Wednesday, 14 December 2011

The 10 Beers of Christmas (or, Why the Chuff Didn't I Buy 12?) - Day 1

Christmas beers: a festive treat or massive scam to make us buy more beer?

Err, buying and drinking beer isn't a chore, people!

I'm going to churn out some concise(ish) blogs on Christmas beer rounding up a bevy of Belgian festive offerings. I shall consider them as stand-alone beers but also on their level of festivity.

Day 1 - St Feuillien Cuvée de Noël

St Feuillien's Grand Cru didn't impress me much so how will its Christmas beer fare?

First things first, I like the image on the label. They've included some chap wandering in a snowy scene. Is that a bag of hops he's carrying? Not sure but that's definitely a Christmas tree he's walking past! Nice and festive.

I'd describe it as a Dubbel, style-wise, with a rich brown colour and a yellowish head.  It's a fast-fading head, reducing to a minimum bubble so enjoy it before it's gone.

It's big on the aroma front with lots of festive scents. The element of banana is a nice surprise but there's cloves and anise involved, too, along with the expected caramel malt.

To be honest, the level of anise is slightly too much for me as it continues quite prominently in the mouth. However, if you love liqourice then you may be more partial to this beer than I am.

The aftertaste is dry and bitter and is wanting a little sweetness, particularly considering the savoury spices involved.

I commend St Feuillien for making sure this beer meets festive requirements with the inclusion of spices and its 9% is suitably warming and well handled. For me, though, the balance is tipped too much toward the aniseed flavour and it's a bit overpowering so drops points there.

St Feuillien Cuvée de Noël - 6.5
Christmas rating - 8

http://www.st-feuillien.com/FbieresENG.html

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