St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale is, as the name implies a typical winter beer. This dark beer is filled with winter cheer and feels like Christmas in a bottle: warm, cozy, and really inviting to enjoy together with friends or family.
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale takes on a splendid dark-brown color that is topped off with a cream-colored layer of froth. It's an intensely dark beer with a full, yet slightly fruity flavor, overflowing with the tastes of winter and zesty seasonal aromas. Aniseed notes are complemented by hints of creamy caramel and fire-roasted chestnuts. This zestiness shows no signs of abating, pushing through to a magnificent finish of dries fruit and chocolate.
In the heart of the West Flemish hop district, we brew a truly inspiring beer that fancies a lot of beer lovers. Special top-fermented dark and light beers have been produced in our establishment ever since 1946, and they are acclaimed as the best in the world it's your "Heavenly Nectar Within Reach"!
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale takes on a splendid dark-brown color that is topped off with a cream-colored layer of froth. It's an intensely dark beer with a full, yet slightly fruity flavor, overflowing with the tastes of winter and zesty seasonal aromas. Aniseed notes are complemented by hints of creamy caramel and fire-roasted chestnuts. This zestiness shows no signs of abating, pushing through to a magnificent finish of dries fruit and chocolate.
In the heart of the West Flemish hop district, we brew a truly inspiring beer that fancies a lot of beer lovers. Special top-fermented dark and light beers have been produced in our establishment ever since 1946, and they are acclaimed as the best in the world it's your "Heavenly Nectar Within Reach"!
3.9
1746 reviews
Watou, Belgium
Community reviews
@ GrandCru Firenze festa di Natale
11.2-ounce auburn-chestnut with 1/4" creamy tan head and lots of clingy lacing. Aroma: brown sugar, dried dark pitted fruits, stollen fruit blend, molasses cookies. Flavor: brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, ripe plums, figs, dates, anadama bread, banana chips, dried cherries, toast, black pepper. Mouthfeel: medium-bodied with a soft palette and, oddly, a creamy yet still dry finish. A slightly boozy warmth lingers.
Das St. Bernadus Christmas Ale kommt mit feinporig beiger aber nicht sehr standfester Krone ins Glas. Die Farbe ist undurchsichtig schwarz. Neben Röstaromen erinnert mich der Geruch an Handcreme. Seltsam. Beim Antunk sehr viel Säure. Außer intensiver Hefe kann sich hier kein Aroma durchsetzen. Beim Abgang keine Änderung. Selbst die 10% Alkohol ersaufen in der Säure. Das schwächste Abtei Bier, das ich bisher getrunken habe.
01-2021
Botella de 33 cl color marrón oscuro, espuma beige abundante. Aromas a caramelo, fruta madura, canela, pasas, ciruelas. Perfil dulce en boca pero sin ser desagradable. Tiene un postgusto algo seco. Las frutas navideñas, especias (canela, gengibre, anís), azúcar y nueces aparecen también.
Another brew I assume did had prior but thanks to holiday forum thread tried for first time. Darker brown colored. Nose is some spice and dried fruits. Tatses of rootbeer, plum, fig, caramel, cloves, dried cherries. Hint of alcohol.
Aroma: Fruity and floral with ripe fruits.
Flavour: Fruity sweet with floral notes and brown sugar. Aftertaste is fruity sweet.
Colour: Brown with an offwhite head.
From: Bottle @ Vild Med Vin webshoo.
Couleur brune, mousse très épaisse. Levure très présente, bon mélange d'arômes.
This beer pours a rich dark brown with a dark tan head that settles down after a while. Aroma is sweet fruit with a hint of alcohol. Taste is smooth and fruity with Belgian yeast and hardly any alcohol taste. It has a strong taste which is ideal for a winter sipping beer. Comes in a wine sized bottle. This is a really good beer with a complex taste.
Pours clear mahogany with a one finger, light tan head. Aroma is caramel, dried fruit, roast, Belgian yeast and spice. Taste is caramel, raisin and light cinnamon, moving to roast, Belgian yeast and light nutmeg. Finish resembles the taste.
Flot fyldig juleøl med en vis sødme, smag af kandis
33 cl bottle @ home. Pours dark reddish brown with a white head. Aroma and flavour are caramel, yeast, dried fruit, and spices - with a slightly dry finish.
