Bottled. Ruby colour with a mediumsized foamy off-white head, which leaves somelace. Aroma is caramel,some slight spices, ripe fruits and some plum. Flavour is sweet malts, plum, some figs and mild spices as well. Also a slight bit of alcohol to it.

Bottle 750ml. corked @ home on the terrace. [ As Affligem Cuvee Natalis ].Clear medium to dark red amber colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, sweet malt, caramel, moderate to heavy yeasty, belgium yeast, candy yeast, fruity yeast. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light bitter with a long duration, sweet malt, caramel, candy yeast, fruity yeast, belgium yeast, dried fruit, dates. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20180615] 7-3-8-3-16

75cl bottle shared with brewing buddies. Thin ring off white head. Hazy amber pour. A bit sweet. Ok.

75cl Bottle from AH. Ruby amber colour, beige head. Aroma of amber malts, iron, dried fruits, ripe fruits. Flavour is medium sweet, light spicy, sugary, metallic, amber malts, light-bitter finish, fruity, alcoholic. Medium bodied. Not great.

The old and once respected brand of Affligem abbey beers has undergone quite some change in the course of their existence, and lately Heineken, the current owner of the brand, has apparently decided to add seasonal versions in 75 cl bottles, of which this one represents the winter which has just passed. Bought this in a Dutch-owned supermarket, which says enough: this brand has become more Dutch than Belgian, in certain ways, which by itself is obviously not a bad thing. Quite a lot of pressure during opening but no gushing; coarse and audibly ’crackling’, pale yellowish beige, loose head retaining on the edges but otherwise quickly dissipating, over a clear, fully translucent, coppery mahogany brown beer with lively sparkling, becoming only lightly hazy with all the deposit added. Aroma of industrial caramel, fudge, banana with brown sugar, sugared tea, some coriander, stewed beef, hint of liquorish candy, strong iron (as expected seen my previous experiences with other new Heineken embodiments of the brand), dry tree leaves, honey-glazed spareribs, pear syrup, brown rum (which I hate) and a lot of it, cooked Brussels sprouts somewhere, cookie dough, old dusty cocoa powder, toasted bread, candied fig. Sweet onset with a lot of residual brown sugar, bit cloying but not to the point where it impairs drinkability, banana and date sweetness too, basic and generic sourishness surrounding this sweetness, very light meaty umami accent far away in the background, spritzy carbonation even numbing the tongue a bit and in that sense overcarbonated especially seen this specific substyle; simple caramelly malt sweetness ensues carrying a toasted bittering edge in the end, well in line with the expectations of a Scotch-based Belgian Christmas beer; all things considered, the body remains a bit thin, with even an unmistakable metallic ’sound’ to it reflecting the iron from the nose. Meanwhile the soapy bittersweet spiciness of coriander grows and grows, becoming a bit resinous in the finish, where it meets ongoing caramel maltiness, residual candi sugar sweetness sticking to the throat a bit, a splash of generic herbal hops providing a little bit of dull bitterness, and a glow of warming but non-astringent, rum-like alcohol. Retronasally, apart from the malts, I mostly get hints of coriander and even slight liquorish. Well... this is another one that scores highly on my list of ’most redundant Belgian beers ever’: it is yet another embodiment of the old coriandered ’Belgian Scotch’ ale which Belgian Christmas beers essentially are, but in a clearly industrial, overly metallic, stereotypical shape, and overcarbonized to make this even worse. To me personally, the old Affligems under De Smedt were a bit above average compared to their Leffe and Grimbergen counterparts, even improved a bit when Heineken started to interfere, but now that Heineken controls everything, have sunk deeply in my esteem, having become soulless ’zombies’ of industrialized commercialism at the same level as, indeed, Leffe or Grimbergen, or perhaps even worse in some cases. I hate thoroughly industrialized beers (or food products in general) and the whole Affligem range so far is surely among them, including this one. I therefore have no expectations whatsoever of the other Affligem Cuvées and will not make any specific attempt at all to go out and find them.

0.75 l bottle from ’Dranken Melgers’, bottled in October 2015. Clear, deep red with a large, frothy, stable, tan head. Faint, sweetish-malty and a little spicy aroma of toffee, brown sugar, coriander and some raisins. Sweet, malty and spicy taste of toffee, brown sugar, coriander, raisins and some licorice, followed by a medium long, moderately bitter, yeasty-spicy, slightly metallic finish. Medium body, slightly sticky and effervescent mouthfeel, lively carbonation. Bottle and beer look very nice but the taste is a bit empty. Although I did not expect that much, this is rather disappointing.