Bush De Noël Premium - Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

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

Full, garnet hue,a little rosy, creamy head above. Soon gone.

Spice and fruit in the nose. Apple, grapefruit, & plum. Soft, furry, & boisterous, all at once.Cinnamon & ginger, clove.

Taste: Mmm...mysterious Belgian yeast and malt doing it's thing, exotic fruit and spice, again. Zest citrus snap meets the darker fruity feel, combined with spicy kick and plump biscuit malt.Delicious.

Full bodied, bursting with flavor, brimming withha incomparable Belgian feel...orange meets cinnamon meets lavender plus...all that more...Ym.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 07:26:41 | More by feloniousmonk

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.13/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a dark copper color, with a short foamy off-white head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of apricots, dark fruits, Belgian yeast, caramel and brown sugar.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of chocolate, caramel, brown sugar and some dark fruits. Then a hearty flavor of Belgian yeast comes in with a mild alcohol burn. There’s a gold malt character and a mild hops presence with a nice balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Tasty, goes down dangerously easily for a beer with 13.00% ABV, not too filling, strong kick that will catch up to you, I found it to be very enjoyable as I relaxed on a cold Friday night drinking it slowly.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2007 03:51:31 | More by TheManiacalOne

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 of Scaldis Noel Premium

Poured into delerium tremens glass

Pours 1/2 finger of white head. Great retention leaving splattered lace. Color is a hazy caramel copper.

Aroma: Cherries, raisins, some molasses, big malt flavor, grassy hop profile. Biscuits, caramel, and apples. This is smelling great.

Taste: Lots of fruit flavors. Cherries, grapes, plums, molasses. It reminds me a lot of a quad. Grassy hops as well. This beer is well done.

Mouthfeel: smooth, creamy, and refreshing. Medium to full bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Ends dry and malty.

Overall, I was impressed with this beer. Very well done. Lots of flavors and great for the holiday season. I am really glad I got to try this one. I highly recommend it. Fairly drinkable as well for the high abv.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 16:47:46 | More by mothman

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

thanks to bitterbeerface for sharing this at the Lancaster County Brewers Christmas gathering '10 last night. Poured chilled into my Duvel tulip.

A golden amber w/ very good clarity and visiblly carbonation. The cap of white rises and holds well, the bead is tight and lace is spotty. I smelled a sweet and unique aroma as it was poured, obviously brett influenced and very fragrant with fruit and mild funk the floral ester is there accenting the mild malt and alcohol odors. The feel is very light for the strength, mild biscuit and subtle acidity w/ the light tartness and moderate carbonation work well in this and it is a satisfying texure albeit semi-dry in the finish.

The taste is very good, lots of mellow malt toastiness with a slight cherry like tart edge that envelopes with subtle spice from the yeast and fruit taste in the flavor is increased by the brett influence and slight spicee w/ moderate alchohol heat and influence in the taste. The finish has a semi-sweet quality, very festive and vibrant. The flavor has a good deal of horseblanket and cherry with a slight currant and mild pepper accent w/ sugar plum quality roundng out the taste. The drinkability is superb, I was sad to see the bottle emptied so fast, I enjoyed the wild yeastiness and funk - a Tasty Treat! thanks Bob!

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2010 17:27:08 | More by Slatetank

GClarkage

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

05/31/08- Received as a gift from a friend.

Presentation- 750ml bottle with some kind of code imprinted on the label. Corked and caged while poured into my St. Fuellien chalice.

Appearance- Deep brown-prune juice like color. Large bubbled one inch plus head which settles at a somewhat creamy 1/4 inch frothy head. Leaves nice lace caking on the sides of the glass.

Smell- Dark fruits (prunes, figs and dates) with a very sugary nose. A bit of yeast and maybe even some banana and clove?

Taste- Really light tasting for 13% Seems a bit thin at times. Has the nice sugary carmelized fig flavor though. Dates and maybe some raisins as well. Very sweet and a tad yeasty.

Mouthfeel- As staded above, a touch thin. Heavy carbonation and a sugary tongue coating.

