For day two of the Advent beer calendar we travel to Belgium to Brasserie des Géants, in Wallonia, the French speaking half of the country, to seek out their Christmas beer (that is imported by Shelton Brothers for the U.S.): Noël des Géants.

“Géants” in French means “giants” and the town of Irchonwelz in which the brewery is found has an annual “giants march.” And according the Shelton Brothers, the brewery is “housed in a medieval castle in the town of Irchonwelz, in the French-speaking south of Belgium. Its majestic gate stands stands high to allow the passage of the occasional visiting giant.”

This particular ale is 8.5% alcohol by volume and Shelton Brothers has it classified as a gruit. Their description reads:

The Brasserie des Géants, or Giant Brewery, is housed in a medieval castle in the town of Irchonwelz, in the French-speaking south of Belgium. The Géants Christmas beer came out in 2007, and it’s their best one yet. Rich and warming, and just a bit spicy (thanks to the delicate addition of a special aromatic herb from the region of the brewery), this festive ale has everything you want in a Belgian beer – but not the cheap sugary flavor that the more commercial breweries use to reel in a less sophisticated crowd.

I reviewed this myself, back in 2010. It’s a big, rich, cloying beer that is perfectly decadent for the season.

Find Noël des Géants on:

• Untappd
• BeerAdvocate
• RateBeer
• Facebook