Thiriez La Noël d'Esquelbecq
Bière brune 100% malt. Non filtrée et non pasteurisée. Refermentation en bouteilles.
5,8 % Vol. Alc.
There are small tweaks and changes every year.
[ I talked to the brewer, it’s a plain beer, nothing special that can associate it to the style Traditional Ale as it was listed before. Alex, Dec 2012 ]
5,8 % Vol. Alc.
There are small tweaks and changes every year.
[ I talked to the brewer, it’s a plain beer, nothing special that can associate it to the style Traditional Ale as it was listed before. Alex, Dec 2012 ]
3.2
154 reviews
Esquelbecq, France
Community reviews
Keg at borefts 2016 day 2 . Hazy brown.. Thin tan lacing... Soft sweet toffee spiced fruit nose... Dark fruit. Soft toffee malts
Dark Xmas ale, plummy fruit aroma, palate is caramel fruitiness, a dry finish with some bitterness, for me it lacks richness and spiciness, pleasant but underpowered.
330ml bottle. Murky amber colour with small, frothy, half-way lasting, minimally lacing, off-white head. Slightly fruity, spicy aroma, slightly nuttily caramel malty basis, cautious hints of orange and cinnamon. Taste is slightly sweet malty, hints of caramel, a nuttily touch, cautious hints of cinnamon.
Bottle 33cl. Hazy medium amber, small frothy off-white head, diminishing slowly, light lacing; aroma roasted malts, caramel, brown sugar, anis, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, quite medicinal altogether; taste is light heavy sweet and slightly bitter, malty, spicy, medicinal notes, long duration; medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, aftertaste malty sweet followed by a rather astringent finish; too much on the spicy side for me, I have associations with mulled wine or glühwein.
2015 Bottle, 75cL. @Naintré, France. With dad and mom. A sparkling dark brown beer with a good beige foamy head ; medium retention. Roast, elderberry, flower, caramel, herbs. Light sweet, average bitter dry refreshing. Average body and texture, avearge carbonation, sweet spicy finish. Overall, a light spicy chritmas beer, bittersweet ; drinkable. I would have loved a more cheerful christmas beer...
Spéciale de Noël de 5,8 % abv.
Couleur brun roux, et roux en transparence, à la clarté nette.
Bulles peu nombreuses.
Mousse qui est un nappage fin de surface, brun clair.
Arômes de malt noir avec notes d’anis, cassis, groseilles noires, pas très homogènes.
1ère bouche souple au petit malt grillé et épices, dont l’anis.
Arrière-bouche plutôt souple, correcte agréable.
2ème à la texture un peu plus dense, avec malt cara, grillé et pointe d’olive noire.
Arrière-bouche souple, mais sans complexité.
3ème agréable, un rien épicée.
Arrière-bouche un peu plus longue, mais linéaire.
Longueur sans développement, mais très correcte, plus ronde.
Jambes groupées, assez lisses.
Levure douce, fine, belle ligne.
Alcool beaucoup trop bas, il ne travaille pas la longueur.
Finale qui suit la longueur, sans élan particulier.
CONCLUSION : les spéciales Noël sont difficiles à réussir, et sont toujours affaire de goût.
Celle-ci, sans être négligeable, n’est pas superbe à mon goût, et surtout pas assez ample, à cause
d’un niveau abv beaucoup trop bas pour le genre. Quand je pense que ce brasseur a fait une ipa
de 8,6 % abv !! et puis nous sort cette Noël de 5,8 % !!!
Brown hazy colour with nice head. Aroma is sweet, malty, there is caramel, dried fruit, grass too. Taste has sweet malts, grass, something is not right here. Really off taste in the end. Body is medium and carbonation is medium.
4oz pour at Churchkey DC pours a hazy dark orange with some creamy, white head. Nose has orange, yeast, pepper, honey, biscuit. Flavor has orange, honey, a little butterscotch, lemon, mild yeast. Yeasty finish. A little bland.
Clear dark red-brown with a medium off-white head. Aroma is wood, chocolate and spices. Taste is sweet with notes of spices, caramel and malt.
Bottle shared with friends from L’Abbaye des Saveurs, Lille - FR. Color: dark amber beer with medium carbonation and small white foam. Smell: malt notes with spicy aroma notes. Fresh nose. Taste: fresh sensation with spicy notes. Caramel and malt well balanced. Aftertaste: spicy.
Bottle @ THT December. Pours a clear reddish beer with a medium sized, beige head on top. Aroma is very herbal, cinnamon, nutmeg, kandi sugar. Flavor is sweet, malty, herbal, loads of cinnamon again joined by some nutmeg. Typical Christmas ale, could use a bit stronger moutfheel though.
Bottle at DOST. Slightly hazy copper pour with off white head. Aroma is nice, nice and hoppy, light toasty aromas, fresh hop, light chocolate. Taste is slightly sweet, quite bitter. Really nice.
Poured reddish brown with a tan head. Aroma of boozy berries and caramel malt. Medium body, flavour of the aroma, quite bittersweet.
Bottle shared at the DOS tasting. Pours clear Amber with an off white head. Aroma of rich malt, caramel, light weeds and toffee. Flavour is over moderate sweet and bitter. Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Bottle at the Dirty Old Sock Tasting, Den Haag, December 2014. Poured a dark amber with a frothy light tan head. The aroma is yeast, red berry fruit. The flavour is light sweet with a light malt, mineral, nutty, light hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with average carbonation.
75cl bottle sampled @ December THT courtesy of Me, from Speciaalbeer.
