Géants Christmas Goliath (8%)
2013 vintage - 8.5% abv
3.4
316 reviews
Irchonwelz, Belgium
Community reviews
Sampled at an ESBLS tasting. It poured a dark brown color with an off-white head. The aroma was of malts, caramel and some spices. The taste was of malts, caramel, fruits and more spices.
2011 bottle. Clear dark Amber/copper with a thin white head. Big nutty malty nose with a playful herbal whisper. The flavor is a bit bitter but has a stern caramel and almond base that’s kinda charming. Overall okay. Lots of almond in the back end.
Rated on 02-23-2013 at RBWG (8.5%ABV) This beer’s appearance is that of a medium sized ivory head that mostly diminishes, transparent orange body, very little carbonation observed, and spotty amounts of lacing. The aroma is light hops, spicy, malt, and sweet. The flavor is light hops, spicy, some alcohol, and malt. This beer’s mouthfeel is light carbonation and thin. This beer is light bodied. This beer needs more flavor for the style and the texture is too thin for the style.
Small bottle from Total Wine & More - Gilbert, AZ. Dark orange, opaque appearance with a lacy beige head. Banana, herbs, light peppery spice, Belgian yeast and fruity esters. Medium to full body with medium sweetness.
Light hazy copper red,mcappuccino head. Caramel, dried prunes, mature apricots, winey, passito, raisins. Christmas spirit taste, not as rich as the aroma, bitter finish with balsamic notes.
33 cl, flaske, 8,0 % ABV, købt i Barley Wine i CPH City, 30. oktober 2014.
Kastanjebrun belgisk juleøl med moccafarvet skumkrone på 5-6 cm tykkelse. Ufiltreret og roligt i glasset.
Kraftig aroma af både peber og tørret frugt. Træ. Krydderier såsom koriander. Nærmest apoteker-aroma. Nellike.
Smagen er let syrlig og dernæst bittersød med masser af krydderier. Er vel egentlig en øl i katagorien Herb Ale, når alt kommer til alt. God balance mellem de forskellige elementer og en god mellem fyldig krop. Opsummering: let syrlig, medium bitter og let sødme.
Ganske vel karboneret på et medium niveau med en oily konsistens og en medium lang eftersmag.
Denne meget krydrede Ale vil IMO være særdeles velegnet til det store kolde (jule-)bord. Velsmagende.
"this beer look and played the part of a prototypical barleywine. but while it had all the elements, it was not as great as the sum of it’s part. caramel malt, hops, slight alcohol presence...check, check, check. decent, but nothing stood out, and the body was average. for the price, i’ll pass."
Typical Belgian Christmas Scotch, also tasted as Noël des Géants (its first name in 2007). Also sold in giant bottles (I’ve seen one of 3 litres). Thick and somewhat rocky, sticky, light beige head, colour a deep mahogany bronze, clear but misty after adding the deposit, the way it should be. Aroma of chocolate, coffee liqueur, hazelnuts, cloves, gingerbread, aniseed, flowery hops, liquorice, pine resin. Malt sweetness in the mouth with dark fruits and some citrus peel, turning a deep nutty and chocolatey malty in the middle with not too pushy spicy notes (aniseed, ginger), dry roasted bitterness in the end with herbal hops. Not very original, but decent and enjoyable.
12oz bottle from 24hr power outage temperature refrigerator to chalice. Pours medium brown with light tan head that quickly dissipated. Slight aroma of fruits. Mostly sweet. Tastes a bit thin. Sweet. You have to concentrate pretty hard to pick out any serious flavors. Slight spice on the finish. Prickly carbonation.
Bière de Noël de 8 % abv, mais mon exemplaire a deux ans et demi de plus que sa date limite,
donc il a dû prendre quelques forces au passage (du temps) et bien entendu son âge va influer
sur les arômes et saveurs également...
Au versage, le nez est nettement à la portorisation. (oh joie...).
Couleur brun roux sombre, et roux foncé en transparence.
Apparence avec un voile de levure (malgré le peu de gaz à l’ouverture).
Bulles moyennes, en 3 colonnes réparties, dont une centrale intense.
Mousse qui n’est plus que d’un léger nappage (normal vu l’âge), mais il durera toute la dégustation.
Arômes clairement sur la tendance à la portorisation, avec des pruneaux macérés dans l’armagnac,
du bois exotique (principalement acajou, teck), cassonnade brûlée, sirop d’érable.
1ère bouche veloutée sur des fruits très mûrs, dont la prune et la poire. Sous-bois à l’automne.
Arrière-bouche ample, complexe, sur du malt chocolat et des fruits confits.
2ème sur le porto, le vieux cognac, le whisky vieilli en fût de bourbon.
3ème à la complexité énorme, notes de chocolat praliné, eau de villée.
Arrière-bouche sur du cramique, cougnou, pain aux amandes.
La longueur développe encore avec entre autres de la résine de pin, des cerises noires, des figues,
des épices orientales, etc.
La levure a bien entendu fini son travail, elle est terreuse mais douce et fine.
L’alcool s’en donne à cœur joie, et je pense que mon exemplaire doit frôler les 10 % réels.
La finale est un feu follet qui dicte sa loi à cette xmas de derrière les fagots... avec du bois de fût,
des herbes de la lune et autres brindilles des bois.
CONCLUSION : on ne s’ennuie pas, on a chaud, on boit du petit lait …
Que c’est merveilleux quand une Christmas vous fait cet effet, parce que c’est exactememnt pour
cela que ces bières ont été concues. Donc « pisse vinaigre » et autre « acide à tout va », s’abstenir !!!
