Holiday report part 2 The Beers

I have to say, during the holydays I drunk a lot of new beers. I could sit down and write all about it but it will take me forever. I should have been reporting every time I had a few but now it is impossible. I will though give you a full report on my beer tasting this Saturday. I’ve taken pictures, wrote my reviews and put my ratings. But before I start I have to mention the beer that reached the top of my scale DEUS 2005 A beer Daniel brought on New year’s eve. I have to thank the man properly, I just haven’t figured out how yet since this was my 5!!! It was probably the best of the best beers I have ever ever tasted. Thank you Daniel!!!! To describe Deus would be inane. It was divine!!! It had the ale sweetness but also had a bitter arrogance. It was very serious, very strong, very flowery, very bready, very meaty, very aromatic, very smooth, very charming, very brutal, very light, very spicy with an almost orgasmic finish in the end. No I can not describe it really. This was my numero uno!!!

I give it 5

So these now were the beers we tasted this Saturday. Some were new , some were old, some we’ve tasted before, some we don’t want to taste again.

Here we go:

We started with Corsendonk Xmas Ale which is always a good choice and one of my favorites this year. It has a sence of burnt cherry, just a tad smoked fish with a Xmas sweet finish.

I give it 3,9



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Then we proceeded to one of  the crown jewels of holyday beers. Solstice d´hiver. Hands down one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted.This one is sweet and bitter with a light flowery perfume and a very delicate aromatic sense of winter berries with a strong finish.

I give it a strong 4,1



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After the previous beer’s divinity we fell hard on the only French beer. Saint Landelin xmas beer Let me tell you this, the French do not know how to make a beer. This one smelled rubber, not any kind of rubber … no, it smelled like a condom. The taste was sickly sweet and after partially swallowed it disappeared. Sweet water with a watery finish. This was a bad beer.

I give it 1



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After the French mouthwash we made a very good choice. Stille Nacht. First impression is smoked fish marinated with rosemarine and lime, a taste of freshly baked bred followed by fresh spices and black pepper, finishing with a Xmas tree (pine tree) smooth breeze. The finish is strong and leave you begging for more. Definitely the best beer of the year.

I give it 4,8

 
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Thank Satan we continued with this year’s next best thing Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Now I am not a stout person, so this masterpiece, for being a stout, gets lots of respect from me who usually like sweet Ales. In a bottle with a cork sealed with wax it starts with a strong muddy feel and a very strong bitter coffee explosion half way; Finishing with a very smooth sweetness and a trace of forest trees in a winter morning. Thumbs up for Holland!!!

I give it a proud 4
 


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Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock was the next choice. Sadly this was the most expensive beer but it was quite the disappointment. Well … it was chocolaty, light, smooth with a sour filling as a dark chocolate, trying hard to do something grate … but it disappears as if never hit your mouth. The taste disappears fast into oblivion. Nice bottle though.

I give it a 2,8




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Next, our spirits were lifted a bit with Nils Oscar Xmas Beer. Nils Oscar is one of Sweden’s finest breweries and usually the Xmas beer is very good. This year was rather dull compare to other years but still a very good beer. It has a barbeque flavor, a little muddy, with a dark coffee touch, a smidge of pine tree and bitter caramel. All that is fine and well but it disappears fast.

I give it 3,1




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Then we carried on Traquair Not my cup of tea I tell ya. Smells cheap whiskey, sweet and sour start with an indifferent bitter finish that rushes away to nothingness.

I give it 2,6




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Then, the unthinkable happened. The Westmalle Trapist we had next, which is usually a good 3, was bad. Not it wasn’t bad according to my taste. It has gone bad. I never thought I’d ever taste a beer gone bad. It was horrible. Like Saint Landelin it too smelled like condom, but not in the beer characteristic sense. No, it had a very intense smell of rubber and petrol, VERY sour with a metallic antibiotic bitterness. It is not fair to rate it because this is not how a Westmalle tastes normally. But it was a rather interesting g experience.





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After this I had to drink something familiar to wash away the ghastly taste of plastic. So I drunk one more Corsendonk Xmas Ale to finish the night. I was already rather tipsy and after your taste starting to get numb, there is no point of drinking anymore. Because the point is to enjoy the flavors of the Gods and not get drunk into a stupor.

I still have a lot of beers and a couple I’ve never tasted but they will have to wait a while.