Brasserie Thiriez - Bière de Noël

Christmas came early this year as we're featuring these "Noël" beers in November. 'November Noël'—got a nice ring to it, no? Regardless of whether or not you celebrate Christmas, this is a fine holiday beer. Expect a hazy brown color, with a medium-sized off-white head on the pour. The bouquet gives off caramel malt, some sugary sweetness and spicy, fruity notes, with a coriander-and-cinnamon kick. The flavor profile focuses on ripe fruits, coriander and some edgy spiciness, touches of nutmeg, and a decent dose of carob. This light-to-medium-bodied beer finishes a bit roasty, and overall presents a nice balance between malty sweetness and spicy flourishes. This beer goes well with most holiday dishes, and is great with a French chevre cheese, particularly those that have been flavored with cinnamon and cranberries.

Remember, cheeses make great partners for beer. And if you're been looking to get into the experience of pairing beer and cheese, we've got a great club for you to supplement your featured monthly beers: The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club. Some months the guys at corporate throw the selection of 3 monthly cheeses at us for our beer panel tasting sessions and we'll say it right now, we dig it. Now, from time to time we may knock wine a bit since many people consider wine and cheese pairings to be superior to beer and cheese pairings, and those that do tend to have an attitude, and sometimes said people with said attitudes need a little smack in the face. That being said, a few hundred years of history tells us that there's really something to the whole wine and cheese pairing thing, and guess what? We have The International Wine of the Month Club for those of you who want to expand your palate to appreciate good wine as well as good beer, with or without the cheese pairings (or for a unique gift for the holidays, which by the way are fast approaching). Check out www.monthlyclubs.com for more info about these and our other clubs.

About 150 miles due north of Paris, at the northern tip of France, just about 12 miles south of the famous North Seaport town of Dunkerque (Dunkirk) you'll find Brasserie Thiriez. Daniel Thiriez founded his brewery in 1996 shortly after settling in this region of France, in the small town of Esquelbecq. We don't blame him for wanting to stick around in this area, with its lush hillsides in the rolling farm country of French Flanders; it's a beautiful place to live. The brewery is housed in a rustic, rather small brick-and-beam building that harkens back to the days of true farmhouse brewing that took place here before this area was considered French or Belgian. Daniel holds a brewing degree from a Belgian University and brews his beer in a decidedly Belgain-style, with French farmhouse flair and a regionally atypical heavy hand when it comes to hops. He manages to push the envelope with some of his beers while maintaining a traditional approach to brewing. His brewery buildings were originally those of the old Poitevin firm-brewery, which brewed on the site until 1945 (quite impressive considering that the town of Dunkerque, just a few miles away, was 80% leveled by Nazi bombings from 1940-1945). After having been home to five breweries (and a few dozen pubs), the village of Esquelbecq did not produce beer for nearly one half-century, until Daniel set up shop in 1996. Local residents were glad he did, as we're sure you'll be too. À Votre Santé! For more information about the brewery, check out their web site: http://brasseriethiriez.ifrance.com/.