Brasserie Dubuisson - Scaldis Noël

Scaldis Noël pours a deep amber-brown color beneath a generous head of foam. The aroma immediately reveals the beer’s substantial character, offering layers of caramel, ripe yellow fruit, dried fruit, and gently hoppy notes. As it opens in the glass, impressions of banana, dark fruit, toffee, and subtle spice can emerge alongside the rich caramel malt character. Unlike many holiday ales, its complexity does not depend on an aggressive assortment of seasonal spices; much of its distinctive fruit and spice character develops naturally through the malt, hops, and Dubuisson’s house yeast.

On the palate, Scaldis Noël is full-bodied, rounded, and warming, with caramel malt providing a rich foundation for layers of ripe fruit and subtle hop bitterness. The brewery uses a blend of malts, including caramel malt, along with traditional hops, sugar, water, and its proprietary yeast. The result is powerful yet balanced, with the sweetness and substantial malt character countered by enough bitterness to keep the beer from becoming cloying. At 12% ABV, it is certainly a formidable beer, but its fruitiness and balance help maintain impressive drinkability for its strength.

As the beer warms, its malt and fruit character becomes even more expressive, making Scaldis Noël particularly well suited to slow sipping during the colder months. Pair it with roasted turkey, pork tenderloin, rich stews, aged cheeses, or desserts featuring caramel, nuts, or dark chocolate. Its considerable strength and concentrated flavors also make it an excellent after-dinner beer to enjoy on its own.

Brasserie Dubuisson traces its history to 1769, when Joseph Leroy, an ancestor of the current Dubuisson family, established the brewery in Pipaix, Belgium. More than 250 years later, it remains on the same historic farm-brewery site, where brewing has continued without interruption through nine generations of the same family. That remarkable continuity makes Dubuisson the oldest family brewery in Belgium. Through revolutions, wars, and enormous changes in the brewing industry, the family has maintained its focus on producing distinctive Belgian specialty beers.

An important turning point came in 1931, when brothers Alfred and Amédée Dubuisson took over their parents’ farm-brewery and began concentrating more fully on beer production. Two years later, Alfred created Bush Beer, taking its name from the English translation of “buisson.” In the United States, the Bush range is marketed under the name Scaldis, helping distinguish it from the similarly named American Busch brand. Today, the brewery remains independent and family-run, with members of the eighth and ninth generations involved in the business.

The brewery expanded its range in 1991 with the introduction of Bush de Noël, known in the United States as Scaldis Noël. Created as a warming beer for the holiday season, it has become one of Dubuisson’s classic seasonal releases. Brewed in limited quantities, this powerful amber ale combines the brewery’s long history with the rich malt and fruit character associated with traditional Belgian holiday beers.