Hjertensfryd

Brewery: Warwik

Type: Belgian Strong Ale

Alcohol: 8%

Country: Denmark

Hjertensfryd means "hearts delight". But it is also refers to a special "character" from the city of Varde (you can read about it here, if you can read Danish). It is the Christmas beer from Warwik brewery in Varde Denmark. This is special to me because it is from the first town I ever visited when I came to Denmark. It is the town my wife grew up in. It is also the town my wife's parents live in and where we will be spending Christmas this year. So it is only fitting I review this beer sitting in their living room next to the wood stove.

Pours an opaque orangish amber color with a big slightly offwhite head. I expected a bigger smell from this one but instead it is delicate fruity with small traces of malt sweetness and an underlying spiciness. There is also quite a nice subtle hop aroma there, something I have not gotten from many of these Belgian inspired Christmas ales. The taste is all far different. A sweet taste from the pilsner malt with just a tiny bit of darker chocolate malt taste sneaking in. This is offset by a nice fruitiness from the belgian yeast and the hops, the latter gives this a decent bitter finish. There is a spiciness from the ever present "Christmas spices" in these recipes, the chief among them i can identify id clove. These don't really overpower anything in the beer and just serve to round out the sweetness of the malts. I have tried a lot of these Belgian inspired ales this December, this is certainly one of the best.