De Glazen Toren Canaster Winterscotch 25.4 oz

Belgian Brown Strong Christmas Ale

Brewed by: De Glazen Toren Brewery
Country: Belgium
Style: Scotch Ale
Color: Brown

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 8.7%
Ratebeer.com rating: 92
BeerAdvocate.com rating: 87

Canaster (ABV 8.7%) from De Glazen Toren Brewery is a Scotch Ale brewed as a "winter warmer". It refers to an ancient brewing tradition of the town of Aalst, where, centuries ago Canaster was brewed in the Carmelite convent.

Made with dark caramel malts of barley and wheat, dark candy sugar, yeast, and Hallertau hops from the Aalst area, it pours rich brown with reddish hints and a medium beige head.

A perfect beer for long winter evenings, it's strong and dry, with a warm aroma and full-bodied flavors of dark dried fruits, caramel, and bananas, and a long malty finish.

Ratebeer.com rating: 92 (out of 100) 25.4 oz capped bottle.

Brewery Information:

Officially founded in 2004 in the town of Erpe-Mere in the East Flanders region of Belgium, De Glazen Toren Brewery had its origins in 1988 when Erpe-Mere bureaucrats Jef Van Den Steen, a mathematician and town alderman, and Dirk De Pauw, a lawyer and the newly appointed town clerk, met and discovered a shared passion for beer.

They became friends and then hobby brewers. Their initial experiments in 50 liter batch brews were unremarkable, and the pair realized that enthusiasm was no substitute for craft or expertise, so they enrolled in a three year course of brewing studies and training at the CTL Institute in Ghent.

It proved a wise decision. The quality of their experimental brews improved spectacularly, so much so that they committed to opening their own small brewery.

Today, with the addition of a third partner, Mark De Neef, De Glazen Toren Brewery exports all-natural, high quality ales to at least nine different countries including the United States, Canada, Italy, Australia, and Japan.