Affligem Noël - Brouwerij De Smedt / Brouwerij Affligem

superspak

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into signature chalice, bottled on 8/16/2012. Pours slightly cloudy ruby red color with a 1 finger fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with some moderate streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of raisin, apple, caramel, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, toast, candi sugar, light clove, bread, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of deep malt with yeast esters and spices. Taste of raisin, apple, caramel, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, toast, light clove, candi sugar, toffee, pepper, bread, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of light fruits, caramel, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, toast, candi sugar, light clove, toffee, bread, pepper, and earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice balance and complexity of malt flavors with fruity yeast esters and spicing; with a great malt/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly slick and moderately prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a small warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an excellent spiced Belgian strong ale! Great balance and complexity of malt, yeast esters, and spices; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:16:28 | More by superspak

ggourde

Missouri

3.89/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Murky chocolate brown with creamy head, but no Belgian Lace. Dried fruit- raisins dominate while black licorice comes out. Taste of spices and dried fruit (plums and raisins). A bit sharp- lots of carbonation. Nice alcohol warming. A good winter beer, perhaps with a little more conditioning the sharpness will mellow out.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 05:04:32 | More by ggourde

puboflyons

New Hampshire

4.44/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

From the corked, caged 750 ml. bottle - 2011 batch. Marked 12-229-13. Sampled on 3/22/13.

So I am drinking a Christmas ale two days into spring but the aging does wonders. The pour is dark brown-amber with good clarity and a relatively long-lasting beige head.

The nose is alive with Belgian sugars, sweet toasted malts, molasses, and a slight hop note.

The body is medium to bold with a little astringency but still pleasant.

The flavor is quite sweet thanks to the malts and Belgian sugars mentioned earlier. Molasses can be tasted too. Not much in the way of spices but the sweetness makes up for that. Low to moderate hop bitterness lingering on the tail end. Easy to drink even at 9% ABV.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 00:56:31 | More by puboflyons

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750mL bottle into a Koningshoeven chalice. Stamped 12 229 13 10:32 2291.

A: Some generous head and sparkling effervescence enliven a gorgeous red-clear beer. Very

S: It smells like cherry cough syrup, but in a good way. Sweet, nectary, and borderline cloying.

T/M: Very surprising! Not what I expected. It's light, spicy, grainy, and interesting. Almost like a tripel infused with spiced honey and heavy fruit juice. The finish is again reminiscent of medicinal cherries, and aftertaste is heavy/sweet. Starts better than it ends.

O: This is a very good Christmas ale, but not overly compelling. I would have again, and somewhat recommend, but there are better alternatives out there.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2013 07:03:32 | More by AgentMunky

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Somehow this review escaped me over the years. Tap at Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, MA.

Nice rich creamy darker almost mahogany colored head fades at a med pace with little lacing, mostly clear cranberry maroon colored beer.

Nose is typical, big malts, reddish toasty brown malts, caramel and toffee, light nutty, booze is fairly strong with some phenols. Dark fruits are big, fig, date, brown sugar covered candied raisin, nutmeg and cardamom like spices are quite light, bit of other Xmas spices, some candi sugar.

Taste is similar, esters and phenols, candy syrup, apple esters and dark fruit, raisins, fig, date, brown sugar candi sugar, etc. Light bitterness from some grassy hops it seems. Nice malts too, light toffee and caramel, but somehow feels slightly thin, light booze. Mellows as it goes, finish is syrupy and sweet, sticky, lingering dark fruits and malts, candy sugar and toffee, fair bitterness kicking in, a bit more booze too.

Mouth is med bodied, seems a bit thin for what it should be, decent carb, light warming booze.

Overall nice, almost a staple for a Belgian Xmas beers, most of the typical nice Belgian characters with light Xmas spices in there too.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2013 14:37:47 | More by jlindros

UCLABrewN84

California

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours a hazy reddish-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks and dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, dark fruits, spices, and an earthly, honey-like aroma. Taste is much the same with a dried dark fruit flavor and a slight alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that I noticed gets markedly better as it warms up with time.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 06:35:37 | More by UCLABrewN84

socon67

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Opened on Christmas Day

A - Dark amber color with a creme foam that rises high and settles just as fast. Some cloudy sediment is seen in the pour.

