8th Day of Christmas
For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 5 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.
Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!
Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter
Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special
Day 3 - Hooker Liberator
Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10
Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)
Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
Day 7 - Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Day 8 – DueS (Brut Des Flandres) Brouwerij Bosteels – Buggenhout, Belgium – 11.5 ABV
What else, but a Biere de Champagne (Biere Brut) to ring in the New Year?
Served in a champagne fluted glass.
It pours a hazy golden color, which magically clears in a minute. A spritzy snow-white head bubbles up fast, then slowly fades.
The first aroma is a sweet grassy dried malt with herbs and tart gin-soaked fruit (green apples)mixed in. A little earth and basement funk and a light, odd smell of the ocean floats in the distance.
The tastes seem in reverse of the smells. A flavor of the gin-soaked fruit cup buzzes the tongue in the edgy effervescence. A nice dose of earthy dried malt, floral hops and honey-like sweetness roll in as it warms and settles down.
The mouthfeel evolves slowly, revealing different flavor profiles and textures as the bottles draws to its finale. Sad to see it go…
Goes very well with raw oysters or mussels steamed in beer.
Salut and Happy New Year everybody! Thanks for indulging me this past year!
Quote: “From man’s sweat and God’s love, Beer came into the world” – St. Arnoldus, Belgian Saint (1040–1087)
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