Review: Corsendonk Christmas Ale

What better time is there to drink a Christmas beer than in the sweltering heat of July? It's just so hard not to feel festive during the summer. It's about that time where you'd cut off an arm (does it really matter if it's your own arm or from somebody else?) for just one sub-90 degree day. Well, a few days ago I opened my fridge to grab a beer and relax for the evening and there sat Corsendonk Christmas Ale. What better way to ignore the heat than to pretend it's Christmas? I cracked it open and soon realized this is a bittersweet moment; I deserve a high five for picking up this wonderful beer, but a swift kick in the ass for opening a 8.5% ABV beer on a 100 degree day.

Christmas Ale is one of Corsendonk's staples. It is their highest rated beer on Beer Advocate with an overall score of 92. It's a Belgian strong dark ale, which is by far one of my favorite styles of beer so I had pretty high expectations before opening it up. The label on this beer is atrocious by the way. It looks as if they hired a 7 year old to create it. If I had a child of my own and they brought it home from art class, I'd be embarrassed to hang it on my fridge. Thankfully, the beer more than makes up for their label blunder.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale

Presentation: 2011 vintage 250ml bottle poured into an Orval chalice. 

 

Appearance:It's a very dark amber/purple color with a billowy tan head. The lacing freckled the glass. 

Aroma: Tons of dark fruit (plum, dates, raisin, etc). There's complimentary brown sugar, yeast, and malt. This is simply great. This is what you look for in a Belgian strong dark ale. 

Taste: Alright, this is ridiculously good. The dark fruit explodes up front and the brown sugar sweetness is a great compliment. The brown sugar definitely carries throughout the entire taste, while the dark fruit kind of drops off. There's mild hop bitterness and only a slight warming quality from the alcohol. The alcohol is extremely well hidden for a beer at 8.5%. There's also a slight medicinal quality to it, but it's hardly a distraction. 

Mouthfeel: It has a medium to heavy body with tons of carbonation. There is definitely a creamy quality to it and the carbonation bites the tongue. 

Overall: This isn't quite up there with Allagash Odyssey or Gulden Draak, but damn is this a good beer. The dark fruit and brown sugar pop and the alcohol is well hidden. I simply cannot find anything to fault this beer for. This seems like a steal at only $4 a bottle.

-Jeff