Bush De Noël - Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl

beergeek279

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in the 250 mL bottle, into a St. Bernardus goblet. The color is a dark amber, with a nice wispy white head. The smell is a strong phenol with definite alcohol. The taste is a strong fruitiness, fairly sweet, and the alcohol is very strong, but not overpowering the rest of the beer. Mouthfeel is well-carbonated. Drinkability, could have a couple more, but probably not too many.

Ahh...not too bad a Christmas beer. Scaldis is sure great for creating huge ABV beers, and this Noel is no exception. Good, and certainly one I'll have next Christmas.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2003 03:12:08 | More by beergeek279

granger10

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This was quite expensive but I had to try it. 2002 edition so it was aged a year. The appearance is a light orangish with a creamy smooth head. The nose was quite alcoholic with some hops. But the alcohol wasn't near as apparent in taste. It didn't really come through until I felt my belly getting warm. The flavor was a good mix of butterscotch, spices (cinnamon, etc.), and earthy hops. Tartness shows in the finish. It was complex but not spectacular. I'm glad I tried it, but that's just too expensive of a beer to not be spectacular.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2003 17:23:38 | More by granger10

BierReise

Florida

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

25cl Bottle Labeled Scaldis Noel Poured nearly clear with a really nice reddish orange glowing body and a rather small head on top. First aroma reminded me of a cinnamon cookie. Spicy with a hint of citrus and orange. Alcohol is very noticible in the nose. Mouthfeel is quite effervescent and crisp.Flavors are spicy, sweet malts but again the alcohol is there also. Overall not a bad seasonal. Thanks for the bottle John.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2003 01:12:15 | More by BierReise

crookedhalo

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a kind of rusty amber color with a nice thick beige head. Beautiful lacing. Now I can appreciate why the Scaldis goblet is so big for such a small bottle (8.5 oz.). No dating on the bottle, but this bottle was a overstock from last year's Christmas beers. Nothing wrong with an extra year under a 12% Belgain brew, nothing wrong at all. It has some green apple in the nose, accompanied with an "affirmative" in the alcohol presence. Nice malt and candi sugar aromas mixed with some spices, too. Very tempting looking brew. Within the first sip, you know you're not finishing this one quickly. Big alcohol with sweet malt undertones finishing very, very dry and spicy. Mouthfeel's dry, effervescent and alcoholy. This brew is great, can't say I could drink more than one, however.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2003 04:26:22 | More by crookedhalo

BeerBuilder

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours to a murky, raisin brown color with a thick creamy tan head. The aroma is sweet, and bready, peppery and spicy. The flavor is alcoholic, spicy and peppery with a sweet, bready maltiness throughout. It is a full-bodied beer that is very warming. A very tasty Belgian brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2003 18:50:40 | More by BeerBuilder

RoyalT

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance – Clear, brownish-orange carbonating body with a modest head. It settled well on top of the liquid though and showed good retention.

Smell – Big BSDA aroma. The malts, super-ripe fruits, and sugars abound in this hearty brew. I warmed this for an hour before opening and now my whole house smells like Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The wife’s not too happy, but I’m in heaven.

Taste – Outstanding! This ale is everything about a BSDA that I love. The malts are excellent. The peaches, apricots, plums, dates, figs, and other fruits are full yet not overdone. The alcohol flavor is complimentary instead of invasive.

The bubble gum comes out second along with lip-smacking sugars. This one runs the gamut of brown and raw sugar, powdered, and table (refined). Looking for hops? Not in this heavy hitter.

Mouthfeel – A small alcohol sting and a very smooth, thick, chewy body makes this one a standout. It’s full-bodied and feels terrific in between the cheeks.

Drinkability – At 12.0 ABV I wouldn’t suggest pouring a six-pack of these into a beer bong or anything like that, but if you enjoy the style you MUST find a way to try this ale.

Update – I revisited this fella on Christmas Day 2004. It’s just as I remembered it. The malts tasted a little more yeasty and it seemed a little fuller. This is a great Noël.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2003 02:13:10 | More by RoyalT

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I've heard of Christmas in July, but I couldn't wait that long. Early June and there I was ordering a Scaldis Noel, yeah it was weird in my mind to order this beer during June but it was the special. This beer poured into my snifter with a ruby amber brown color with a full caramel toned aromatic head, and the added eye candy of lace clinging to the edges of my glass. Aroma full of dark roasts, deep tones of caramelized brown sugar, and nutmeg along with some other festive spices very good aroma here. Flavor, this is a winter warmer in my book, but definitely was a nice change up from typical summer beers. Full array of spices along with sweet fruit tones that blend harmoniously together, and well this beer just works try it. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated fuller body, and this beer is not too cloying very good year round beer not just a winter warmer. Very drinkable beer just between 12% alcohol by volume and the high amount of carbonation, I will go for something else after I am through with one of these.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2003 15:09:10 | More by WVbeergeek

MJR

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a rustic amber with both copper and red highlights. Small amount of chill haze. A light tan head pours a full finger deep and has fair retention and lacing.

Smell: Potent, with the alcohol poking through the candied fruit, spicy, and caramel notes. There's a touch of tropical fruit...pineapple and mango.

Taste: Complex with a heavy alcohol outer layer. I taste both candied and burnt fruit, caramel, a peppery spiciness, hops, and tropical fruits with a double-shot of vodka. Underneath all that is a touch of raison bread. Finishes with a firm bitterness, along with a charred dark fruit character. There are more hops in this than your average Belgian holiday brew. It's tasty, but the alcohol is very strong and blurs the other flavors.

