I’m wrapping up a relatively long and relaxing Christmas vacation with some Gouden Carolus Noel paired with raw, unsalted, non-spiced pecans. Just plain pecans. It’s a perfect match.
The Gouden Carolus Noel is one of the best holiday seasonal beers around. It’s a world class Belgian strong dark ale at 10% ABV, already a nice Christmas beer to begin with, made more festive with some masterful spicing. I can’t even tell you what the spices are, they are so subtle and complex with no one spice smacking you in the face. But they perfectly round out the spiciness produced by the Belgian ale yeast. I would guess they fall in the usual winter warmer field of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, etc.
Hardly surprising that these flavors meld perfectly with pecans, a nut that is commonly spiced with those same spices for a holiday treat. The beer is a bit on the sweet side (not cloying!) so chewing on a pecan with some GC Noel evokes taste budular images of a fine holiday desert.
Highly recommended.
Tags: Gouden Carolus Noel, pecans
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