Seef Bier

Tasted like stale dishwater. The man on the bottle reminded me of someone but I couldn't figure out who; this annoyed me and definitely cost the beer points. Terrible.

 Alcohol strength 6.5% Price: €3.50
 Aroma 1/10 Appearance: 4/10 Taste: 1/10
 Alcohol/Price ratio: 1.86
 Big Dave's Final Verdict: 1/10

Gouden Carolus Noël

I'm not sure what qualifies something to be a "Christmas beer": is it a beer which designed in a way which makes it ideal for consumption during the Christmas period? Is it supposed to  embody some aspect of the Christmas spirit? Is it designed to invoke some hazy nostalgic memory of past Christmases? Whatever the criteria, this beer presents a vision of Christmas which is a better argument for atheism than any of Richard Dawkin's smuggest dialectics.

This is a dark ale and suitably has a very thick, almost black appearance with a beige head that settles slowly and leaves a satisfying layer across the glass. The aroma is strongly of aniseed and dark chocolate. The taste is overwhelmingly one of licorice with a hint of toffee and nutmeg. Very tart.

Gouden Carolus Noël does bear a resemblance to Christmas, darkness and the liquorice are superficially reminiscent of the holiday but, like the vision of Christmas presented in Bob Dylan's "It Must Be Santa Claus", there is a  unpleasant undercurrent to the whole affair. The only saving grace is the incredible alcohol to price ratio; so maybe this isn't a Christmas you would want to remember but thankfully forgetting is not a difficult task.

 Alcohol strength 10.5% Price: €2.50
 Aroma 4/10 Appearance: 7/10 Taste: 3/10
 Alcohol/Price ratio: 4.20
 Big Dave's Final Verdict: 3.5/10

Moeder Overste Tripel

Moeder Overste is Dutch for Mother Superior. The notion of paying homage to a chastising religious figure through the medium of beer seems stunningly misguided though rather endearing by virtue of its blunderousness; like a drunken man declaring his undying love for a woman by telling her how lovely her tits look tonight. 

 Moeder Overste is a blond beer with an deep orange colour and a very thick white head. The glass and bottle are fairly minimalistic but not significantly remarkable. The aroma is hoppy with a hint of citrus and the taste reflects this. The alcohol is well disguised thus this is a very easy drink, perhaps dangerously so given the 8% alcohol volume!

The medium may be questionable but the execution certainly isn't. Any nun would be proud to have such a fine beer dedicated to her, if they approved of that sort of thing...

 Alcohol strength 8% Price: €3.50
 Aroma 8/10 Appearance: 7/10 Taste: 8/10
 Alcohol/Price ratio: 2.29
 Big Dave's Final Verdict: 7.5/10

Leuvense Tripel

The local lad. Brewed in Leuven and thus the liquid embodiment of this cozy university town (or so the marketing would have you believe). Fortunately for Leuven; a town cannot be personified by a drink. If that were true then the Leuvense Tripel would indicate that Leuven is a thoroughly unpleasant place.

The Leuvense Tripel is a dark blond beer that has a hazy orange appearance and a large white head. The bottle was unremarkable. The aroma is slightly metallic and yeasty. It had a strong hop flavour and a steady sweetness but this was overpowered by a very pungent alcoholic after taste, almost like extremely watered down whiskey.

If the Leuvense Tripel was representative of a city it would be an industrial place with a reputation for excessive alcoholism, like Newcastle or Moria.

 Alcohol strength 9% Price: €3.50
 Aroma 4/10 Appearance: 6/10 Taste: 3/10
 Alcohol/Price ratio: 2.57
 Big Dave's Final Verdict: 4/10