Noël Christmas Weihnacht
Brouwerij Verhaeghe

Nov. 2014: Rerate, 330 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.2%. Clear golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate spices, grain and dust in the aroma. The flavour is not too sweet, with a nice spicy character, and moderate hops in the finish. Easy drinking for its strength.

Original rating: Bottles, shared at Holmen Nanobryggeri’s annual Christmas/Yule beer tasting. ABV 7.2%. Clear golden colour, moderate white head. Spicy aroma. Moderately spicy flavour. Decent and drinkable, but a bit too far out on the "light" end of what is acceptable for a Christmas brew.

From Belgiuminabox. In Teku glass. Playing Life is Strange. 2 years after bbf. No christmasty but very belgian, with notes not white grapes, green apple, belgian yeast. Nicely musty

 

Crisp and clear light gold in color. Just over a 1 finger head. Stays pretty fizzy. Some Belgian yeast aroma and some maltiness and biscuit. Tastes quite good as it is a bit sweet and very malty. There is evedence of Belgian yeast flavors and some hints of white wine. Some spice. Medium mouthfeel. Overall a really good beer. Im not sure why it doesnt have a higher rating. I could keep this one in stock as a go to beer when you dont want something dark or super hoppy. Ill have to grab a few more before they are gone for the season.

interesting that this beer isnt better liked, i thought it was a pretty solid belgian blonde ale, with a cool and classic old world belgian yeast profile to it, some fruitiness there, and an overall general lightness and crispness that make it quite distinct in the belgian world. nothing at all about is says christmas though, no spices, no rich malt, no strong booze, sweetness, none of that. its just a belgian pale type, but its a very good one, i just dont know how it is supposed to be a holiday beer, is there some tradition in belgium i am unaware of that suggests drinking this kind of beer around the holidays? for me its more of a summer thing. white grape notes, slight oxidation (these sit around on shelves here, largely due to price point i would think), peppery and fruit mature belgian yeast, and a light crackery malt base that stays in the background. awesome carbonation and really dry for the style, i like both of those aspects here, and there is a little hop bitterness that arises late, making this just a bit different from others like it. festive if you let it be, but not outwardly so. well made beer, better than its ratings but not a real head turner...

 

From the bottle, it pours amber with vibrant head, quickly dissipating to a ring around the edges. The scent is vaguely lager like and the flavor is similar. Decent.

Poured into tulip.
Pours clear golden with orange hues, big white froth, good retention.
Smell - white grape, yeasts, metallic, skunky.
Taste - pale malts, decent hop bitterness, metallic, lager-like in common with belgian yeasts pronounce.
Medium body and carbonation. Poor.

 

Dry, light

Poured into a Barbe chalice.

Look: Medium to light cooper body under a light cream colored head. Nice head retention, minimal lacing.

Aroma: Smells like a Euro pale lager. Strong white grape aroma, blended with sweet malts. Subtle white pepper.

Taste: The white grape aroma translates to taste. Noticeable cherry tart, some lemongrass and sweet malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied.

Overall: Tastes too much like a Euro pale lager to even get a Christmas vibe from it. Not my thing.

 

 

 

Pours a clean transparent pilsner like yellow. Smell is very reminiscent of Stella Artois, taste is also pilsner like with a slightly higher bitterness from the hops, a bit metallic. Nothing in this beer is true to the Christmas style ale nor a Belgian strong pale ale. Overall, a huge disappointment for a beer that comes from the brewery that makes Duchesse de Bourgogne.

Started out really bad, clear light golden color. Smell was a slight improvement, you get a little bit of sweet and then some of the classic pils odor. The taste was not decent, a little bit of sweet with an almost metallic aftertaste that I did not care for but was not overwhelming. Not completely thin on the feel like I expected from appearance. Okay, but not good.

Pours a clear deep straw producing almost 2 fingers of, finely bubbled, somewhat lasting, white head that leaves no lace above the surface collar. Lots of carbonation bubbles continuing to rise long after the pour. Aroma is sweet pale malt, fruity, cloves, with hints of banana, white wine, Belgian yeast must & faintly hoppy. There are metallic, oxidized & skunked off hints as well. Taste is nicer with sweet, fruity, crisp biscuit/cracker malt, grass, light lemon notes & a hint of clove but the banana of the nose is not detectable & unfortunately there is a hint of skunkiness. Finishes off with skunk & metallic hints that last into the lightly malty, sour fruit aftertaste. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with active moderate-high carbonation, alcohol warmth, peppery prickle, wet up front with a dry finish & a dry, astringent aftertaste. Overall a little off & something is not quiteright in both the nose and the mouth.

Smells like Heineken. Tastes like Stella. It's unusual for an Xmas beer.

 

Bottle, 25cl. Golden colour with small head that does not last much. Smells very sweet, I would say artificial, and maybe some fruit, a littel winey but after a little while is only a metallic or oxid aroma. Taste is again artificially sweet and very metallic. Metallic is the main aroma and taste. Dissapointing, plus I can't find any of the christmas beers features.