You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Sint Niklaas is coming to town.
The holiday season is upon us. The very Belgian holiday of Sint Niklaas is a mere month away. Not surprisingly, then, the Vanberg & DeWulf collection of Christmas beers are starting to show up in locales coast to coast beloved by Belgian beer afficionadoes. Here’s what’s in store:
Avec Les Bons Voeux from Saison Dupont
“With Best wishes...of the brewery Dupont” is how the name of Dupont's wonderful Christmas beer offering translates. Rich, gold colored, fragrant (lemony with hints of pepper, banana and clove) with a full deep malt richness that lingers on your tongue for what seems the whole holiday season. Considered by many connoisseurs to be the finest offering from this unparalleled brewery.
“The best Belgian beer, if ever there could be such an award...a sumptuous, seductive 9.5% beer” CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale)
Formats: 20 liter kegs and 75cl cork finished bottles
Scaldis Prestige de Nuits
An incredibly complex, balanced and satisfying beer, triple fermented and aged in Cotes de Nuits barrels for at least 6 months. Every batch differs according to its rate of maturation. Deep caramel malt notes complemented and balanced by the startlingly vinous quality imparted by the wine barrel aging. All wonderfully heightened and accentuated by the 13% ABV. We have never tasted a better marriage of wood and beer. In our opinion, this is the finest new beer from Belgium in a decade.
Scaldis Prestige de Nuits is the sister beer to Scaldis Prestige. Master brewer, Hugues Dubuisson has come up with another champion strong ale of remarkable sophistication and elegance.
Only 2000 bottles allocated to the US!
The ultimate holiday gift for the Belgian beer lover!
“99/100” the slight bite, mild vanilla, and distinct wood notes work perfectly with the earthy Belgian yeast and mildly tropical flavors. It really is a Wow! beer” RateBeer.com
Format: 75 cl cork-finished bottles
Scaldis Noel (25cl) & Scaldis Noel Premium (750 ml)
Brasserie Dubuisson's delightful Christmas offerings are classics of the season.
Scaldis Noel (at 12.5% a bit stronger than Scaldis) has a burnished ruby-copper hue that prepares you well for the spicy aroma with notes of caramel and marzipan. The taste is round, with hints of licorice leading to a long, warming finish. This is a sweet holiday compliment to the famously dry and bracing Scaldis.
Format for Noel: 24 x 25 cl (8.54 oz) bottles and 20 liter kegs
Scaldis Noel Premium has the extra element of being bottle-conditioned—a rare treat for Scaldis lovers!
Format for Noel Premium: 8x 75 cl bottles
“The... classic Belgian Winter Ale” Liquid Solutions
Featured Beer Dinner of the Christmas Season:
Want to try them all? (plus a few surprise guest appearances from the breweries featured)……
Will you be in Chicago in December?
Then join us for a Sint Niklaas Beer Dinner @ The Publican
Sunday, December 13th from 5 to 10 PM
Frank Bruni of the New York Times could not find enough words of praise for The Publican. “A stunner”, “free-wheeling”, “rollicking”, “full of gaiety”, “delicious”. We couldn’t agree more. Beer sommelier Michael McAvena and Don set the date so that the dinner will take place just one week after the Belgian holiday of Sint Niklaas. –
This happens to be one of our favorite Belgian holidays - and one we would celebrate with a bit of fanfare in Cooperstown at our Brewery Ommegang.
We’ll bring the tradition to The Publican. A Sint Niklaas gift will be presented to one of the lucky diners in a drawing on the night of the 13th.
For those for whom Sint Niklaas is new, a little explanation is in order: In the Low Countries, legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives by way of steamboat from
Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, (December 6th) along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children. Sint Niklaas, along with Zwarte Piet, will go abroad at night and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard. Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children, but watch out if you've been bad! You will get coal in your clog. What’s more… bad children may be taken back to Spain. (Credit kaboose.com.)
Click here to read the entire NY Times review of the Publican.
Here is how the dinner works. Dinners are available for the set price of $45, with beer pairings available for an additional $15-20. Thus diners do not have to opt for the beer pairing if they dine at the restaurant that evening. Chef Brian Huston’s four course menu is available family-style from 5PM to 10 PM. Reservations are highly recommended. These dinners routinely sell out well in advance of the dinner date. Many quaffs featured in this event are limited edition seasonal beers. The Publican will continue to pour the beers throughout the month following the dinner. This promises to be a festive, memorable holiday dinner – a salute to Belgian fare prepared by the gifted crew at the Publican.
The Publican
837 W. Fulton Market
Chicago, Il 60607
312-733-9555
Hoppy Holidays,
Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield
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