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Brasserie du Bocq Gauloise Christmas

Gauloise Christmas

Brasserie du Bocq (pronounced like “bock”) is a family brewery situated in the picturesque hills of the French speaking Wallonia in the tiny village of Purnode which is located about 20 minutes south of the city of Namur. Founded by Manuel Belot, the brewery is owned and managed by the 6th generation of the Belot family.

Gauloise is one of the lines of beer brewed by Brasserie du Bocq.  In fact, Gauloise is the breweries oldest line of beers dating to the founding of the brewing in 1858.  Currently, the Gauloise Brune (brown) is the oldest continually brewed recipe at the brewery going back over a century to 1905.  The Christmas beer is a spiced version of a the Brune.

Appearance: Brown, tan head, good retention.

Aroma: Spicy, cinnamon, caramel, toffee, chocolate, mossy, woodsy, nutty, alcohol/rum nuts.

Taste: Cinnamon, cocoa, toffee, woodsy, nutty, rum/alcohol notes in the finish.

Overall Impression: Gauloise Christmas is a dark, rich, sweet beer that’ll warm you up on a cold winter night.  If you’ve had other Belgian Brunes or winter beers, this is an excellent one to add to your list.  The spices add a nice bit of holiday festivity to an already excellent beer.  For my western European readers, grab a bottle or two of this for your Christmas table and share it with your friends and family. For everyone else, find something special for your table!

Happy Holidays from I think about beer!

Availability: Not available in the US.  Bocq doesn’t export the Gauloise line to the US.  You can find this beer in Belgium and France during the holiday season.  In the US, you can find 2 beers from Bocq, Blanche de Namur & Saison 1858, both of which are imported by Merchant du Vin.

8.1% ABV

Notes: I picked up this beer on my brewery tour of Brasserie du Bocq.  I’d like to thank the fine folks at Bocq for an excellent tour and Merchant du Vin for setting up.  Check back for my full article about my tour of the brewery.

Gauloise Christmas Brewery Photo

8 thoughts on “Brasserie du Bocq Gauloise Christmas

  1. That sounds quite tasty. I have always enjoyed the style but do not find a huge range of them up here in Vancouver. I hope that changes as it seems all other Belgian styles are making their way over more and more.

  2. I tried this beer and it was fantastic. It is not about bringing Belgian beers to Canada, but about learning how to prepare them from the right ingredients. I’m sure that some of the local breweries are successful, at least from what I have tried/seen.

    1. It’s not just about throwing the right ingredients in a kettle and buying a “Belgian” yeast strain. There is so much technique involved in both brewing and fermentation that American (US & Canada) breweries just don’t understand.

      I’ve had a lot of American and Canadian examples of Belgian-styles and they don’t even come close to being made correctly.

      Additionally, the ingredients are different even if they’re the same. Barley and hops produced in Europe taste different than those produced in the US or Canada. The “Local” movement can’t replicate everything nor do I want it to. It will only lead to the homogenization of craft beer.

      1. Thanks for your answer. I did not want to sound like I know everything about the process of making a good beer. For me, it is more about the personal preferences. I agree with you that it is not just about bringing the ingredients, but also about the know-how and deeper understanding of the techniques that are used in the whole process. I just hope that one day Canadian or American crafted beers would reach the quality of Belgian, Czech or German ones.

        1. There are definitely a few that are getting close. Four Winds in BC is definitely making some great stuff. Driftwood’s sour project is pretty good too. In Oregon, Pfriem and Logsdon are doing a bang up job with their Belgian style stuff.

          1. I am quite impressed you picked out Four Winds and Driftwood for BC. I am a huge fan of Four Winds and it’s good to see it not just me or BC that appreciates them. Driftwood does have a nice sour project as well!

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