Old-style Oude Airelle Sauvage, Gueuzerie Tilquin, 6.5°
“As always with Pierre Tilquin, a very good beer. The acidity is correct, not extreme. The lingonberry brings a beautiful color and an intense nose of red fruits. And then, this berry is a very seasonal fruit: lightness its combination with lambic will work very well as an aperitif. Likewise, as an accompaniment to red meat or Christmas turkey, it is just as perfect: no need for cranberry sauce!
Hainaut
Petit Ballot, Brasserie des Beaux Jours, 5.5°
“Petit Ballot is a hay beer, which makes it original. In the mouth, it has a roundness that is a bit reminiscent of Belgian triples, thanks to the yeast esters. The hay used by the Frasnes-Lez brewer Gosselies brings a rather particular side, with an earthy nose, scents of undergrowth Here, the terms ‘rustic’ or ‘country’ are not overused.
Santa Claudy, Brasserie du Borinage, 9°
“For its new winter beer, the Boussu team opts for a ‘quadruple’. It’s a term that was created to designate ‘monastic’ style beers, even stronger than triples. They are almost Always rather dark. Here it contains vanilla, which is very present, more than its peaty side. The combination of the two is quite successful, to obtain a real dessert, reminiscent of crème brûlée. downright the fried dough of croustillons, since Borinage likes to play on the image of barakis even in the names on its labels.
Liège
Excellence of Val-Dieu Bourbon, Brasserie Val-Dieu, 13.7°
“This bottle revisits the Val-Dieu Grand Cru, a classic Belgian beer already well malted and quite round. It rested in bourbon barrels from the American distillery Old Heaven Hill Spring, in Kentucky. Which brings even more roundness, notes of caramel, vanilla and oak. We will therefore enjoy it as a coffee pusher: it is really a good little dessert, but perhaps not on its own: it still has a strength of almost 14°. .
Guilty Association, Norm, 8°
“The young Liège brewery Norm is collaborating here with colleagues from Folkingebrew, a Dutch brewery based in Groningen. As with its other creations, it is a custom beer: the recipe is developed by Norm, but brewed by others The Guilty Association, a success, is a DDH DIPA: double IPA which has a double dry hopping. Result: a very contemporary beer, very. hoppy, very aromatic, with notes of citrus, peach and yellow fruits. They also speak of melon. This can will therefore go very well as an aperitif.
Luxembourg
Ardenne Wood Ma Demoiselle, Brasserie Minne, 6.8°
“The new version of this barreled beer from Brasserie Minne rested for 36 months in wine barrels. It is a white, therefore made from wheat. The result is creamy and well wooded: you really taste the passage of time in the barrels, which also brings a vanilla note. A fresh beer, to drink as an aperitif, with fish or foie gras, which it will counterbalance with its slight acidity.
Best Wishes, Rulles, 7.3°
“With the Meilleurs Vœux de Rulles, we have here a great classic of Belgian Christmas beer. But without spice and not so strong. While being very seasonal, we are not at all here in something heavy and sickening: it is quite complex since we find softness as well as a relative dryness. Very malty, it is neither blond nor brown, but rather red.
Namur
Ambré, Babeleir, 11°
“The Babeleir brewery is quite new in Namur. Its initiator is now a zythologist. In addition to his own beers, he also brews for the pizzeria and microbrewery Barbetta’s. Here, he offers a ‘barley wine’: a fairly strong, rich, with notes of caramel, biscuit, dried fruit, very malty, with a presence of rye. This rich beer goes very well with a slightly strong cheese, like a bleu cheese.
Hiveresse, Brasserie de La Lesse, 8°
“The La Lesse brewery is based in Éprave. It stands out for its cooperative and the care given to ecology, low-energy brewing, local ingredients. L’Hiveresse is the ‘winter’ version of its brown, with a a little addition of spices. It’s a full-bodied beer, very wintery, like a ‘Christmas brown’ but well balanced: neither too sweet nor too spicy. It will go very well with classic seasonal dishes: grilled meat, fondue. Burgundian…”
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