Twelve Beers of Christmas - Beer Twelve

Brasserie Dubuisson - Scaldis de Noël (2008)

When it became obvious I was not going to post the twelfth beer by Christmas Day, I decided not to rush it. I actually went through a couple of different beers that I thought would be the final beer, but neither turned out to be very good, so I decided to pass on posting them. I finally decided on the little bottle of Scaldis de Noël that has been in the beer cellar since 2008. Brasserie Dubuisson was created in 1776 and is the oldest brewery in Wallonia, Belgium and is actually still in the same location. What is even more remarkable is that it is still a 100% independently owned brewery.

For a five year old bottle of beer, there was still a good amount of life in this Belgian Strong Dark Ale as I poured it into the glass. A nice dark mahogany colour with a thin layer of carbonation. It was definitely time to drink it though, as there was visible particles floating around in the beer. However, they didn't affect the aroma or flavour. Molasses, caramel and dark fruits noticeable in the aroma. Flavour was similar but with more of the dark fruits like figs, raisins and dates coming through at the start. Those gave way to toffee and and a roasted malt sweetness before finishing light and surprisingly a little bitter. It also left a little residual tangy sweetness across my tongue. The 12% ABV was still enough to provide a noticeable warming affect.

Although it was sometimes a little difficult to find the time during the holiday season to write the posts, I did enjoy creating this Twelve Beers of Christmas series and I'm glad I finally got around to doing it. Hopefully I can continue it next year with an all new round of holiday seasonals. Cheers!