I had this beer put aside for the Christmas pack, but given all the cold weather our east coast has been experiencing, I thought I’d include it in this month’s pack.
Brewing many beers under the ‘Kapittel’ label, the Leroy Brewery has a long and interesting history having seen the merger of two heritage breweries in SAS and Ven Eecke back in 2016. They are also responsible for one of Belgium’s cult classic beers in Hommelbier.
Based in the town of Watou, quite near to the French border they are in good company, counting among their neighbours Brouwerij St Bernardus and the Westvletern monastery St Sixtus. It is a great town for a stop over and visit to these Belgian icons.
The beer is made of four different malts for a strong dark malt body, and gets hints of red from the sour summer Morellen cherries that are added. There is also the addition of spices in the form of cumin, licorice and coriander for a hint of Christmas pudding.
This for me is a classic Belgian Christmas beer, rich and warming with a hint of spicing without it overpowering the malty flavour of the beer. Perfect for the cold European winter nights, we at least have a few weeks where we can enjoy these beers here and imagine ourselves sitting in a classic Belgian beer bar. At least until the beer is finished!
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 lovely rich and decadent Christmas beer from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
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
A big strong tripel style ale, with a sweet malt body, peppery spice and a big alcohol kick
Good malt body, gentle hop bitterness and classic Belgiam yeast aromas make this a great introduction to Belgian beer.
A great traditional abbey Dubbel style ale from one of Belgium's traditional family breweries
A flavoursome strong dark ale, at the top of the abbey beer hierarchy
The original Belgian IPA, from one of the three breweries in the 'Brewers Town' of Watou.
A traditional Witbier, from the 'Brewer's Town' of Watou; crisp, light and refreshing.
