This hearty amber brew, well-balanced and warming, is the brewer's special celebration of this wonderful season, when the herald angels sing. A Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all, from Brouwerij Achilles!
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (2/13/2008 9:33:10 PM)
"Pours with a frothy, initially four-finger thick, dirty, light tan colored head that leaves some slight lacing as it slowly recedes. The beer is an amber color, but shows a brilliantly clear, red-copper color and lots of carbonation when held up to the light. The aroma has an interesting soft spiciness to it that accentuates a light, fruity sweetness. Aromatic notes reminiscent to woody black pepper, old ginger, bright plum notes, a touch of apple, some berry aromatics, some soft citrus and a slight musty / slightly moldy cotton note combine with a touch of dusty grain character towards the finish. This is an interesting aroma, it is a bit more complex than I expected. It also picks up some notes of tropical fruit, fresh cut tangelos and even a hint of herbal character to it as time goes on.
Fairly dry and carbonated up front, the beer picks up a fruity sweetness towards the middle though. This is quite light bodied for a beer of this strength, or really it has a lightness that I really like to find in Belgian ales of this strength; the peppery, zippy carbonation helps to keep this light and while ample does not detract from the experience of the beer. The long finish has a touch of musty malt to it, hints of browned vegetables as well as a pepper like bite to it. The sweetness in this brew, which is fairly noticeable, incorporates flavors of plums, caramelized apples, perhaps a touch of sweet citrus fruit and a bright berry note. As the beer loses its carbonation it begins to pick up a soft creaminess to the mouthfeel, but still remains quite drinkable. While the dominant spice note is that of black pepper (with a touch of woodiness) there is also some hints of ginger, clove and ephemeral nutmeg.
This is a nice surprise as I was not expecting too much from this beer for some reason. It really has a nice balance between piquant, peppery spice notes and sweet fruit notes, plus it is all wrapped up in a light bodied, easily quaffed package; all of which fit the bill for a good Belgian beer.
Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.9)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $13.3 Unit Cost: $8.39 per Pint
[2] Review by Stoutlover72 from Northern, California, USA who has tried this beer once. (1/14/2008 1:36:33 PM)
"This beer, like the other beer I tried from this brewery, suffers from mediocrity. There's nothing to shout about this beer or to bash, even in the slightest so what you wind up with is a ho-hum Belgian Christmas beer that cannot stand up next to the heavyweights like Scaldis Noel, St. Bernardus Christmas beer or even Affligen Noel and others. The aroma on this beer is babypowder, dried apricots, bubblegum and some undiscernable spices. Appearance is a burnt orange color with a very small head. Suprised to see such a small head really. Flavors of light fruit, yeast, light malts, and alcohol. Too much carbonation for my liking and too much alcohol. All too common characteristics found in some Belgian beers which, for my liking, drops it some points off. "
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint
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(3.9)