S - Scents of black licorice, raisin bread, and dried currants coem to the nose. As it warms some baking spices jump out as well.

T - Strong flavors of dried fruits give this a strong sweetness. Black licorice candy is noted as well. Can'ty decide if its like Good & Plenty or sambuca.

M - A thick consistency makes this a decent sipping beer. Leaves a spicy feel on the tongue. Some carbonation is noted.

O - In a more tradtional style this is a nice after dinner holiday beer. Was happy to share this with family. Open it and let it warm a moment in the glass before enjoying.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 14:31:53 | More by socon67

Mavigo

Michigan

4.38/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

'Tis the season, I've been saving this for this day, Merry Christmas everyone!, from a 750ml bottle poured into a chalice.

A: Pours a rich red mahogany color, cloudy, with a half inch reddish caramel color head with good amounts of lacing.

S: Smells incredible, cinnamon, brown sugars, honey, malts, yeast, alcohol is strongly present, spicy

T: Incredible taste, very sweet, molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark fruits, caramel, malts, barley, yeast, spices, with a heavy alcohol backlash at the finish, a slow sipper, to be indulged in small amounts in a non hurried fashion.

M: Very thick, rich, syrupy but not overly done, lower carbonation, a plus for me, strong kick from the alcohol at the finish, warmth. A perfect match for the holidays.

O: It was what I expected and more, provided lots of holiday cheer, very delicious and well balanced and finely crafted beer, a must have on anyone's Christmas list.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 02:30:42 | More by Mavigo

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From: Hyvee, Council Bluffs, IA
Date: 2011 vintage
Glass: Tulip

I purchased this bottle on discount after the 2011 holiday season. Unfortunately, it sat in my cellar for nearly a year before I decided it needed to be consumed for this year's festivities. While I'm not sure about the fresh flavors of the beer, the one-year aged version has substantial dried date and fig flavor teamed with caramel malt and a touch of fruity esters similar to cherries. While others note substantial spicing in the ale, I didn't pick up on this. With a year's age on it, I enjoyed the experience, but didn't think this beer particularly above average. I'll grab a fresh bottle of this next year: I don't think this ages well.

Pours a 1.5cm head of tan or dark beige foam, composed of small bubbles, quite dense in appearance. Retention is about average, lasting a minute or so, as the head fades to a thin ring around the glass with a small island of residual lace atop the body. Body itself is a transparent amber red color, light bringing out orange hues in the red-brown mix. Carbonation is visible and active through the body.

Aroma is of brown dried fruit esters (dates, Calimyrna figs) and caramel (Special B?) malts, with a hint of anise and cherries in the background.

Flavor is of dried fruit esters (dates and brown figs again) with sweet cherries and caramel malts. Perceived sharpness in flavor is due primarily to the ethanol, not detecting much hop-derived bitterness. Opens with caramel malt sweetness and some mash of dried dates. Mid-palate picks up additional complexity, adding cherry-like esters and a splash of ethanol to the mix. Back of palate finds a toning-down of the dried brown fruit, relying on caramel malt sweetness and characters along with some ethanol to close the experience. Aftertaste of lingering dried fruits (cherries, dates, raisins) and a hint of anise.

Beer is medium to medium-heavy in body, with quite active carbonation typical in Belgian beers. The result is a mouthfeel that is at first fizzy and somewhat prickly, but which quickly converts into a foamy, smooth experience. The result is sensation that at first wakes you and your palate up, then soothes them shortly after. Ethanol is detectable, but never burning or excessively hot for the ethanol content. Closes semi-dry with substantial stickiness remaining across the palate.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 23:24:47 | More by falloutsnow

Damian74Shensky

South Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-Served in Chalice-2 fingers think head that laces glass. Dark reddish.

S-Yeasty esters are dominant aroma-sweet malt

T- Yeasty like most all Belgians. Sweet malt, raisins/rich dried fruit taste evident.

M-Fair carbonation-vapory alcohol end bite, strong 9% abv!

