SANTA IS A BELGIAN

ST. BERNARDUS are one of those Belgian abbey-style brewers that make those obsessed people constantly on the hunt for the finest beers weep with joy. Their beers are quite easy to find in the US, and a jump around the beer blogs and beer forums online & you'll find that their maybe one of the highest-regarded brewers in the world. Their biggest announcement in years is that this year, for the first time ever (or so I understand it), they've released a CHRISTMAS ALE. We at Hedonist Beer Jive got our grubby hands on a bottle, and sent a reporter into the field to try one & report his findings. Here's what he had to say:

"Dude, I can't drink this thing by myself! This is a monster 10% ABV, high-octone whomper...oh wait, here's someone carrying some Belgian tulip stemware. OK, cool. Wow, this is one dark beer, black as darkest Africa! Wait, can I say that? Hmm, not as spiced as I would have expected, and that's good. It is sweet, though. That must be the alcohol talking, ya know what I'm sayin'? Medium carbonation, and hey, it's actually really easy to drink. Caramel-ish tastes, as well as the usual dark fruit suspects. Maybe even some brown sugar. You think this is a holiday beer, and not just a reformulation of one of their dubbels? Hey, I don't care what you call it, it's damn good. Maybe not for everyone - this guy sure seem to be drinking it slowly - but I'll go with an 8/10".