De Ranke Père Noël
A fantastic Christmas beer, but one that defies the universal custom of a stronger, spicier beer for the holiday season. At 7% alcohol by volume, this one is relatively lighter in alcohol than the Guldenberg, and does not pack the hop punch of the XX. It combines some of the best elements of those other two beers – with a fine balance of malt and hops, complex character, a refreshing dryness, and a gorgeous cellar aroma – but is distinguished by its festive copper color. The 1999 Père Noël was a bit of a departure, with a very appealing yeasty tartness that was not readily discernible in earlier years.
3.5
980 reviews
Dottignies, Belgium
Community reviews
Bottle from RAD beer. Hazy deep golden colour with a white head. Aroma yeasty and malty, with dried fruit. Slight spice. Medium body.
Hopt
Draught @ SKAAL Sønderborg. Pours hazy orange with airy off-white head. Clear aroma of fruit and malt, with touches of honey and yeast. Bitter flavour of hops and cloves, with sweetish notes of fruit, caramel malt and yeast. Spicy and estery aftertaste with citric hints. Decent, like nearly everything from this brewery.
One of those where it would be nice if RateBeer still allowed us to see what happens to scores over time. Bottle. Amber with an inch of white head. Aroma of dough, hints of brown sugar, lots of that De Ranke bitter orange. Some light spiced bready/cakey sweetness sits with the typical De Ranke hops and a dryish finish that's on the moderate side for bitterness.
Opened this special beer to celebrate the Habs victory over the Leafs. I was expecting more of a Belgian-style, this made me think more of the beers with ‘épeautres’. With its lack of sweetness. A disappointment, had to go to my reserve and took out a good Founders CBS...
Took a second one on a special visit from a friend passing by, much enjoyable with salty food.
An atypical Christmas Ale. Opaque amber blond color, with a well represented and moderately persistent white head. The aroma is typically loaded with hints of caramel, bread crust, mixed fruit and many spices, especially Creole blend. The taste displaces a little, by virtue of a dominance of bitter flavors, tending to herbaceous, and spicy, attributable to pepper, with all the malty part of the aroma re-proposed only as a background to the palate. The body tends to be full, with an average carbonation and fairly well hidden alcohol. Generally a fairly good and original product, although perhaps too far from what one would expect from a Christmas beer.
Pours a cloudy gold, nice white head. Aroma is Belgian yeast, spices. Taste is dry, bitter throughout but with some underlying malt sweetness. Notes of cinnamon, spritzy mouthfeel. Made me feel like the Father Christmas figure hugging the hops on the label. Liked it a lot.
Solid tasty beer
Hazy dark golden pour with a fine head
Good intensity in the aroma
Balanced bitterness and sweetness. Mild refreshing tartness in the back
Good complexity also
Fruity, some spices, herbal, some yeast and some citric notes in the flavor
[Bottle from a trade with Grima]
Bottle. Color: Hazy amber, large frothy white head. Aroma: Malty, yeasty, subtle spicy notes. Taste: Malty and hoppy, grassy and bit floral hop, yeasty notes and pretty strong spicy notes of white and black pepper. Over moderate sweet and over medium bitterness. Nice bitter palate at finish. Above medium body, just below average carbonation. Nice Belgian Ale.
It is dry, which really accentuates the bitterness. The malt is good, but there is an exceedingly strong black pepper taste on top of a cloudy muddy beer. Kihoskh adventkal. Maybe needs another try, but this bottle is only 4 months old with a 5 year expiry date
Ça change comme bière de Noël. Plutôt léger et facile à boire.
Robe ambrée pale, limpide, nez réglisse, poivre, malts caramélisés, coriandre, dominante largement épicée. attaque moyennement amère, herbes fraiches, épices, réglisse, piquant du poivré, mal et caramel. Bonne carbo, corps moyen, léger sucre résiduel, bonne longueur sur le poivre. Belle bière qui revisite un peu le style de la bière de Noël avec une bière avec une buvabilité (alors que beaucoup de bières de Noêl sont beaucoup trop lourdes) mais malgré tout le respect des "traditions" (est-ce vraiment une tradition la bière de Noël ?) avec l'utilisation généreuse d'épices.
Sticker dated 05/2012 on the cap. Clear amber appearance with a white head. Aroma of toasted malt, earthiness, mild woody notes, light hops and hints of fruit. Similar flavor, malty, earthy and smooth with a mild bittersweet balance. Medium body with a touch of oxidation at the finish. This held up pretty well.
Bottle at home. Had this for Christmas dinner and bought this for the awesome bottle top. The beer poured a murky brown colour. This was really bitter was not expecting that.
A:anacardi,malto,acido
G:amara,ferrosa,acida
Nothing like a Christmas beer. Little sweetness and very small malt character. It's all about the bitterness. Similar to the xx bitter but without the hop overdose. It's ok just not what i would have expected.