O-A nice beer to try. Nice spice, taste. My wife who isnt even a beer drinker enjoyed this.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 02:01:33 | More by Damian74Shensky

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 750ml caged bottle into stange glass...
Pours a syrup colored brown with a bit of foamy head. Nice bannana and spice belgian-syle dubbel...dried fruit, molasses, spice, and some nutty flavors. Relly well balanced, easy to drink, and good all around flavor. A bit over spiced - but nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 21:34:08 | More by DrinkSlurm

Infamous7100

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: pours a beautiful ruby to brown. Lovely tan head. Minimal lacing.
S: all kinds of complex. Fruits and malt. Nice whiffs of candied sugar. Wow.
T: a blast of sweet malts and dark fruits. Sweet but citrusy. So complex and interesting.
M: medium body andd medium carbonation but a fantastic sweet after taste.
O: this beer is tremendous. Complex as all hell, flavorful and very well done. Enjoy next to a fire during the holiday season.

Serving type: on-tap

12-14-2012 01:23:29 | More by Infamous7100

gtermi

Texas

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer pours a dark red body with a thick creamy tan head that slowly fades and leaves a tiny bit of lacing on the glass.

S: I am picking up a nice amount of sweet fruit, a tiny bit of belgian yeast and a sort of Jager type smell from the spices.

T: LIke the smell, I am getting a nice fruity flavor, some yeast and a little bit of sweet grain and spice.

M: The beer has a nice full body with a strong amount of carbonation. There is a tiny bit of crispness on the back of the throat and the tip of the tongue.

O: This is a fantastic beer. There isnt a single part of this beer that lacks and I really wish this was year round. For a 750 at $6.50, that cant be beat!

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 05:04:56 | More by gtermi

BlurryVisi0n

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter glass. Vintage bottle from 2011

Appearance: A very cloudy amber, little bubbles on the body. Head slightly off white is about 1/3" off the body.

Smell: Potent yeast, light barley feel and you end up inhaling this thing.

Taste: Everything, bitter, sweet, heavy yeast. It is a gem of a beer. Has a strong alcohol feel that get's to you after your first glass if you're not sharing.

Mouth: Medium and slightly heavy, is it smooth it depends whether it after dessert or a meal...I would prefer either or.

Overall: A great beer, I honestly sometimes I wish I didn't share it. I know I sound greedy but this beer was damn good, priceless to time watching MMA with my dad. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 00:53:42 | More by BlurryVisi0n

gottabetweed

Texas

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 750 ml bottle into a "Red Solo Cup". poured a nice clear amber with a substantial head that fades very quickly. Can't see the lacing because of the red cup.

Smell is fig, molasses yeast.

Tastes is biscuits, fig, molasses, spices, some fruit at the end with a nice alcohol burn.

Mouthfeel is creamy and substatial, nice carbonation.

Overall a very nice ale. Very Belgian tasting with spices.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 22:39:45 | More by gottabetweed

MattSweatshirt

Texas

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 into a chalice. About a finger of off-white/khaki head and a deep red body with some orange and brown coming out due to the shape of the glass.
The smell is hard to discern. Some spice and fruit.
There is a great sweet dark fruit character in the taste.
Medium body and fairly prickly on the tongue, but oh does it feel so good going down.
I only had a few X-Mas beers during the season so I was looking forward to this, but eh. Darn good but not real exciting. Guess everyone can't be St. Bernardus.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2012 01:14:33 | More by MattSweatshirt

nukem5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured into my Triple Tripel Karmeliet glass and swirled occasionally Great dark copper color and awesome foamy cap.Some nice lacing as well.

S: Aroma is fruity with dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar, and Belgian yeast.

T: Taste is an experience to be enjoyed , at first you get a typical Belgian style taste and then it shifts as it warms to a higher octane more fruity/raisin/cherry tastes rise.

M: As it warms it changes to a darker side leaning more to the Alchoholic taste and a bigger bolder boozey side.

O: Cant wait till next year to open the other bottle ...mmmm

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 06:55:58 | More by nukem5

Doppelbockulus

Florida

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I found this at Mr. Dunderbak's in Daytona Beach, FL. Great Place.

Pours a beautiful clear amber, coppery color.

Smell is very light in this case but does have some yeastyness.

The taste is amazing, possibly the best Christmas beer I have had. I happened to be eating while drinking this beer, which usually doesn't work out too well for me, BUT the beer still tasted great even with this spicy sandwich. The flavor of the beer included a very good sweet taste with light grain and some yeast. There are light notes of Christmas spices like cloves and cinnamon. Great Christmas desert character.

