Holiday Beers: Belgian Ales « My Wine Education

Holiday Beers: Belgian Ales

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Hello and Happy Holidays!

We start of the week with a pair of very different Christmas beers from the great beer producing country of Belgium: Delirium Noël and Anker’s Gouden Carolus Noël. Both of these are re-fermented in the bottle, which is typical of these two styles of Belgian beer.The rest of the week I’ll focus on some American brews.

Up first is the Delirium Noël from Delirium Brewery. Delirium is an older brewery located in Ghent and has been brewing the Christmas beer since 2000. This is a Belgian Dark Lager with a kick at 10% AbV. The aroma and taste were of butterscotch sweetness that led to a well balanced malty and dry finish. After trying a fair number of Christmas beers that went between sucking on a pine tree and coating my mouth in ginger, everything about this beer was subtle. The flavors, smell and alcohol were all well-balanced and I hope intentionally mild. Overall, I was very impressed but Shel wanted a little more spice. The price point on this one is about $4.00 for 11.2 oz and should be available in most places.

Kevin: Happy Shel: Neutral

Our second Christmas ale is the Gouden Carolus Noël from Anker Brewery. Anker has been brewing this particular style since 2002 when it returned to production after a lapse. This year, the dark strong ale was brewed in August and aged until a holiday release. Six different spices were added throughout the process and I found wintergreen in the nose and a hefty amount of mint in the taste. Shel noticed mulling spices and the feeling of sipping a beer in front of a roaring fire. There is more bitterness and a fresh mouth taste at the very end. Once again, this is also roughly $4.00 and has 10.5% AbV.

Kevin: Happy Shel: Neutral

– Kevin

Christmas Ales Series

Part 2: Solstice & Shiner
Part 3: Wrapping Up (American & British)

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Posted by Kevin at 8:51 pm in Beer, Beer-Guy.net | Permalink | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Holiday Beers: Belgian Ales”

Gordon says:

December 23, 2008 at 12:23 am

You should really try Scaldis Noel. Probably the best Belgian holiday beer I have had (and I’ve pretty much had everything you can get in the US).
Kevin Gerl says:

December 23, 2008 at 9:31 pm

Belgian beers are a little tricky to find, but thanks for tip. I’ll keep an eye out for it at the local parties (town and source) which have the better beer selections in the NKY area.