Kerst – Noel – Christmas – depends on where you are!

A magnificent pour into an equally impressive glass, the beer offers up a billowing, creamy head, that forms that great, ice-cream like whip on the surface. The body is a striking, clear copper body of the highest clarity and wonderful hue, especially in some winter sunshine.

Nose offers a LOT of nonspecific fruit. Very fruity. The tastes are fruit based too, but they are little more muted than the strong nose might suggest. In addition there is a light, Noble hop touch that sits underneath the fruit and dries it out slightly. A light, English biscuit like finish completes the package.

Packed full of flavor, it reminds me of English beers that have large flavor profiles in relatively small packages. This is NOT a “Christmas beer” per se, rather it stays true to its cleaner roots. The mid-palate showcases the fruit – light and estery and true to its Belgian roots – and the back end gives a slightly drying, yet paradoxically still malt based, finish. Aftertaste showcase the oh-so-light hop notes that are mostly buried prior.

This beer is as clean as a whistle, drinks smoothly and without fuss, and will appear too simple for people looking for great complexity, but underneath it all it is complex. There are malt and hop notes, English and Belgian character, fruit and dry elements, and a total package that is one of the more impressive ones I’ve encountered in 2024. Either way, for me it’s perfectly balanced, delicious and offers that subtle touch that is far too difficult to find.