Kerstmutske Christmas Nightcap
Brouwerij Slaapmutske

Copenhagen 8/2 2019. 33 cl bottle from Ølhandleren in Give (web-shop). Drawing of a happy Moon with a Christmas hat on the label.

Pours murky Maroon with a red hue. Yellowish head. Settles as 0,5 cm thick layer of foam. Substantial Lacing.

Aroma is sweetish with sharp sourish notes. Brown sugar, dark fermented fruit. Fruity, tart notes.

Soft carbonation. Thick, oily, greasy texture. Sticky but almost flat.

Flavor has strong sweetness followed by a moderate bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet and lingers for a while.

Does exactly what I expect for a Belgian Christmas beer. Exceedingly sweet and strong without being boozy.

November 2009: 330 ml bottle, as Slaapmutske Christmas, at the Christmas beer tasting of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Beautiful dark reddish brown colour, huge, creamy and long lasting off-white to beige head. Both aroma and flavour have a distinctly malty presence (not too sweet though) with some mild spicy, fruity and caramel notes, the hops are moderate - but the beer is overall so well balanced and highly drinkable that it deserves a high rating, even without being so very "special", nor extreme in any way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on draft in a 12oz snifter glass

muddy dark brown, white head, good head retention. malty aroma with a touch of herbal spice. taste is well balanced, not too sweet. medium bodied.

 

no visible date on the bottle, but this is an old one for sure. nothing holds up quite like a belgian christmas ale though, and this is the case here! for some reason i thought it was stronger than it is, but it still drinks pretty heavy. nut brown colored and sporting a foaming off white head, looks like a belgian. this beer is very dubbel-esque, with its strong dark malt profiles, flavors of molasses and brown sugar, raisins, and subtle spice notes from the belgian yeast, anise and pepper, still very sweet, and with a little oxidation, this has to be well over 5 years old now. slightly nutty, very sweet, long boiled tasting, but also really well carbonated and with a delicate mouthfeel for the density of the flavors, which is a cool twist on this. super fizzy. almonds, old belgian yeast, caramelized malt sweetness, long finish. i get a light astringency too, maybe a product of its age, kind of neat with the yeast though, which is somewhat subtle compared to other belgian holiday beers (which is a category i have been digging lately for some reason). enjoyable stuff, id be curious to try some more beers from these guys, you dont see their stuff around too much here in colorado though. this has aged extremely well.

 

Poured from 0.33 l bottle into trappist goblet.
L: Dark brown color with a medium foam head.
S: Belgian yeast, sournesss.
T: Light, spicy, hot.
F: Medium body and carbonation.
O: Expected more from this one, but good.

 

 

 

 

 

This Christmas Nightcap is associated with the DeProef shop, I presume as contract brewer and also helps distribute.
And this relationship is a good thing. Because this is good recipe; yet with under 100 reviews in 8 years, someone needs to work on telling the world about this nice winter ale.

While it looks average, the fruit and yeast tells me a true Belgian is at work. The taste lacks bitterness (a plus to me.)
It finishes dry with medium bubbles which, I suppose, keeps the sweet malt in balance.
I found it at Total Wine near Sarasota. I hope I can find it again.