Magazines » November/December 2009 » The 10 (Most Interesting Belgian) Beers of Christmas
As Belgian beer enthusiasts know, virtually every brewer here makes a special beer just for the holidays -- as do many in the U.K., United States, and elsewhere. As New Worlders, we’d like to think this goes back centuries -- generation after generation of farmers or monks making special yuletide beers -- the tradition’s origins perhaps lost in the mist of wistful memory.
Nope. Sorry. Belgian Christmas beers today have far more to do with modern marketing than anything else. Furthermore, too many are oversweet and overboozed, and some brewers seem to use the holiday as an excuse to empty the spice cabinet. Frankly, a lot of them suck.
But take heart, little elves. There are still a few interesting and just plain terrific holiday beers showing the sort of creativity that made Belgian brewing famous in the first place. I'll point you toward the best, but first, we shake the snow globe and set the backdrop.
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The Flemish town of Essen sits snug against the Dutch border. Think of it as the North Pole of Belgium -- the perfect spot for a party devoted to Christmas beers. But the Kerstbierfestival is more than that. To many beer geeks it’s the must-do on the calendar, circled in red and green, train or plane fares booked months in advance.
Whatever the weather outside, inside Essen’s Heuvelhal is a warm blend of revelry and contemplation. You’d burst into song if you weren’t so busy swirling and sniffing and sipping. Or paging through the long program, complete with tasting notes, trying to pick your next from more than 100 holiday brews. A strange fellow over there is wearing a Santa suit. And behind the bar, busy but jolly, are the folks responsible for this festival: the Objective Beer-Tasters of the Essen Region (OBER). Bless them.
One of the busiest is Gunter Mertens, secretary and Web master of OBER. When the festival started 15 years ago, Mertens says the club could only round up a few dozen seasonal beers. For the 2009 event -- set for December 12 and 13 -- it will likely top last year’s total of 114.
“We saw an explosion of brews during the festival’s history,” he says. “I think there were 38 beers in 1994. Last year, over 100.”
This is not to say that Christmas beer is a newcomer to Belgium. We can assume that brewers -- whether at home, farm, tavern, or brewery -- have long made special beers meant for special occasions. It’s quite possible a few made ales specifically for pagan yuletide, Catholic St. Nicholas Day, or modern Christmas. But is there any proof?
To find out, I turn to Yvan De Baets. Yvan and partner Bernard Leboucq are the pair behind Brasserie de la Senne. They craft a winter beer called Equinox and a holiday beer called Zinnebir X-Mas -- both are crisply hoppy, unspiced, and confidently different. Yvan also is a friend and my co-author on a Brussels guidebook, so I am being a bit lazy by consulting him. However, he also happens to be one of the country’s most well-read beer historians. So I asked him about the history of Belgian Christmas beer.
“Hmmm, difficult subject,” he says. “I have almost all books covering Belgian brewing since 1829 until now,” -- See? Told you he was well-read. -- “And none of them mention Christmas beer.” Oh. Damn. “What I think is that Belgian brewers have been influenced by English brewers following World War I.”
Inspired by their British allies, Belgians picked up a taste for pale ales, stouts -- and, Yvan supposes, Christmas ales. They resembled drinkable British styles rather than the spiced, sweet concoctions more common in Belgium today. Only a few larger breweries bothered to make them. It was not until the 1980s and ’90s -- the craft beer renaissance in Belgium as well as the U.K. and America -- that making a special holiday beer became “a sort of obligation,” Yvan said.
“As a brewer, I can tell you what gets us moving, sometimes at least: We see clients, pubs, making an emphasis on Christmas beers at the end of the year and all the customers having their interest focused on them. So, what do we do? Well, we simply make one also. It maintains an interest in our products. It’s as basic as that.”
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Here I take a stand and honor 10 Belgian beers that follow a different path. If they are spiced, they are subtle. If they are sweet, they are complex. If they are strong, they are excellent. These are beers that break the mold and set a high standard. Few are easily available, if at all, outside of Belgium. Happy hunting.
Blaugies Moneuse Speciale Noël
The excellent farmhouse ales of Blaugies lean toward dry, bitter, and refreshing. The Speciale Noël, labeled Special Winter when exported to the U.S., is based on the recipe for the blonde Moneuse but has more caramel richness and warmth from its 8% ABV. Any spiciness comes from the yeast. Usually clad in 75cL bottles, it’s occasionally found in 1.5L magnums.
