This beer has been tucked away at the back of our cool room since the start of the year. Most of the Belgian Christmas beers are only released late October or November, so miss our last container for the year. To ensure we have some suitably festive beers at this time of year, we keep a couple back for inclusion at the appropriate time.
So let the festive season begin with this Kerst Pater Special Christmas Beer from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche. The brewery is most known for the Pater Lieven beers (of which we’ve featured a few), or the Buffalo Belgian Stout. But this seasonal beer is always one to look out for each year.
It has many of the traditional dark beer flavours like chocolate, a hint of coffee, raisins, plums or prunes, brown sugar, red berries and more. It is different to many Christmas beers in that the spicing is very subdued. Not much to pick out really, though the hops do give a little earthy note to the moderate bitterness that bites back just enough to offset the sweetness.
An exceptionally lively blonde Christmas Ale, full of aroma, flavour and a hint of alcohol warmth.
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
A dark and rich Christmas beer, rumoured to be the first one of its style
A rich, spice winter beer is just the thing to warm up on a cold winters night
A typical Belgian winter beer with hints of cherries and spices
The most recent creation from St Bernardus, it is everything a dark Christmas ale should be.
The renowned Christmas seasonal beer from the 'The Mad Brewers' - can stored for many years.
Another masterpiece from Struise, a blonde Christmas Ale full of flavours that come through in layers.
A cracking seasonal blond-amber Christmas beer from De Struise Brouwers
Verhaeghe's special Christmas beer is a blonde ale with wheat and spices
Hop bitterness, with dry spicing and just a hint of wild earthy funk
