kerstbierfestival essen

Slightly amended version of the regular Louis XVIII by Wilde Brouwers in Merelbeke near Ghent, only in 75 cl bottles with paper wrap, launched for the winter of 2019-2020. Bottle from De Hopduvel, now a year old. Snow white, thick and frothy, cobweb-lacing, stable head on an initially more or less clear, warm and deep orange-hued peach blonde beer with a thin 'suspension' of yeast, perturbed by enthusiastic sparkling; shifts to a cloudy to even murky 'dirty amber' with sediment. Aroma of ripe peach, dried orange peel, banana, chewing gum, dry hay, 'herbes de Provençe', white bread dough, honey, carrot peel, green mandarins, cloves, touch of melon. Sweetish onset with light sourish edge, fruity and 'cleanly' estery with notes of peach, banana and freshly cut red apples, strongly carbonated with very minerally, initially even somewhat numbing effect, but acceptable for the style. Sweetish, caramelly and very lightly peanutty maltiness with residual honeyish sweetness on top, towards a mildly phenolic, bit earthy-yeasty finish with spicy notes (clove, dried rosemary, some dried citrus peel - and a soapy coriander accent), lingering breadiness and floral hop bitterness. Very classically styled Belgian blonde, I must say that I was expecting much more from a 'Grand Cru' version of the regular Louis XVIII - this clearly shows that this old term, which the Belgian family brewers originally borrowed from French wine culture, has no 'real' content at all and is a purely commercial thing, like the 'premium' in premium lager. Still, technically well made, and indeed feeling a bit maltier, 'fuller', spicier and hoppier than the regular, so in that sense this Grand Cru edition is still a light improvement.