Mouth feels comfortable, medium tingle with a good fluff from the head. It is slightly creamy.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 00:34:36 | More by Doppelbockulus

Aiptasia

Florida

3.95/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled from a great beer trade with Jmagnus87.

It pours a ruby brown cup o love with a respectable 2" head and long legs wearing fishnets for lacing. It's bottle conditioned, so watch out for the yeast at the bottom. Smell is malty, bready and yeasty. Taste is nice, rum raisin, cinnamon and coriander with no discernible hops and warming alcohol on the backend. It's a rich beer and while not as complex as some other examples of the style, it's good and worth drinking.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 01:27:01 | More by Aiptasia

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Corner bar near our hotel in Brussels in between Christmas 2011 and New Year: had two as nightcaps.

Not as dark as I expected, this was a deep amber colour almost reddy brown in fact, cloudy/murky haze to it, on top a small head of off-white bubbles.

Sweet nose, almost sugary, caramel for starters with other malty bits for main course and dessert.

The taste was also sweet malts but with some liquorice and spicey hop content too. Must not forget the yeasty feel to all the flavours and smell, this hung over the whole tasting like a ghost: reminding you that it's a Belgian Christmas beer you're drinking.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2012 15:45:52 | More by BlackHaddock

homebrewhawk

Kansas

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml corked and caged bottle served in a chalice. Poured a dark copper with a finger of off white head. Bottle conditioned. Spicy aroma also seemed like there was some pine/spruce. Plenty of carbonation, medium bodied. Some caramel and burnt sugar, fair amount of malt sweetness. More spice in the finish. Also thought I tasted a little licorice. There was a lot going on here, I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 23:14:14 | More by homebrewhawk

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.9/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle. I got it at Total Wine in NOVA for $8.99 or so.

Appearance: Nearly clear reddish color, off white head, decent retention. Spotty lacing.

Smell: Almost (almost) sickly sweet fruity esters and malt. Raisins and cherries galore. Yeasty, but surprisingly not super spicy. Its OK, just very sweet and not real complex.

Taste: As above, very fruity and sweet, but not as sweet as expected. There's a little bit of a tart cherry flavor, and a nice bitterness from the ethanol that sort of brings this thing together. Bready and yeasty in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium full with lively carbonation. Finish is cleaner, drier than usual for the style, but good.

Overall: Its a tasty little beer. Lots of cherry and raisin flavor. Solid, but not mind blowing.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 01:55:34 | More by rapidsequence

pants678

California

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a lighter red/mahogany with an off-white, cream colored head foam that dips into a lacing.

Spruce and pine sit well on the nose, also notes of cherry.

As expected with a Belgian it's a landed punch and not a near miss. Vanilla lies on the subtle edges with brown sugar, maple and a tinge of wood and ginger while a more obvious bourbon, rich grape and cherry and candy sugar permeate.

There's no hop bite to create a crisp back, leaving it slightly lacking and an almost marshmallow/icing texture.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 01:43:10 | More by pants678

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750mL corked and caged bottle. code of 11 229 01 on the label. maybe bottled the 229th day of 2011?

appears a brilliant garnet color, with 1" off-white head that fades. smells like spiced red wine. gingerbread, pumpernickel.

tastes very spicey - nutmeg, ginger. sweet malt. Belgian yeast. grapes, wine. medium in body, higher carbonation. it could be smoother.

overall - eh, nothing special - I was expecting a better beer for a Belgian Christmas beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-08-2012 05:15:13 | More by jmdrpi

bruachan

Rhode Island

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

sampled at the English Cellar Alehouse in Providence

poured with zero head. it's a strong ale but beyond that i'm blaming the service. i think it was undercarbonated and some other potential contributors could be identified, i'm sure

the color of the beer was nice, though. i'll give the head issue the benefit of some doubt

aromas are of the raisin/date/sour cherry variety. it seemed cloying (see carbonation concern)

sticky on the tongue. though probably fairly sweet in its own right. spices shine through in the beer's tasting than in its sniffing. i suspect coriander and allspice were added but the rest of the phenolic elements were yeast related

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2012 12:52:26 | More by bruachan