys, wish more of their beers showed up in colorado...
Dec 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.85 by samEBC from Belgium

Sep 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by bpfrush from Wisconsin

Dec 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.63 by alucard from New York

Dec 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by BabaBeer from California

Dec 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by atlbravsrno1 from Maine

Dec 04, 2014
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Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

4.27/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A- First off....incredible head on this brew; it reminds me straight away of a richly whipped meringue on a pie and is a very nice tan color that seems to have an indefinite retention span! The liquid is a medium brown, with tinges of orange and red blended in. There is a great amount of lacing on my glass as well, and the carbonation appears to be lazily rising to the top of the beer. Very nice looking beer overall!

S- The first aroma that greets my nose is of citrus fruits....grapefruit and tangerine rinds to be exact, along with darkly sweet malts and spices such as cinnamon, cloves to a lesser extent and pumpkin pie. There is really no hop presence to smell and also has a smidgen of booziness to it.....again, nice overall!

T- The flavors are quite different from the aromas for sure! There is a big flavor of dark dried fruits such as plum and fig, and has a rum like quality to it. The booze factor is noticeable in the flavor but doesn't hinder the overall taste. Sweet malts are also dominant with molasses and toffee flavors, that bind into an overall flavor that I can best describe as a light rum cake!

M/O- The mouthfeel leans towards full bodied but it's not quite there, and the carbonation is refined and smooth.....this could qualify as a desert beer and would do well with a plum pudding or with a slice of Christmas cake or Rum cake! It warms the senses and is quite nice on a wintery day such as the one I am reviewing this on! It's a decent beer and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy something a little more complex!
Nov 23, 2014
Bière De Noël from Brasserie Thiriez
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 84 ratings