Abbaye des Rocs Speciale Noel

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

SAQ private import with a best before date 19/10/2014. Pours an amber colour with loads of floaties all around. The head is beige, creamy, long lasting and gives out patchy, thick lacing. At first, aromas of mild dark fruits, but with time, the Belgian Ale yeast comes out blending with the roasted malts with hints of chocolate and vanilla. The taste shows the roasted malt very lightly. Started sweet at first with some fruity malts. A darker Belgian ale that is far from the North American Christmas beer, with cinnamon and other spices. Decent brew, but not my thing.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle. Colour - dark brown, generous rocky tan head. Aroma - yeast, dark fruit, sugar, caramel, sweet malt. Mouthfeel - full bodied. Flavour - dark fruit, molasses, yeast, caramel. Overall - Excellent beer, although one can tell it is weaker than the Triple Imperiales, Grand Cru, and Brune

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

330ml bottle
9.0% ABV
Bar Hop (Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 391 King Street West)
February 8, 2013
$9.95
The beer poured a dark murky reddish-brown with a half inch tan head that lasted throughout. The aroma was plums, yeast, bread, and sugar. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour was sweet malt, molasses, dark fruit, sugar, and yeast

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Dark brown and cloudy with a medium head. Sour lemon, apricot and spices in aroma. Juniper berries, coriander, flowers, apricot and citrus-peels. Dry juniper berries in finish with notes of alcohol and licorice. Good stuff.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Went to AMsterdam with Hans+Gert-jan and this was the winner overall that night. Now the name was speciale noel and after e-mails and research, i think this is it....was dark and pretty...nice smell...had a sweet delicous warming decadent taste. i liked this alot.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a muddy dark brown color ale with a huge off-white bubbly head with better then average retention. Aroma of big sweet malt with a distinctive yeast presence. Taste is semi-sweet caramel malt with some faint presence of prunes with a slightly funky yeast presence toward the end. Body is quite full and alcohol is very well hidden. I still feel that it lack a little something to make it truly spectacular but very good beer nonetheless.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled. Reddish amber colour, small beige head. Aroma is just lovely, richly fruity and pleasant hopping and yeasting. Flavour is sweet toffeeish with some bitterish flowery hops and spices. Pleasant aftertaste of plum, spices and flowery stuff. Extremely complex, and yes, it’s a christmassy beer indeed!!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This poured a cloudy dark copper colour accompanied by a foamy, tan head. No lumps were experienced and mine was 9.0% ABV according to the label. Aroma was quite complex and most interesting, and I'm guessing that I may've (or not) detected some malt, fruit, spices, molasses and coffee. Taste was no less interesting, with malt and coffee leading the way.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

(330 ml capped bottle, bought at Borough Market, London.) Pours with a collossal head, beer is clear reddish brown but with an enormous amount of lumpy yeast floaties which are not dissolved in the beer when pouring, thus making the beer in the glass look rather unappetizing - you may actually feel the lumps when drinking. I normally prefer to pour the yeast in with most bottle conditioned beers (enhances the flavour IMO), even when the brewers tell me not to - but in this case it is definitely not to be recommended! Aroma is initially surprisingly mild and one-dimensional malty sweet, improves as the beer warms up - vinous notes with some toffee and oak appear. Flavour is caramelly, oaky and spicy, with a nice alcoholic warmth. Decent enough, if disregarding the lumps.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

This brew flows into the glass with a cristal clear amber-gold body topped by a thick fizzy white head with good lacing left behind. Slightly sweet yet sour, vinious aroma, similar to some champagns I've had. A slight woody character is noted in the background. Hmmmmmm?...Not quite sure what to say about the flavor. It's not really similar to any beer I've had before. It has a subtle sourness and a touch of sweet. It's slightly vinious. I just don't know what else to say except. I like it. Medium to full bodied, dry and numbing on the tongue.