Klein Duimpje Kerstbier

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

An amber color with a white head. The aroma is caramel, raisins, spices, and alcohol. The flavor is rather spicy with a hint of mint as well as toffee and nutmeg. The aftertaste is sweet with some alcohol showing. Overall a pretty good Belgian.

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

Pours into my 25cl tulip glass with a frothy, amber tinged, initially fat-two-finger thick head. The beer is a deep amber color that shows a lightly hazy, orange-tinged, light amber color when held up to the light. The aroma has a nice fruitiness to it that is a mix of orange zest, berries, light cherry and a sweet plum note. There is a touch of spiciness here that reminds me of a mix of mace, clove and perhaps a touch of anise. There is a soft toasty grain note towards the finish that can be hard to find under the more dominant sweet aromatic notes. Overall the aroma is a mix of fruit and spices that definitely contribute a holiday mix of aromas.

Perhaps not as sweet as the aroma might have suggested, but there is enough sweetness, as well as a light tartness, to accentuate flavors of plums, currants, sweet cherries and red grapes. A spiciness comes in at the front of each sip (a mix of peppery carbonation, ginger and earthy spice notes) and it becomes a touch softer and more earthy towards the finish (coriander, earthy ginger and a slight spicy woodiness), but is noticeable throughout the flavor profile. A touch of warmth in the finish lets you know that this has some alcohol to it. The beer is fairly light, though not overly so for its strength; a medium heft provides a touch of palate coating softness, but is definitely not sticky.

This is quite fruity in both flavor and aroma, the fact that it is not overly sweet in the flavor helps to play up a soft, fruity acidity that keeps this a bit more interesting than it might be otherwise.

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

Pours out in a cloudy reddish orange colour with a small white head. Semi sweet aroma of cherries and dough with a finish of neutral yeast. Yeasty and rather sweet flavour of black, cherries and anice with touches of black currant and wgite bread. Yeasty and fairly warming finish of cherries, alcohol and sweet licorice.