“St.Bernardus Christmas Ale is a dark, seasonal beer, full of wintery character and flavours that we brew every year ready for the festive season.”

Glassware: Trappist chalice.

Appearance: Kind of a muddy dark brown complexion and a fizzy three finger head perched on top. It takes ages to recede but leaves an absolute mess on the glass.

Aroma: So complex. There’s literally like a dozen or more scents swirling around the olfactory’s. We get a lot of dried fruit and spice, notable wafts of orange peel, milk chocolate, cherry, sarsaparilla, unique herbal/floral tones and all spice. We keep picking these Saison-esque traits of Angostura bitters and candied lemon as well. Very well layered.

Flavour: The progression on this is something else. It opens up almost musty and spicy with a delicate caramel sweetness tucked in behind. It’s completely different on the 2nd sip…now we get more of the orange peel, cherry and dried fruits that shift into a tangy/zesty mid that entertains a nutty and chocolatey note before setting up a toasty, spicy, slightly tart, dry and estery finish that lingers.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly light and gassy for its size (10% ABV). Lively Co2 with an effortless texture.

Overall: Tis the season to be cracking Christmas Ales early! An expectedly sleek and sophisticated brew from these Belgian maestro’s. We may have to get a few more of these for the cellar.