Mouthfeel: On the heavier side of medium which is made lighter on the palate with a good deal of carbonation. Dry finish from the huge amount of alcohol. Very warming...

Drinkability: Decent for what it is. This is jet fuel made into beer. Go easy with it...or suffer the consequences!

'Thanks' to StevieW for sending this in our trade.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2003 17:22:22 | More by MJR

StevieW

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Small 8.5 oz brown bottle. Shiny blue label depicts an abbey covered in snow. Again, I'm way behind the curve with this Christmas Ale, but oh well.
Medium copper in color. Shiny. Tight, fizzy tan head blew up then settled into a clumpy thin covering. Lots of sweet candy smells, toffee, and biting hop smells. Taste is very well recieved combination of the above. Starting with a sugery sweet candied toasted carmel malt sugary stickiness. Some subtle yeast flavors and a super charged hop presence for a belgian beer. Some cinnamon also slides by. Candied sweetness is really good and right for the season. Mild Alcohol heat comes through toward the end. Belly warming and resounding hop burps. Lingering hop bitterness on the tongue. Meduim to light bodied, alcohol presence is notable on the finish especially.
Overall a Christmas beer worth trying but I agree with the others a bit overpriced $4.99 for a small bottle. But dummies like me buy it, so It's not going to get any less expensive.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2003 18:51:22 | More by StevieW

beerluvr

New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours with a virtually non-existant head, over cloudy amber liquid (lots of yeast floaters abound). The nose is predominantly havy malt with noticeable alcohol, and hops. The taste is very hoppy/bitter...pleasantly so! An alcoholic/liquor-ish warmth follows with lots more maltiness in the background. Finishes with a just-as-strong bitterness from the massive hopping they give this ale to balance out the heavy maltiness & alcoholic power. A "send the kids to the neighbors, I'm comin' home drunk"-type of ass-kicker! God bless Belgium.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2003 14:01:55 | More by beerluvr

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

At $4.99 for a tidy 8.48 oz. bottle, this is the champ for the title of most expensive beer I've ever purchased. Was it worth it? It was worth the try, but I don't imagine breaking the bank to stock up on this tiny powerhouse.
Muddy, dark brown in color, creeping on violet, with small yeasty particles floating about, and a small, diminishing head. Aroma is heady and deep, dominated by fruit associations of the grape variety. Sweet, but not too hoppy. Malt is predominant to an incredible degree. Full and fierce on the tongue, with hops showing off to give a good charge upon the palate. And alcohol follows into the fray, and never lets go...
One sip in, and I'm feeling drunk already! Look at me, one leg in the air, arm wrapped around a lamppost, swinging to no discernable rhythm, finger crooked inside the handle of a little brown jug, marked XXX, singing, "How Dry I Am"...
Body is full, flavor is thick and fascinating, and boozy!, texture is marvelous, altogether, a formidable and unforgettable beer!
However, the large grape/wine flavor, and the 12% ABV make me wonder how a glass of 14% Shiraz doesn't smack me up like Scaldis does?

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2003 16:04:12 | More by feloniousmonk

Popsinc

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice amber colour. Spicey/sweet nose. Malty up front followed by a nice sweetness hinted by caramel & molasses and spicey, almost pepper finsh with an alcohol kick. Good sipping beer. Gets you warm fast so don't drink too quickly. Quite enjoyable. A pefect match for the christmas season.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2003 05:37:06 | More by Popsinc

WilliamPhilaPa

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a garnet/brownish color. The off-white colored head is small but creamy; settles to a good lace. On the nose you first get a whiff of the 12% abv., some spiciness, peppery, caramel malt, and some dark fruits. On the palate the flavors were of dark fruits, spicy, peppery, alcohol, good sweetness, clove, and caramel. Good brew…

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2003 14:14:00 | More by WilliamPhilaPa

yen157

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy brown liquid with white suds ringing the glass. Very rich, malty aroma with some alcohol, peaches, and spicy hops in the nose. Great toasted malt flavor and some caramel somewhere in there, too. Some hop flavor provides the right amount of balance but still leaves this beer way on the malty side. Body was thinner and carbonation higher then expected, but so what. The alcohol was very noticeable (not in a bad way) and warming. A good beer overall, but I think I’ll stick with Samichlaus as my big winter beer from a little bottle, for now at least.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2003 05:59:02 | More by yen157

mophie

Delaware

4.28/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A very nice winter treat (and I'll simply ignore the fact that winter is gone and it's in the 70s today...). Deep copper with a rocky white head. Aroma of orange, coriander, pepper, clove, and apples. Sweet malty taste, mixed with tart apples and spices. Moderate carbonation and high alcolhol create a spicy finish. Not a beer you want to guzzle!

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2002 20:54:19 | More by mophie

John

New York

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

Pleasantly semi-dark and delicious. A bit more carbonated than I expected and more so than the regular Scaldis. Ripe plums, raisins, a touch of dark roasted malt, alcohol warming and subdued hops round out the experience. One to gently sip and savour.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2002 11:23:10 | More by John

Jason

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Creamy and deceiving, slightly sweet and peppery alcohol slowly warms the body. Big caramel and dark fruit flavours with hints of phenols that are almost bubble gum in taste. I'll have to go back to this one several times this winter being that one little bottle was not enough.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2001 10:15:00 | More by Jason