It wouldn’t be a Christmas pack without a Belgian Christmas beer, and one of our favourites is this offering from St Bernardus.
Belgian beer fans are always looking forward to these dark treats come the end of the year. Often referred to as ‘Christmas pudding in a bottle, the Belgian ‘kerstbiers are iconic.
At their heart, these beers are something between a Belgian quadrupel and a strong dark ale; with the addition of varying amounts of spices. Now the exact spice additions are a fiercely guarded secret at the brewery, but commonly used spices include cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, star anise, ginger, all spice and more.
The brewery attribute a lot of the spicy flavours to their house yeast, which was the yeast used since 1946 when they began brewing the Westvleteren beers under licence.
Sweet malt, dark dried fruits like raisins, dates and prunes plus some red berries join with the spices to create a truly delicious mix of flavours that are very complimentary. With a big ABV, those flavours do a great job of making this beer much easier drinking than it has any right to be.
Settle in and slowly enjoy this Belgian treat as you welcome the festive period.
An exceptionally lively blonde Christmas Ale, full of aroma, flavour and a hint of alcohol warmth.
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
A dark and rich Christmas beer, rumoured to be the first one of its style
A rich, spice winter beer is just the thing to warm up on a cold winters night
A typical Belgian winter beer with hints of cherries and spices
A lovely rich and decadent Christmas beer from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
The most recent creation from St Bernardus, it is everything a dark Christmas ale should be.
The renowned Christmas seasonal beer from the 'The Mad Brewers' - can stored for many years.
Another masterpiece from Struise, a blonde Christmas Ale full of flavours that come through in layers.
A cracking seasonal blond-amber Christmas beer from De Struise Brouwers
Verhaeghe's special Christmas beer is a blonde ale with wheat and spices
The showpiece quadrupel of the St Bernardus Brewery - as close to Westvleteren 12 as you can get without the real thing.
The most recent creation from St Bernardus, it is everything a dark Christmas ale should be.
The Pater 6 from St Bernardus is in the Belgian dubbel style
A premium dubbel style beer, packed full of deep rich flavours and aromas.
A Belgian witbier originally made in 2012 as a one-off special, revived in 2020
An Abbey Ale in the classic Trappist tripel style - a perfect balance between bitter and sweet.
This traditional Witbier has been developed in cooperation with Master Brewer Pierre Celis, the Godfather of Hoegaarden.
The 'second' tripel from the St Bernardus brewery is less well known, but still delicious
