The first thing to say about this Belgian BCA is that you should chill it a bit before opening - not because of any stylistic requirement for a lower temperature, but because it is extremely explosive. One reviewer here described it as a 'premature ejaculation beer' - it's all over your trousers before you've even got the top off. Aroma is complex, sour and amazingly spicy - cloves, cinnamon, coriander - with a touch of phenol and a fair portion of rich malt. On the palate it is sour like a porter, with lots of chocolatey malt and coffee flavours, plus even more spices and phenols - the whole effect is reminiscent of a mulled wine. There is a rich bitter-sweet nutty balance to the malt character, which lingers into a warming, chocolatey, spicy aftertaste. A fantastic Christmas ale that serves as the perfect complement to a mince pie.

This is a Belgian abbey-style beer, probably falling into the 'tripel’ style, from the Corsendonk monastery. It has an incredibly tenacious, rocky head, which tastes of vanilla ice-cream. The nose is also rich in vanilla, with some spicy notes (coriander?) and some zest. In the mouth it is initially quite sweet, with zesty bitterness (limes) that becomes more pronounced towards the finish, along with a spirit-like kick - more vodka than brandy. The finish itself is reasonably short, though the light honey malt flavour lingers for a little longer, but leaving the palate clean. This is a superbly balanced, well-rounded beer.

	Maredsous beers are brewed in perfect harmony with one another : two beers (6° blond and 10° tripple) where a characteristically fresh bouquet and sweet aftertaste go sublimely together, and a creamy foaming dark-coloured variant with a well-balanced flavour of malt and hops (8°).