Deep dark brown coloured body with a thinnish, single to perhaps two centimetre tall off-white head. Aroma of pungent Belgian yeasts with a lot of curacao and spice components showing some anise and cardamom, but a bit more canella and allspice with nutmeg on the edges as well. Medium-bodied; Relatively strong spice flavours show at first with a big hit of sweetness from candi sugar and some brown sugars as well with pitted fruits rounding out the sweetness, all covering up a rather large alcohol pungency and almost astringency, but the sweetness and spice show stronger. Aftertaste shows a lot of grainy and nutty, rustic earthy notes, but the spices and sugars are by far the strongest, in a great way. Overall, a very nice and enjoyable, super complex, robust beer that has a lot of flavours, more nuances and spices but a great balance of malt, alcohol and sugars that makes this somehow drinkable, especially anywhere close to Christmas and the chillier times of year. Great to finally sample and far removed from Belgium, but I'll be having this more around the season, especially anywhere close to where it's made! I sampled this 33 cL can, purchased from Wegman's in Alexandria, Virginia on 29-November-2021 for US$1,99 (part of a mixed six pack), sampled at my house here in Washington on 03-April-2022 after running the Cherry Blossom 10miler with my wife.
Ietsie pietsie te zurig
Deep brown pour, small tan head. Aroma of nuts and fruit, taste follows, with toffee, caramel, berries, prune, and spices.
330 ml bottle from Thirsty, $11. Pours a wonder copper with a copious amount of head; aroma of stone fruits, roasted malts, spice, grapes; taste of spice, perhaps white pepper, very warming alcohol, raisins, roasted malts, chocolate. Mouthfeel is not as thick and oily as I thought which is good. Very complex and will warm you up a lot.
Brown with a thick head and a malty, dark fruit nose. Malty with a smooth mouthfeel and a warm, dark fruit finish.
Taste: dark fruits of plumbs, currants, some sweet, , dry, spiced notes, figs, nutmeg toffee some other dry spices. Same with the nose. Dark brown hue, clear, tan head, with rings of lace. Medium to med/light body.Stone fruits, and holiday spices.
Pours medium brown with a bit of red and a very large head as you would expect from a Belgian ale. The head doesn't build from beneath and overflow the glass the ways some do, but instead it craters nicely leaving lacing down the sides of the glass. Aroma has some dark fruit and, oddly, a bit of lager aroma. Flavor is sweet with rich and thick malts with cherry, other fruit and honey. No real notice of the high ABV in the flavor other than the fact that this beer is very thick, right, and heavy.
Appearance: cloudy brown with a moderate off-white frothy head of medium retention.
Aroma: dried fruit, toast, apricots, peaches, higher spirits.
Taste: light sweet and bitter, complex. Good Belgian yeast, esters, dried figs and dates. Hop.
Mouth feel: medium body, average carbonation.
Overall: nice balance. High class.
Aromas terrosos y a caramelo
Aspecto color caoba espuma poco persistente
En boca licorosa y especiada
Bottle from Johns. Pours a tan brown hue with a large beige head. A big spicy yeasty nose. Rich, wonderful palate, big spices, yeast, light clove, banana, caramel. Damn good.
Dark and murky, very lively, cloudy soft beige head. Aroma is dried raisins. Mouthfeel is light and thinnish. Flavour is more raisins, some sourness. Very delicate overall.
Big and fruity, full of date and fig and brandied cherries, backed by vanilla, clove, brown sugar, and a little woodiness. Finishes dry and spicy. Very, very Belgian. Nice pint.
It pours a reddish brown with a huge tan head. It has the aroma of leather, wet leaves. fig. raisin, ripe fruit & spices. I taste spiced fruit, & leather with a wonderful velvety texture. I think this may be my new favorite Christmas seasonal.
Burgundy pour. Thin foam. Banana flavor with new plastic palate. No carbonation.
Fles. Vol van smaak, iets te zoet, maar bitter in afdronk. Aroma mout en licht alcohol. Heel goed de alcohol de smaak niet overheerst (en dat bij 10%). Licht tintelend; graan in smaak en kruiden. Beetje vreemd te klasseren bier, maar wel prima
Can at Holiday Beerfest. Pour was amber, off white head. Aroma of Christmas spices, yeast, caramel, dried fruits. Taste sweet, spice, fruity, caramel.
Dark amber brown with a large fluffy head.
Aroma: Belgian yeast, "jenka", spices, clove, some orange peel, caramel, banana.
Taste: malt, caramel, brown sugar, orange peel, clove, some mint, salt.
12oz can poured to goblet. aroma is distant sweetness, cola, hint of spirits. appearance is lovely burnished dark brown, nearly opaque, wispy head, low carb. flavor is fruitbread, caramel, boozy kick, reduced cola. mouthfeel is thin, slides off the tongue, heavy with alcohol creates a pleasant viscosity. a very pleasant brew in the colder months, perhaps not too far removed from abt 12, just could not resist those adorable cans.
(Ale) sjuk besk, otrevlig att dricka där eftersmaken sticker något jävulskt…