Somewhat cloudy copper body with a medium frothy tan head. Sweet woody, musty apple aroma with some light honey and spice, lightly tart. Sweet fruity flavor with honey and spice. Medium body with high carbonation and a smooth sweet finish.

Interesting candyish aroma, some candied orange peel, jelly beans, a tingle of phenol. Flavor surprisingly clean, with a rye bread maltiness, and a sweep of grassy hops into the dry somewhat thin finish. The aftertaste hints at a vague spicy hop. Not alot of character here. Light to medium body. Cloudy amber color, fading head but it left alot of nice lacing.

St. Amand label - best before 04-04-07. Pours bright autumnal orange into a tulip. Tan micro head with good retention and slight lacing. Deep malt aromas. Fizzy and full with a crisp, dry lasting alcohol finish.

Bottle. Labeled as St Amand French Country Ale. Rich amber-brown beer with a small beige head. Toffee, yeast, and some raisin in the aroma. Nice rounded toffee malt flavor with some light citrus notes and a bit of herbalness. Medium bodied. Nice smooth and mellow drinking. LIngering malty, herbal quality.

Bottle (St. Amand). Wet mown grass and pepper aroma. Dark amber color - slightly cloudy with moderate but quickly collapsing head. Smooth hay and wheat flavor - little carbonation and acidity. Nice beer but would like it better with more flavor and body.

Bottle labeled St. Amand French country ale, sampled 3/6/05 Montreal tasting.
Oh boy, here come the "shitty" jokes. . .Ahem, after discussing the attenuation of traditional biere de gardes for a while, this was opened and sampled. Guess this is pretty traditional, because boy is it attenuated. To be honest, though, I thought enough good flavor showed through to keep me interested. Cherries, nuts, light caramel and a touch of yeast. Some brassy/metallic lagerish notes provide a sharpness that is not terribly pleasant, however. For a blonde ale, it had a highly colorful, auburn hue, with small amount of slightly off-white head, quickly receding to clumps of foam. Aroma is light and nutty, with some crisp yeast, a bit of candied yams and some herbal-orange cough drops. So far, not a bad beer by any means, but then there is the body to deal with, and it really brings this beer down, in my book. It’s hard to believe that a "beer for keeping" would start out so attenuated as to be not even worth keeping at all. Perhaps this is a sub-style of biere de garde that is meant to be a very low gravity, quenchable session ale. I think I’ll have to try this beer again, when I’m in the mood for a session ale, and not amidst a long tasting session.

Brown body, nice tan head. Aroma was faint but sweet. Flavor was strong caramel, toffee, and some sweet dry fruit notes before the beer warmed. Tasty.