A few months ago I was invited to The Trappist for a tasting event to help celebrate their 1-Year Anniversary. It was a very fun time and I got to reacquaint myself with some people I had met there a few times now. Before I left though, I picked up a pair of beers from their Holiday Beer collection.
I had been wanting to drink these two for a while now but as we all know, the Holiday Season is a busy season and instead of chillin’ at home sippin’ on these beers, I was out shopping. Or even if I was home, we’d be trimming the tree, or wrapping presents or something Christmas-related. Now that all the Holiday uproar is at an end, I can finally sit back, relax and sample these two rare beers.
Winterkoninkske, Brouwerij Kerkom, 8.3% ABV
The Kerkom Brewery is located in the center of Haspengouw, Belgium. It is (or maybe was), an area known for its agriculture, specifically orchards and fruit plantations. They brew a line of beers called “Bink” but I will be focusing on their Winter seasonal beer, Winterkoninkske.
Winterkoninkske pours out a dark brown with deep red hues and a beige/tan head. The aroma is primarily malty, like toasted bread with raisin and prune notes and a noticeable alcohol character. The flavor is very similar to the aroma. The malt is on the sweet side and is reminiscent of toasted bread, raisins and prunes. The hop character is low and there’s a slight spiciness that could be a result of the alcohol. The hops are subtle and only show up in the finish of the beer. Winterkoninkske is a medium-high/full bodied beer with medium carbonation and a slight warming sensation from the alcohol.
According to the brewery’s website, Winterkoninkske was brewed with seven types of malt, rolled oats, two types of Belgian hops, brewing liquor and yeast. I have no idea what brewing liquor is so if anyone out there knows, I’d love to hear about it. This beer is also unfilted, unpasteurized and bottle conditioned.
While it doesn’t really say what this beer is on the label, I would have to guess that is it either a dubbel or a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. As this beer warmed up, the malt character really started to shine though, growing more complex with each increase of temperature. I am certainly going to look for this beer next time it comes out next winter.
Solstice d’Hiver, Brasserie dieu du Ciel!, 9.8% ABV
From my understanding, Brasserie dieu du Ciel! is a Canadian brewery out of Montreal. In trying to find more information about Solstice d’Hiver, I ran across their beer list and I must say that if I ever make it to Montreal, I will make it a point to stop by their brewpub. If the exclamation point in their name wasn’t enough of a draw, this brewery has an extensive list of beers they brew on a regular basis that sound interesting (One Night Stand, anyone?) to say the least.
Solstice d’Hiver is a dark brown beer with pronounced red hues and a nearly non-existent off-white/beige head. The aroma is malty with a pleasant and smooth floral component and noticeable alcohol quality. The flavor starts off malty, but not sweet, which quickly gives way to a robust and unexpectedly intense hop bitterness that lasts well into the finish. This is a full bodied beer with low carbonation that has a warming sensation in the finish.
I was surprised by the level of hoppiness of this beer. It really caught me off guard. I was also surprised to learn that Brasserie dieu du Ciel! is a French-Canadian brewery and not a Belgian brewery. While this may help to explain the strong hop character of the beer, it certainly didn’t prepare me for the flavor. Wow, what a beer! If you’re into hoppy barleywines as your winter warmer, then find yourself a bottle of Solstice d’Hiver and give it a shot.
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Brewing liquor is just a fancy water of saying “water.”
Should have said: Brewing liquor is just a fancy WAY of saying “water.”
Bob,
I just learned something new today.
Thanks for the clarification. If there’s a way to make something more complicated for the sake of sophistication, people will find it, ha!