De Dolle Stille Nacht

At last I get the chance to review what is possibly my favourite beer - it's certainly the beer I try to sample most when I'm in Bruges (this beer is a whopping 12% ABV so this is very much a night cap) also it makes up the greatest portion of the bottles I bring back home.

Stille Nacht (Silent Night) is the Christmas beer from Esen brewery De Dolle and unlike other winter beers this one is brewed without the heavy use of spices, it also has the highest density of any Belgian beer (27PI) having been boiled for 5 hours.

The beer pours a hazy amber that is crammed full of tiny yeast particles that swirl around the glass, topped with a large, fluffy, cream coloured head that quickly fades to leave a flat bubbly topping.

Heavenly, sublime, gorgeous, addictive aroma that explodes with sweet, jammy, caramel, alcoholic notes (right up my street) there's also citrus and banana but also a rich tropical (pineapple) edge. This beer really is one that you can just sit and smell.....beautiful.

Well with a great start like that you know the taste is going to be equally special......and boy it is - a deep caramel malt flavour with again citrus then ginger like heat and a honey sweetness balanced out by a lactic bitterness.

This truly is a flagship amoungst Belgian beers and one that I cherish - the beer I sample now is as special as my first taste back in 2005.      

ST FEUILLIEN CUVEE DE NOEL

Next up the Christmas offering from a brewery just recently sampled - St Feuillien.

Pours a deep, dark, hazy, amber that is made all the more murkier with loads of suspended yeast - think of it being a beer globe....seasonal!
This is topped by a dense, creamy, tan coloured head that really lasts and lasts - very nice.

Gorgeous rich aroma of spiced bread, toffee like sweetness, dark dried fruits (figs, raisins and plums) but also a banana like perfume and along with that clove. Perhaps not as powerful as others in the style but no less enjoyable, just mellow.

Taste is all the above but turned up to 10, first sip and you get deep sweet malts and caramel, then hints of orange peel and cherries, spices like cinnamon and clove along with a gentle hop bitterness and finishing with a nice alcohol warmth.

CORSENDONK CHRISTMAS ALE

Corsendonk takes it name from the Priory of Corsendonk in Oud-Turnhout, which was founded in 1398 and until its closure (by Austrian Emperor Joseph II) in 1784 had been a considerable brewery and malt house.
The Priory itself was rebuilt in the 70s by owners the Keersmaekers family and in 1982 they introduced the Corsendonk brand however now a days the beers are brewed by Du Bocq in Namur.

Corsendonk Christmas pours a clear, deep, dark, reddy brown that's finished with a large fluffy off-white head that really lasts the duration of the beer.
Great aromas of dark fruits and molasses, caramelised sugars and ripe bananas (yes this beer has a sweet aroma) a slight anise and clove note provide that seasonal magic.

Taste is rich with malts and fruits....kind of like plum bread coupled with gentle warming spices, a pronounced toffee like sweetness fills the mouth - nothing overdone just perfectly balanced, the finish has a gentle hop bitterness mixed with cocoa and a mild tinge of alcohol.


http://www.corsendonk.com/  

WINTERKONINSKE

The next Christmas beer up for review is the winter offering from Sint-Truiden based brewery Kerkom - brewed since 2000 Winterkoninske is Flemish or winter king, also what appears at first sight to be a robin sat on a hop plant on the label could in fact be a wren because the Dutch word for this tiny bird is Winterkoninkje.

Pours a dark brick red topped with a thick, creamy, tan coloured head that slowly recedes to leave a constant centimetre covering.

Fantastic aroma that is full of dark fruits (figs, raisins and black cherries) light spices, caramel, sweet malts and also a slight rich cocoa note.

Taste follows with sweet caramelised malts, masses of dark, dried fruits, spices like nutmeg and clove, dark caramel sweetness and a mouth tingling licourice finish.


http://www.brouwerijkerkom.be/en/    

ABBAYE DES ROCS SPECIALE NOEL

Now then, seeing as the festive period is upon us it seems only right to start sampling my collection of Christmas beers - most of which have sat in a cupboard for almost a year as I wait for the colder evenings and my taste buds yearn for the darker, spicier brews.........who the hell am I kidding I could drink these beers in high summer!

So on with our first and one from a brewery previously visited - Abbaye des Rocs and their seasonal release Speciale Noel.
Blimey this is a bit of gusher (but now thanks to a previous De Dolle accident all bottles are opened in a jug, just leave alone and let it settle) when I finally pour the contents of the bottle (and jug) into my glass what is produced is a deep, red, chestnut that is absolutely crammed full of large chunks of yeast (check the photo) but in no way do they detract from the joyous experience that follows, topped by a creamy, off white head that eventually fades to a thick cap.

Heavenly sweet aroma of  rich caramel, ripe dark fruits, brown sugar and dark malts, spices are also in the mix with a seasonal cinnamon edge along with a light dusting of liquorice for good measure - what a combination.

Initial taste is of sweet caramel malts then bags of rich, spicy dark fruits (plums and cherries) and speaking of spices this time cardamom is detected. Molasses and toffee follow along with a rich chocolate note, anise flavours are more prominent as the beer warms.

All in all a fantastic kick start to a Christmas beer extravaganza.