Drinkability- Was expecting a bit more, but still was pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2008 22:23:53 | More by GClarkage

Suds

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I love exotic holiday beers....this one didn't disappointing. From a corked and caged 750 ml bottle, this beer has Belgian written all over it. Funky, wild, and hugely interesting. The appearance isn't much to admire...golden-amber with a reddish tint. Effervescent, but no real head. The smell, however, is fabulous....sour cherries, yeast, earth, pepper, funk, spice, brown malt....wow. The taste has a lot going on as well...lots of alcohol warmth, without being overwhelming. It's a sour-sweet, malty, acidic, fruity, citric, funky blend. Nice. Not so attenuated that it lacks any sweetness, but very engaging. I loved this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 21:12:49 | More by Suds

superspak

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 2014. Pours lightly cloudy red orange color with a 1 finger foamy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lace that lingers. Slight spotty foamy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big raisin, cherry, prune, caramel, apple, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, candi sugar, pepper, earth, toast, clove, and herbal yeast spiciness. Damn nice aromas with big complexity, strength, and balance. Taste of raisin, prune, pear, apple, toast, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, candi sugar, cinnamon, pepper, earth, clove, and herbal spiciness. Fair amount of yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of complex dark fruits, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, candi sugar, cinnamon, clove, pepper, and herbal yeast spiciness on the finish for a while. Fantastic flavor complexity, robustness, and balance of flavors; with a good balance of spicy flavor despite big maltiness; with zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a slick and fairly syrupy mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden at 13%; with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding Belgian dark ale! Huge balance and complexity of big robust flavors; and very smooth to sip on for 13%. A highly enjoyable strong Belgian style offering.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 05:01:08 | More by superspak

thierrynantes

France

3.95/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (75 cl.) purchased from Bières & Chopes, and tasted in 2012.

Appearance : deep red color with white foamy head.
Smell : sweet malty with fruity and spicy aromas.
Taste and mouthfeel : sweet caramel flavors with notes of fruits and spices.
Drinkability: a good beer in the style Belgian strong dark ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 14:52:41 | More by thierrynantes

popery

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A strong Belgian with a good mix of spice and fruit flavors. This beer pours a deep, dark amber brown, an excellent shade for a dark Belgian. The head is foamy and settles nicely atop the beer. It's definitely unfiltered with a plethora of little white floaties that can be seen through the side of the glass. The beer smells strongly of alcohol and fruity earthiness. Stone fruits, bananas and spice blend interestingly with the alcohol, although the alcohol tends to dominate a bit more than I'd like. The alcohol is less dominant in the flavor, or maybe I just appreciate it more here. The flavor is like a brandied prune-banana mix. It's spicy with perhaps a bit of nutmeg, although I would have appreciated even more spice in a holiday ale. The beer is well-carbonated yet silky but also a tad thin for such a strong Belgian. The strength of the alcohol and the feel mark down the drinkability a bit, but it's definitely an excellent beer. I know very little about cellaring, but it seems like a good candidate if it would tone down the alcohol heat and bring out more body in the feel.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2008 01:35:40 | More by popery

brdc

Wisconsin

4.68/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Large corked bottle, fresh from this season, poured into a goblet.

Beautiful orange-red in color, with a thicker foamy light tan head than I expected given the high ABV. It coats the sides, and keeps a collar. Very good looking.

Sensational aroma, dark fruits but also lots of strawberries, sweetish caramelized malts, opening way to a full bodied, creamy yet quite drinkable brew that offers multiple layers of malty sweetness without being excessive, a fruit smorgasboard coming and going, well balanced by a nice warming alcohol.

Very impressive, a perfect brew for a winter storm, one of the best Christmas beers I ever had.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2007 01:18:33 | More by brdc

augustgarage

California

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

BBE 2012. Poured from a 750mL caged-and-corked bottle into my Westvleteren goblet.

Very faintly hazy fire brick liquid topped by an active beige finger which recedes to a lasting smattering of cream and a pearling collar. Delicate slick lacing and copious tears.

Intense aromatics suggest armagnac, tobacco, figs, prunes, leather, brown sugar and nutmeg.

Rich deeply malty palate entry with a wave of sweet stewed fruit and brandy. Fairly complex. Finishes dry, spicy, and crackery with a wave of heat.

Effervescent, soft, and slightly thin for such a big beer.

The flavors seem both denser and more vibrant in this unfiltered version - though the improvements are subtle. Ages quite well!

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 05:27:45 | More by augustgarage

htomsirveaux

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle tried 11 Feb 2009. Gift from A&P, thanks guys! Labeled as Scaldis Noel Premium, code of 'BBE 2011'.

Poured in 0.4 L Steiner Pils glass. Large creamy off white head. Well carbonated. Clear ruby brown color with a bit of particulate matter floating about. Aroma of apple cider, tart cherries and allspice, as it warms the spiciness comes to the fore with cinnamon and vanilla. Tastes of spicecake and warm ginger. Lots of apples and cinnamon. Finishes with a slight bitterness and an aftertaste that is caramel sweet and spicy. Medium body. Ethanol is very warming but not hot.

Nice example of a Christmas beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 17:39:06 | More by htomsirveaux

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.16/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

BBE 2014. Not sure when it was bottled.

Beer is a relatively light brown with reddish elements. Much lighter than expected for the style. Smallish off-white head fades quickly, leaving just some film.

Rich smell. Prune, fig and red grape. Vinous. Bready. Yeast.

