Jenlain Noël - Brasserie Duyck, Jenlain

I'm not quite sure what to make of this Jenlain Noël. The thought of a French Christmas beer certainly intrigues me, even more so because it is a Bière De Garde. I went into this beer with high expectations, which may be a little unfair but I tried to keep an open mind. That being said, this beer started disappointing me as soon as I poured it into my glass. This beer smells a bit like iced tea that's been poured over toasted nuts. There's a little funk and a little malt on the nose but not nearly as much, or in the right proportions, as I was expecting from a Bière De Garde. That pretty much sums up this entire beer really...

The flavor of the Jenlain Noël is... odd... There's a weird sweet and sour flavor combination going on that I find unpleasant. It is not the worst tasting flavor I've had but it isn't something I hope I come across again. The main failure of this beer is that it has very little sour yeast flavor, rather than the great tart sourness I've enjoyed in our Bière De Garde style beers. The Jenlain Noël has an earthy grain bas with citrusy sweet spots that seem really out of place.

This beer just didn't agree with me. There's something to this combination of flavors that I genuinely don't care for. If there was less malt, grain and candied sweet flavor while increasing the sourness and tart citrus - this beer could be something special, instead of something you should avoid.