Cazeau Tournay de Noël
When Brasserie de Cazeau re-opened in 2004 after being shut 35 years, brewer Laurent Agache got the attention of enthusiasts with his hoppy and unspiced blonde Tournay. The reddish-brown Tournay de Noël gets its richness from five different malts and a blend of hops, dangerously drinkable at 8.2% ABV. It’s most common in 75cL bottles, but available in magnums.
De Cam Hiête Kriek
You’ve heard of hot spiced wine. But hot cherry beer? A few Belgian brewers offer sweet cherry drinks meant for warming, but they’re not authentic lambics. The De Cam blendery is as authentic as they come, and blender Karel Goddeau provides this special recipe just for the Kerstbierfestival in Essen. If you can find some De Cam Oude Kriek (or already have another sour, traditional kriek) and are brave enough to risk it, warm it up and add a little honey, one cinnamon stick, 12 cloves, and one bay leaf per liter of beer. Better yet, plan a trip to Essen.
De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva
Kris Herteleer of De Dolle made extreme beer long before it was cool. His Stille Nacht (“Silent Night”) is the ultimate example of an un-simple sweet beer, getting depth from generous hopping and a touch of acidity. The Reserva, however, is in another league. Brewed once every five years, it spends 18 months in Bordeaux casks to bring out acidity and add oak character. The result is a remarkable balance between vinous tartness and honeylike sweetness. Its character and rarity have made it into a beer-geek Holy Grail.
De Ranke Pere Noël
Like other De Ranke beers, “Father Christmas” sets himself apart with a refreshingly serious hop bitterness and just the subtlest tinge of licorice. The alcohol level (7% ABV) is not quite sessionable, but reasonable -- you can still walk home after a few.
Drie Fonteinen Straffe Winter
Lambic brewer and blender Armand Debelder has quietly had Straffe Winter in the works for three years and plans to release it by November. “Straffe” means strong, and this is a stronger-than-usual lambic at about 8% ABV. Most lambic is brewed with only pale malt and wheat, but Debelder beefed this one up with some amber and Munich malts plus a bit of caramelized sugar syrup. Thanks to the excellence of Debelder’s past special editions, sour aficionados will beg their bottle shops for this one.
Rochefort 8 in magnums
Rather than a special recipe, one of the world’s greatest beers gets a special bottling. The abbey brewery at Rochefort normally puts its rich, warming brown ales in 33 cL bottles; for the holiday season -- when drinkers are likely to be sharing their brew with friends and family -- the monks allow the filling of several 1.5-liter bottles. Some contend the bottles allow the evolution of a deeper flavor. Regardless, it makes a great gift -- if you can part with it.
Rulles Cuvée Meilleurs Voeux
This Christmas beer matches great character with drinkability. The “Best Wishes” Cuvée goes roasty and bitter where many other Belgian browns get sweet and fruity. As with its other beers, La Rulles makes skilled use of American hops. At 7.3% ABV, you could drink a few goblets and still trim the tree. Several kegs get exported, so you might even find it on draft this winter at discriminating U.S. pubs.
Slaghmuylder Kerstbier
To most Belgians, lagers are everyday beers, while stronger ales -- despite their great popularity abroad -- are only for special occasions (Fridays, for example). At Slaghmuylder, it’s the other way around. Famous for its range of Witkap abbey ales, the old brewery in Ninove celebrates Easter and Christmas with flavorful but sessionable (5.5% ABV) lagers. Best of all, the Kerstbier shows more hop and cereal flavor than its industrial counterparts, partly because it’s unfiltered.
Struise Tsjeeses Reserva
For the past few years, the Struise brewers have had beer geeks abuzz with edgy, extreme, and flavorful beers. They are friendly with spices but usually let big malt, expressive yeast and generous hopping do most of the talking. Tsjeeses is a sweet, warming tripel of 10% ABV laced with nutmeg, mint, and orange peel. It sits for about eight months on various stone fruits, such as peaches and apricots. The Reserva spends an additional six months in oak barrels, adding a tart, vinous edge. Like most Struise beers, bottles are hard to come by -- even in Belgium.
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This article originally appeared in the November/December 2009 of DRAFT Magazine
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