Ar: candied fruit, licorice, malt Ap: bronze, creamy yet minimal head T: fruity, malty, med sweetness, dry finish P: med body, silky texture
Bottle from HavnensVin&Tobak. Pours hazy orangish amber with large foamy white head. Aroma is malt, grain, Belgian style yeast, apples and hints of ammonium chloride. Taste is medium sweet, medium to very bitter and light acidic. Body is slightly dry with medium carbonation. Finish is long and balanced sweet and bitter with a chalky dryness and with notes of Belgian ale with malt, caramel, syrup, yeast, spice and hints of mint and anise.
Lidt for bitter til mig.
Bottled 0,33L. Dark orange color, hazy and unclear aspect, moderate bubbly impression, creamy and adehrent white head. Notes od sweet malt, yeast, aged cereals, cellar. Warm and mellow palate, sweet and alcoholic mouth, Notes of yeast, stum, clear molds.
Bottle from Wine Reserve, Cobham. Aroma is smokey and nutty. Underlying fruit. Clear amber. Creamy if patchy white head. Initial low key sweet fruitiness. Soon becomes medium bitter with a smokiness to it. Underlying nuts and dark fruit. A touch of sourness. Medium bodied. Creamy. Average carbonation. Slightly astringent finish. Enjoyable. Smooth stuff. Never overdoes itself.
Tosta, amara, ma con un finale dolcissimo, quasi caramella
Bottle. Pours hazed amber with an off white head. Aroma: apple, citrus fruit, yeast, spices, fried fruits. Taste: light to moderate sweet & bitter, citrus peel, dried fruits, Belgian yeast, candy sugar. Medium body, ample carbonation, dry bitter finish. Not very Christmassy.
Aroma; fruits, raisins, spices, yeast, malts. Look; off-white head on veiled amber body. Taste; fermented fruits, malts, raisins, floral spices, belgian floral yeast, syrup, and leading to a sweet finish. Feel; nice body n co². Overall; tastes darker than appearance. [čištění starého nepořádku, lahvové pivo, koup@ německém obchodě]
Cerveza de color ámbar dorado claro con una cabeza de espuma duradera de color blanca.
Aromas florales, frescos y ligeros, fruta madura, adornado de alcohol. Sabor de la primera impresión, una embestida directo de los lúpulos, marca de identidad de la casa, desarrolla un amargor seco sutilmente balanceado con un leve sabor de malta y fruta, regaliz y maderas para dejar paso libre al seco final del lúpulo.
El cuerpo es un medio ligero, con una ligera carbonatación moderada. En general, una buena cerveza, pero que realmente no impresiona de manera significativa. Es sabroso y sólido, pero nada especial.
0,33l bottle from biab. Pours hazy amber. Spices, caramel, belgian yeast, some herbal notes. Quite sweet but very good.
Aroma : Toasted caramel maltiness, ripe soft fruits, some spice & a light earthy hop. Taste : As aroma. Decent bittersweet balance with spicey alcoholic burn in the finish
Copenhagen 1/1 2019. 33 cl bottle from Ølhandleren in Give (webshop). Green label with drawing of Santa hugging a very big glass of beer.
Pours murky amber with medium-sized white head. Fairly stable. Settles as 1 cm thick layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.
Aroma is fresh and a little tart. Unripe berries, fresh plums, citrus and green apples. Lighter sugary odor rummaging in the background. Not much presence of alcohol.
Medium carbonation. Medium thick, oily texture. A little sticky.
Flavor is medium sweet followed by a somewhat stronger tart sourness. An unforgiving alcoholic afterburn. Aftertaste is tart and citric. Finish is semi-dry.
More a Saison than a Seasonal. So it does not do what it is supposed to - but it does it pretty good.
06-02-2020; bottle; at home (bought Bier&Zo, Rotterdam, The Netherlands).
The looks of the beer are nice. The colour of the beer is a nice golden amber. It is crystal clear. The beer bubbles lively. On top of the beer a nice layer of frothy slightly tinted foam is formed. Foam retention isn't long. Some lacing is left on the glass.
The aroma of the beer is nice. It has some nice full malty aromas. They give the aromas of caramel and some toffee. Also some nice biscuity notes. It is very nice. The hops are interesting. Quite spicy and fresh, a bit grassy and also fruity. Some piney touches are there too. Quite nice. The yeast also give some spicy notes and a nice fruity touch. Typical Belgian yeast.
The taste of the beer is nice. The malts are nice and sweet, but the bitterness of the hops is strong. The result is a nice balance between sweets and bitters. More bitter then most Belgian Ales. The hops also give a nice fruitiness. This is quite nice.
The palate of the beer is nice. Quite a light body, smooth texture and high carbonation. The finish of the beer is quite nice. Nice floral and spicy hops and that spicy yeast notes. It has a very nice spicy kick. I like it.
A bottle from Beer Ammo at Gong Guan, drunk at home. Aroma: very fresh, sour yeast. Appearance: opaque dark amber, very generous off-white head. Palate: medium-bodied and slick, average carbonation, astringent and bitter at the finish. Taste: medium bitter, very hoppy. Some iron, it punches above its weight at only 7%, very satisfying.