Monday, December 26, 2011

Petrus Winter #9 Ale


Br. Bavik
Belgium
9% abv
1pt 9.4oz bottle
$9.99 a bottle

Don’t confuse this with the Petrus Winter Ale.  I have had the Petrus Winter Ale before and I have to admit that I was not a big fan.  To me it was just plain boring.  But, I do like some of the other ales in the Petrus lineup.  This #9 looks new to me or just new to the Michigan market or maybe U.S. market – I’ll go with new since it is not on the Global beer web site. 

Anyways, when I saw this bottle I was a little excited but I was also wary because I remembered that I was not fond of the Winter Ale by Petrus.  As I was opening this bottle I was thinking how I hoped it had some nice zippy spice and some nice roasted flavors.  As I poured the first glass the anticipation built for the ale looked like what I was expecting; a good bronzy color with some nice amber highlights throughout the body.  I could also smell a light ginger bread sent along with some allspice and roasted malts.

As I raised the large sniffer style glass to my mouth I was hoping and praying and for a moment I thought of Tim Tebow.  I said to myself as I raised the glass toward the sky, ‘Tim please turn this water into a tasty ale’ and then I took a sip.    Wow, that Tim Tebow shit really works.  I really like this ale. (T-boning or T-bowing didn’t work for him when he played the Detroit Lions – we kick his ass) 

I like the seasonal spicy flavors of gingerbread, allspice, and nutmeg along with a soft roasted pecan note and baked caramel.  The sweet style is not overpowering for the hops are doing their job in try to keep some balance. 

The best experience with this seasonal ale is each sip that I take and the wonderful aroma.  Doing the review one step at a time did not do this ale justice.  Look at the ale, then sniff, then taste.  Take a good sniff with each sip and enjoy the moment. 

This is a seasonal favorite of mine now.  Can I do that after one bottle? No, not really.  So, I’ll have to get back to the store and pick-up some more to qualify this ale as a seasonal favorite. 

Winter or Christmas seasonals are one of my least favorite out of all the seasonal type beers.  But, this one I’ll have to put in the book as a new favorite. 

I enjoyed the second half of this bottle with an Italia Ciao Cigar and it was a great pairing. 

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