Taste is similar to the nose and quite focused on dark fruits. Raisin, cherry, red grape, prune. Brown sugar and some bready flavours. Some spices. Alcohol is noticeable but remarkably well hidden considering the strength. Quite sweet.

Full bodied, moderate to strong carbonation, some alcohol heat, sticky sweetness.

Overall, very sweet but very good. A real beast of a beer. If this is really 13% (I have a bit of trouble believing it), it is one dangerous brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 18:24:01 | More by jrenihan

AKBelgianBeast

Alaska

4.78/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is quite good. It pours an orange red, with great off white head that retains quite well. The nose is very strong with thick candy sugar smell and dark fruit company and some slight spice. The taste is incredibly creamy and sugary. very smooth with some candied or baked fruit flavors. sugar lingers hard on the lips and in the finish. Very smooth mouthfeel, creamy and thick, but not to chewy. The drinkability is most drinkable 13% I have ever had by a long shot. This could be dangerous to those who dont know its 13% so for all of you getting a bottle BEWARE THE 13%!!!! warn your friends. great beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2008 07:00:35 | More by AKBelgianBeast

BradLikesBrew

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another premo bottle we cracked at our employee holiday party 6 months ago.

Orange amber body with a frothy white head. The aroma is caramel, toffee, sugar and banana. On the palate its sweet brown sugar, apricot, chocolate, and earthy hops. Texture is syrupy and full. It is dangerously drinkable, the alcohol is hidden well.

Like the Malheur Brut, I liked this beer, but for the money you could buy several bottles that are just as good.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2009 23:36:42 | More by BradLikesBrew

MisterClean

California

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip at Lucky Baldwins

A - Poured orange in color with a 2-fingered head. Dissipates moderately with a slight lacing.

S - Dark belgian candi sugars, prunes, and slightly spicy hops.

T - See the above.

M - Perfectly balanced. For a 13, where's the alcohol kick?

D - Excellent example of a belgian take on the winter warmer.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2008 01:04:17 | More by MisterClean

MrHungryMonkey

Texas

4.4/5  rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Nose is ripe with Belgian funkiness, slight sourness, lots of fruit and malt. Topical fruit with apricot and mango as well as softer lemon/orange. Very slight vinegar. Pronounced chocolate roast over bready/cakey malt. Smells quite good.

Pours a deep mahogany, mostly clear, with a massive rocky head. Looks wonderful.

Rich malt, bright fruit, and what that?... ah yes... alcohol, and lots of it. Fairly punchy carbonation. Dark rich malt - slightly syrupy. Significant sweetness, intense yet subtle and seductive. Tastes good. Feels good.

Like Bush Abree it has a tight balance and strong flavors, with a slightly stronger alcohol and a significantly larger bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2009 05:04:18 | More by MrHungryMonkey

mrfrancis

Kentucky

4.28/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a ruby-tinted chestnut with a creamy, lingering tan head.

S: Aromas of roasted nuts, yeast, cream, and toffee are very evident on the nose. The smell of this beer is somewhere between an English barleywine and a Belgian strong dark ale.

T: Notes of almonds, chestnuts, heavy cream, toffee, dark bread, pungent yeast, and vanilla bean dominate the palate. The finish is long, rich, and robust with notes of bread, yeast, and chestnuts being most prevalent.

M: Full bodied, firm, and dryish with a crisp effervescence not normally associated with this style. Very nice.

O: I really like this beer and have started to appreciate the efforts of Brasserie Dubuisson Freres more and more as time goes by. The only real knock I can think of is that this beer is not as smooth as the regular Bush de Noel. Still, this is a satisfying winter treat.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 19:06:34 | More by mrfrancis

Lexluthor33

New York

3.58/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Orange/reddish color with a creamy,tan head and great lacing action.

The aroma was subtle. Alcohol,malts,some caramel and tones of dark fruits and spices.

The taste started off with a sweet taste of caramel and spices full of alcohol kick. Some yeast was detected and malts were of course present.

The feel was medium bodied with moderate carbonation. It was full of spices and alcohol.

Notes: A technical review because I tend to disagree with many here on this beer. Was it good? yes it was,but it was not great. The alcohol was not well masked and while the balance was o.k. it did not help. All in all it was still a decent brew to have,but I would cellar this one for a year or two.
I had a problem sipping this beer. I felt it was not so easy drink and I say this because the day before I had a SAMI at 14% and it was so much easier to drink. I am a fan of high ABV so it is not that. Like some other really good beers out there this one just needed some time.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2008 03:29:32 | More by Lexluthor33

bucklemyshoe

Georgia

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

#6 - 12 beers of Christmas. 750 mL bottle at 45* into a St. Bernardus chalice.