Plums, prunes and sweet grapes on the aroma. A clear but thick body. Taste is sweet with candied fruits and some background malt. Good stuff.
In terms of style tends to lean a little closer to a winter spiced dubble rather than a strong dark ale. The spicy characteristic is held together by a lightly sugary body with notes of dried fruit Cola and yeast eaters. The spritzy carbonation cuts through the palate but ultimately for what it is there seems to be something lacking.
This beer was a letdown. Every aspect of it seemed like a watered down version of a better beer. The spice blend, malts, and hops were all muted. Entirely mediocre.
Bottle @ home, labeled as Noel des Géants. Slightly hazed deep amber pour with a tall off-white head. Aromas of clove, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Bready and yeasty, too. Some toast and maybe a touch of alcohol. Tastes just very sweet. Fair amount of spice character to it, again mostly clove. There are nice caramel, brown sugar, and toast notes to the flavor. Very mild fruit.
Bottle:
Pours bubbly, brown-orange with a small, off-white cap.
Yeasty, cola, buttery caramel scent.
Taste is light fruit, spiced caramel.
A slight mustiness.
Rich in flavor, but drinks very lightly.
Very nice.
Nice clear golden orange color with a very foamy white head. Aroma is very light but definitely seemed like it had a sour yeast component with a touch of salty sea air. I was bracing for a Belgian sour, but it wasn’t sour at all! It tasted like a Belgian golden ale with a crisp, clean lightly toasted malt flavor. There’s some light fruitiness in there too with flavors of cherry and plum. There is a bit of saison-like hay and barnyard tastes near the end. Body is thin but creamy at the same time. The most amazing thing about this beer is that this bottle is labeled at 8.5% ABV, but it drinks like something far below that. I could have downed a few of these before I realized the strength (and then I’d be down). Very nice Belgian Christmas beer.
Nice Christmas beer, spicy, malty and sweet of course. Better than average.
Bottle. Pours a hazy reddish-brown with a medium off-white head. Spice and yeast aroma with some fruit and malt notes. Similar flavor with some alcohol in the finish. A little thin but smooth.
Poured from bottle to glass. Dark amber with fizzy off white head that dissipated quickly. Aroma is esters, floal, banana, sugar, orange, honey, caramel, roasted malt. Mouthfeel is nice with a full body and moderate carbonation. Taste is initially quite sweet with a astringent bitterness that follows. A slight ethanol finish. Overall, this was an ok brew.
rood/bruin helder met minimale witte kraag
aroma van caramel, zoet, rood fruit en iets van steranijs
smaken van bruine suiker, caramel, rozijnen, matig bittertje, stevig bier ondanks dat licht fruitig van rood fruit, matig gemout, redelijk kruidig waaronder iets van kardemom, steranijs, zeer licht rood fruitzuurtje
medium body, romig, normale co2, afdronk wat kruidig en zoetig
Noël Des Géants has a very thick, creamy, cream-colored head, heavy lacing left behind, and an initially clear amber appearance, which, after one swishes the caked-on bottom bottle contents and pours them in, has a descending reddish, muddy cloud. The aroma is strong and sharp- sweet bread, spice, herbs, and other things I am not able to identify. Taste is of sharp, pronounced spices, a good hop bitterness, and rich bread. Mouthfeel is mostly heavy, and Noël Des Géants finishes dry, somewhat boozy, rich, and delicious. Drinkability isn’t bad, either. Overall, this is outstanding! RJT
Dark, amber, hazy, off-white head, quickly disappearing. fruity, fruits, dried grapes, hint of liquer (jenever, fruit), brandy, alcoholic, slightly herbal, some medecin ruining the beer. (beer too old? served at Xmas festival at Marlou)
Mild kräuterartig süßlicher Malzantrunk mit geringer, nicht unpassender Oxidationsnote. Im Mittelteil intensiver werdend, mit dem Malz steigern sich auch die Kräuternoten, spritzig, vollmundig. Geringfügig schokoladig zum Ende, die Süße zieht sich ein wenig zurück, wodurch das Bier noch runder wirkt. Langer schokoladiger Nachhall mit deztner Hopfennote. 8/9/10/11/8/11
Dobre ale jednak nie rewelacyjne piwo swiateczne. Piekny kolor, piana i niebywala metnosc. Piwo w smaku przypomina spruchniale drewno z nuta zepsutego egzotycznego cytrusa. Owocowy posmak znika zaraz po przelknieciu gdyz jest cierpki i wytrawny finisz, troche chmielny i rozgrzewajacy ale podczas degustacji alkoholu wogole nie wyczuwamy.
Bottle from Park Towne Bev. Pours hazy brownish with a small tan head, big glass carbonation. The aroma has a lot of spices.. cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel. The taste is really light on flavor.. almost off.. with some spices but no real malt backing. Not good.
Bottle 0.33l at Mallaskukko, Turku. BBE 9/2014. Colour is brownish orange with small white head. Aromas and flavours: Dark fruits, plums, caramel, ginger, spices and malts.
Bottle. This was one of the less inspiring Belgian Ales I’ve ever dropped coin for.
An old 8% bottle. Dark amber with little head, ginger on the nose and palate, a little orange on the nose too. Body’s a bit musty but also rich like an old fruit wine.
Brown, dark amber coloured beer. Head should be some bigger and hold a bit longer. Spiced at both the smell as taste, and not totally outbalanced. Misses a boost for me. It’s not bad.
December 2010. From bottle. Poured a hazy amber color with a white head. Flavors of spice, malt and caramel. An OK beer but other better options out there.