Thin creamy off white head. Clear amber pour. Some herbs. Quite nice
Aroma: More like a Flanders Oud Bruin than a brown ale; light to moderate apple cider vinegar, some oak, tootsie roll chocolate and maybe a hint of cinnamon. Appearance: Very murky dark cola brown with a foamy tan head that settles into a solid skin. Flavor: Vinegar is there, but is overtaken a bit by chocolate; a little dry puff of spice toward the finish. Palate: Full body, thick texture, effervescent carbonation, slightly bitter finish. Overall: An interesting one; liked some things going on here, but when it came time to drink this fell a little short for me. Still, I’d try it again if given the chance.
750ml green bottle. Unknown vintage. Murkbrown pour. Skunked nad oxidized in the smell. The flavor is surprisingly clean, nice sharp spice notes, some hops even, nice to dirnk though oxidized a bit.
Shared 750 ml. bottle, labeled as Biere de Noel, poured to snifters, showing a cloudy, amber/copper color, with a frothy/billowy head of off white foam that gradually settled to a sizeable ring & modest film, while leaving some clingy waves & spots of lacing on the glass. The nose was malty, sweet, yet a bit dry, with esters as fig, plum, and candied orange, and a touch of holiday spice. Lively effervescence uplifted a light to medium body, with fruity flavor elements as the aroma’s, and a combination of tart, bitter, & lightly dry notes that continued into the finish. Tasty, Oud Bruin/holiday faire that was quite enjoyable even during this early summertime.
Bottle 75cl @joes. Brown color with a white head. Smells herbs, bit sour. Tastes herbs, pepper, bread, sweet.
75cl bottle shared with Joes, Ansjelaah and Dutchdrebus @ weekly tasting. Clear amber color, full sized soapy white to off-white head. Aroma is malts and lightly herbs or spices. Taste is more herbs and spices, certainly more spicy, a hint of pepper, slightly sweet-bitter. Thin to average texture, average body at best, a bit fizzy carbonation. Doesn’t strike me as a typical christmas beer apart from the herbs and spices. After a while you get used to the taste and it’s actually decently drinkable.
Bottle @ joes shared by benzai. Hazy amber colour with a small to medium off-white head. Smells herbs, slightly sourish, yeasty. Tastes malty, slightly sour, dusty.. Weird beer. Medium body, soft carbo.
kastanjebruin, helder en schuimige kaki kraag
aroma is zoet, mout, rozijn, caramel
de smaken zijn matig zoet, matig bitter, zwak moutig, pepertje, zwakke body, dun van textuur, normaal van co2, verder caramel en laat voor mij niet zo’n bijzondere indruk achter
As Thiriez Bière De Noël. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma of bready malt, yeast, dark fruits, caramel toffee, spices. Medium sweet flavour. Enjoyable if average winter brew.
Bottle shared. Pours light orangish brown with fluffy off white head. Aroma was an immediate Brett. Ok I am thinking where is the spice for this winter beer. Get really nothing else in the aroma. The flavor is mild spice and Brett. Maybe some orange in there. Just about the only thing I get is Brett. Decent enough but just ok for me.
Nice sweet aroma, caramel and herbs. Poured cloudy brown with tons of carbonation -- my bottle may have been overprimed, it erupted everywhere when I opened it! Sweet caramel, cinnamon and ginger flavors.
AROMA caramel, chocolate, coffee, nuts, toast, roasty, herbs, basement aromas, earthy, clove, smoke, woody. APPEARANCE red, brown, cloudy, minimal head, tan foam. TASTE medium sweetness, medium juniper bitterness, lightly sour. PALATE full body, creamy, thick feel, soft carbonation, astringent, bitter, long finish. OVERALL it is like a spicy Irish Red Ale. Rich and pleasing. Dry finish. Malty. Deserves a better rating.
Eclipsed crimson. Fat and pasty dirty-white head exhibits stellar retention. Intricately malty is comprised of dark breadcrust, creamed coffee, Turkish apricot, candied fennel seed (Strisselspalt?), tobacco, ripe plum, plasticlike phenolics. Characterful yeastiness. Fluffy, expansive effervescence. Initially leathery with an earthy yeast signature swirled with sweet toffee-drenched nuts and a brisk cottony roast contrast. Malt continues to gradually unravel, yielding layer upon layer of artfully nuanced smoky dryness interwoven with deeply roasted nuts, unsweetened chocolate and dabs of espresso richness. Splash of ripe fruity esters gorgeously augments the malt-resonant center with striking vibrancy. Burnt popcorn generates considerable acidity and thus hampers the otherwise impeccable maltiness. Robust earthy hoppiness exudes with moderate strength. Remarkably juicy to the core, with a savory fusion of fruity esters and lush toasty dextrins. Closes with a refined scratchy bitterness mirrored by grassy malt and a pronounced char clench. A very nice beer aside from the dreaded burnt popcorn off notes. Brown ale is one of those styles that can easily become tainted by huskiness if the brewer is not extra careful, and such is the case with this. Truly a bummer because without that minor flaw this would probably be a 4+ beer for me.
Light brown, beige head. Aroma is malty with some toffee and light chocolate, moderate spice. Flavor of bready and toasty malt, moderate earthy spice and orange peel. Spices are well balanced and not overdone.
Bottle, labelled as "Biere de Noel". Bubble medium brown pour. Low aroma of bready malt with sour undertones. Slightly watery mouthfeel, with simple bready malt flavours and a definite sour/tart finish. Lively mouthfeel. Lightly spicy. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was more than what this delivered.