Petrus Winterbeer

Petrus is a brand of Brouwerij Bavik, which contains 7 different lines, including Petrus Winterbeer. They also are responsible for the Bavik Pils, Wittekerke, Ezel, Pilaarbijter, Eaumega, Bon-Val, and La Bonne Vallee brands. Only the first 4 brands are beers though, Eaumega is seltzer water, Bon-Val looks to be bottled water and fruit drinks, and La Bonne Vallee is a line of wines. I'd never heard of any of them until I looked the brewery up online, so I'll leave it at that. I'll admit, I was first attracted to Petrus because State Line Liquors had a really cool glass and bottle set for sale that contained a special Petrus glass and a 750-ml bottle of the Winterbeer. Still, Belgian beers tend to be my favorites, and looking a little more into Petrus indicated that it would be a good one to try.

The beer itself pours a milk chocolate color that is hazy and nearly opaque. It has a frothy off-white head that's pretty huge; almost 3 and a half fingers thick. The bubbles in the head are large, and the head has an extremly long retention. The lacing is moderately light over the duration of the drink, but huge chunks break off at first and stick to the glass.

The aroma is chocolaty at first, and a little funky. It's not a brett yeast smell, but it's still earthy. I was noticing an estery (flowery) smell as well, possibly a hint of clove? Whatever it is, the smell of this beer is not overpowering but neither is it weak.

The taste does have a touch of chocolate to start off, but it's not really as sweet as one might expect. There's a little tangyness to it, and once it was swallowed I noticed a spicy tingle in my mouth. There was also just a hint of bitterness on the back of the tongue, right where the tongue meets the throat. Like the Samuel Smith Winter Welcome, this beer had a bit of a warming effect to it, although I think this warmed a little more than the Samuel Smith. Overall the flavor it somewhat muted, definitely not "robust", but there's not a single unpleasant part to it. As I mixed the yeast on the bottom of the bottle (it's a bottle refermented beer, so this accounts for the haziness), I noticed that the sourness was a bit more pronounced and a little more tart. It puts me a little in mind of the sour flavor of Ommegeddon, and it's not unpleasant in the least. I don't know that it's better with all the yeast than without, but it does seem a little more complex.

The mouthfeel is dominated by the carbonation. This is the one area where I'm a little unhappy with this beer. It actually seems as if the carbonation is getting in the way of the flavor, to the point where I'm having a hard time really focusing on what's going on with my palate. The beer does leave a little coating on the mouth, but nothing major and the tingling from the carbonation overpowers this sensation as well. The body is medium-light, and the beer is definitely on the dry side. In fact towards the end I noticed myself actually getting more thirsty.

Because the flavor is not too strong and the bitterness is so light and balanced, this really does seem like one that I could drink all day - IF it wasn't so dry. However, I needed to follow it with a glass of water just because it made me so thirsty. I also noticed that the ABV is a bit on the high side with this beer, weighing in at 7%, so it's a bit deceptive. The alcohol really doesn't come through in the flavor, just in the warmth this beer has. This is a great beer for a cold winter's night (like tonight) as long as there's something else to drink after. Putting the dryness aside, this is my favorite Christmas beer yet this year.

- Adam