A: This pours a very dark brown color with reddish hues in light and a foamy, clingy, cappucino-looking, two-finger head.

S: The nose is intensely fruity with notes of bananas, cherries, plums, figs, and even citrus combining with cinammon, nutmeg, and alcohol esters.

T: The palate also shows wide assortments of fruits; tropical, citrusy, tart, and dark fruits all come through with some booziness throughout and an aftertaste of salt-free crackers.

M: The body is thick and syrupy with a creamy feel and, despite being heavily carbonated, is not prickly.

D: This is wonderfully crafted and is similar to Victory V12, but a little darker and thicker.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2010 06:33:13 | More by bucklemyshoe

CHSLBrew

Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle poured into a white wine glass and shared at a family dinner.

A-Dark brown-amber beer, pretty hazy with a fair amount of floaties. Big, large-bubbled, off-white head receded quickly quickly to a consistent bubble blanket.

S-Ripening fruits, perhaps a bit of pear and light strawberry, and big spiciness. Alcoholic aromas poke through here and there.

T-Wow. Spices, cloves mostly alongside nuances of other spice flavors. A prominent bready and almost sweet maltiness holds this beer on its back as light fruity notes show off. A pleasant, complex flavor. Alcohol is present in the flavor profile, but well hidden and very smooth. Finishes with a residual sweetness and slight bitterness.

M-Warming, for sure, which makes sense considering the 13% ABV. But the alcohol feel and flavor are very smooth. Carbonation is characteristicly high in this medium-bodied Belgian brew.

D-Very tasty, a perfect brew to contemplate with family and a nice dinner. This beer would most certainly warm one up after a long winter day. As in previous ratings, I would be curious to see what may develop with some extended aging.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2009 14:59:28 | More by CHSLBrew

Greywulfken

New York

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: in a tulip: dark amber body, tan head a few fingers thick

S: boozy candied fruit and fruit cake

T: fruits, dark, soft and chewy; toffee sweet; bright, zingy spices

M: tingling, warming, crisp; smooth, sweet aftercoat

O: a great holiday drink - capitalizes on the seasonal flavors and sweets - strong abv keeps spirits high

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 05:57:51 | More by Greywulfken

dragonWhale

New York

3.73/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This mountain is a man.. And I don't know what that means, but it seems pertinent to this conversation. A 5 year old bottle split 3 ways. 2 glasses with a hazy ruby glow, 1 glass with a pile of floaties. Get your rubbers on.
A little sherry-like aroma, caramel malty sweetness with some oxidation. Cool, but not mind-blowing.
The sip is not over the top sweet, but definitely on that sweet malt side. Oxidation brings a little cardboard, but is actually beneficial. More of that sherry. A bit sticky in the throat, but c'mon what do you really expect in a situation such as this.
Overall, a pretty damn good 5 year old beer, very interesting flavor, but surprisingly un-complex, at least as far as one whale's noise is concerned.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2011 07:07:10 | More by dragonWhale

cnally

Indiana

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Just finished a blind testing at our awesome beer store, Kahn's, and this one came out as one of my favorite of the eight.

The appearance is a crisp clear amber. A slight but ever present barely bubbling thin white head just won't quit. Huge carbonation levels are evident, with a ton of sediment.

Aroma is mildly subdued. A good balance of the caramel sugary malt and the grainy aspects of the base malt. Smells hot and pretty boozy.

The flavor is heavily reliant on the Belgian yeasts, and they dominate the front end of the experience. Further on, there is a barely present bitterness and it finishes with a toasty caramel malt and a fizzy hot alcohol flavor.

The mouthfeel is freakin unbelieveable for me. How the hell do they reign in the amazing bubbliness and still maintain the thick body???? Unique and probably the finest mouthfeel I have felt in any Belgian, ever.

A sipper for sure. A delight all the way around, but so damn boozy that it effects the drinkability. Worth the twenty bucks.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2011 02:14:49 | More by cnally

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

1.51/5  rDev -64%
look: 1.75 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.25

750ml bottle into a snifter

A: Quite light for the style, it's medium amber with three fingers of large bubble head, which quickly receded to a thin film. Not good.

S: Nothing like any BSDA I've ever had. Sour cherry mixes with prune. A touch of spicy esters, but not much.

T: At least this is better than the aroma. Sour cherry is still there, but it's not nearly as strong. Plums and prunes are also there, but not as strong as I'm used to for the style. I get some buttery qualities and a ton of booze.

M: Quite thick with low carbonation.

O: I hope for this beer that this is a bad bottle. I get butter and sour cherry, but it's more subtle than I'm used to for an infected bottle. The beer is also overly thick, has little to no esters, and no bright citrus to balance. Oh, and it's way boozy.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 23:09:09 | More by coreyfmcdonald