La Binchoise Speciale Noel

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

This poured a copper color with white head. Aroma is yeasty with yams, caramel, candi sugar, spices. Flavor is rather sweet with candi sugar, molasses, and caramel. Overall pretty good beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

A beer that I'd laid in to enjoy over the Christmas season and enjoy it I did! Pouring 1.5 fingers (precisely!) of a short-lived foamy white head, this capped a cloudy body of dark orange. The aroma was mega-spiced, along perhaps some notes of bread. Taste was made most pleasurable by the generous spicing, and mouthfeel was just bloody excellent. Finish was sweet n' good.

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

Bottle courtesy of mgermani: Poured a deep clear amber color ale with a big foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma if totally dominated by ginger with some caramel malt also discernable. Taste is quite heavy on the ginger with some light medium-sweet caramel malt notes. Body is thinner then expected with some great carbonation and alcohol is really well hidden. Definitely not what I was expected but very interesting nonetheless.

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

Pours with a frothy, four-finger thick, tan colored head. The beer sits in my glass a darkish, amber colored, red tinted color and shows a brilliantly clear, deep reddish copper color when held up to the light. An interesting mix of spice and malt meets my nose upon the first smell. Fruit aromatics are also noticed and lean towards notes of aromatic, tart apples, touches of plum, pear and even some wine grape like notes (mostly white varietals, but also a touch of berry like red varietals). The aroma is lightly woody, but sharply aromatic with various esters and phenols; spice notes of ginger, white pepper, clove and that previously mentioned wood like note are all noticeable among the melange of aromatics. Malt aromatics of toasted grain, lightly browned soda crackers, dusty malt and a substantial fresh, whole grain bread note really perk up towards the middle and finish. This really has quite an interesting note, the yeast character really shines here, but has a nice backdrop of supporting malt character to hold it up.

Some zippy carbonation provides a touch of fizz as this first hits my tongue. The beer is lightly sweet and fruity with notes of aromatic apple varieties, raisins, and a touch of tart / sweet plum. A back note of malt provides some structure with austere flavors of crushed pale malt, dried biscuit notes and a lingering, lightly astringent toasted grains husk note in the far finish. Pretty light bodied for a beer of this strength, but it does have a medium heft to it; at times (especially with the interaction of light tartness and light sweetness found in this beer) it can even be down right quaffable. The flavor is not as spicy as the flavor was, but there is still a solid yeast contribution here; flavors of clove, a touch of white pepper, some ginger and a hint of a spicy oak flavor. The finish has a certain astringency to it that seems contributed by a mix of alcohol flavors and perhaps some phenolics and additional esters. This provides a bit of sharpness and at times seems a bit like cardamom in the finish.

This is an interesting beer. I really like the nose on this one initially. Somehow the flavor did not quite deliver, though it is still pretty complex and flavorful. The relative light body was also quite welcome, but somehow I just feel that the beer taken as a whole is missing a little something that would make it quite good.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

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

Another special treat from Belgium. Aromatic with apples, caramel, pepper, coriander, pears, anise rising from a clear, copper body with puffy foam. Slick and quenching mouthfeel, and the tongue agrees with the nose. Very little bitterness, some herbal hops and caramelly sweetness are all here. Another cool take on a Holiday brew.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Beautiful orange color on the pour with a nice white head. Average lacing left on the goblet. Wonderful aroma. Lots of fruit and floral. I could enjoy just sitting and taking in the scent of this brew. Flavor was not as compelling. Hints of fruit, sugar, floral. Alcohol well hidden. Finish clean and smooth.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Brewtopia’04. Amber-red color. Smells fruity, orange blossom, and soapy. Tastes the same. Lots of corriander.

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

There are things about the beer I really loved and things I hated. It started with the appearance. It had a nice gold and apple juice slightly cloudy body that really set off the gold leaf on the glass. The head, on the other hand, was loose, dry looking and small and short-lived for the style. The aroma was very fruity, roses, loads of spices and a little herbal, but also a bit medicinal. The flavor had a nice complex fruitiness with pineapple, grapes and a little melon, but als had that slight medicinal flavor and an aching thin metallic bitterness that cut right through the good qualities. The flavor itself was a bit thin. The beer had potential, but just too many flaws.

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

Bottled. Hazy orange colour, foamy head. Aroma is sweet caramellish with hints of malts. Flavour is quite dry fruitish and hoppy. Aftertaste is dry and hoppy. Quite pleasant, Alcohol is not noted too much in it, but gives a nice sweet touch.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Brandy coloured. Spicy aroma (nutmeg, ginger?). Oaky and spicy flavour, quite dry. A bit thin mouthfeel for a beer this strength