La Vache Folle ESB

Bottle from Firefly, Vancouver
Beautiful copper color; medium sized head. Mild aroma of caramel, fudge, milk. Good body strength; caramel flavor, with malt, and a good earthy character, harsh in the good way, but also some delicate aromatic hopping. Very balanced and well brewed.

500mL bottle, pours cloudy golden orange with a white head. Aroma is extremely fruity - apricot, peaches, and some floral hops. Flavour reveals more of the bitterness, and not as much of the fruitiness as the nose suggests. Very enjoyable.

Pours a light amber color, earthy hops and caramel nose shine in the nose, but are not over powering. Mouth is a bit chewy, lots of caramel and hops balancing each other out. Good balance. Moderately bitter finish. Good example of the style.

Purchased at Dépanneur de la Rive in Cap-Rouge, Quebec in September 2005. Pours a cloudy amber-beige colour with a big fat off-white creamy head. The retention is very heavy and long with big chunky foam lacing. Hoppy, earthy and floral notes for the aroma. Smooth mouthfeel and medium-bodied. The taste is a good mix of caramel malt with a good punch in the mouth, from the hop. Not crazy bitter, but great taste of hop for sure. Great brew for hop lovers !

Brown bottle, 500 ml, drank in its glass, purchased at Le Grand Duc, savoured on November 10 2008; eye: polished copper that has started to tarnish, hazy, nice effervescence, creamy tan head that remains, nice lacing; nose: citrusy hops, grapefruit, light pine, malt; mouth: hops, light astringency, hops, malt, light pine, light spices, dry finale in grapefruit and a hint of caramel malt, grainy texture, medium body, mildly bitter, rather carbonated; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, bue dans son verre, achetée chez Le Grand Duc, savourée le 10 novembre 2008; œil : cuivre poli en train de ternir, voilée, bonne effervescence, mousse fauve crémeuse qui demeure, bonne dentelle; nez : houblon citrique, pamplemousse, léger pin, mal; bouche : houblon, légère astringence, houblon, malt, léger pin, léger épices, finale sèche en pamplemousse avec une pointe de malt caramel, texture granuleuse, corps moyen, moyennement amère, plutôt carbonatée; en résumé : bien aimé

[Bottled at the brewpub] An unclear orange beer with a small white head. The aroma is sweet hoppy with some notes of coriander. The flavor is sweet floral with a nice dry hoppy end.

Hazy amber colour. Fruity-hoppy aroma with a few phenols (often found in Quebecois bottled beers...grumble). Very dusty, yeasty, fairly phenolic. Slightly toasty. Perhaps not at its freshest, but I was 50 feet from the brewery so what can I say?

Bottle: Poured an hazy amber color ale with a bit foamy head with better then average retention. Aroma of floral hops and big malt is easily noticeable. Taste is bigger and stronger then your average English bitter with some lots bitter hops and a full body. Does not stay within the style limit but is very enjoyable nonetheless.

2005 bottle, thanks Martin! Pours a deep brown-raspberry-orange color, lightly hazy, unfiltered, with a massive amount of lasting, yellow-tinged white head. Aroma has notes of dry wood, lightly spicy hops, light Belgian yeast notes and hints of caramel, raspberries and orange marmalade. I personally thought it started with a Belgian-like yeast flavor, much like a Belgian Ambrée ale, but then some spicy hops, English in nature enter the mix, while a lightly dry toffee and caramel mix with hints of toasted grains. Flavor is full and the malt extraction is well-done here. It is hard to ask for a much more pleasing mouthfeel. Lightly creamy, low, natural carbonation and a medium to medium-full body without comprimising drinkability. Bitterness comes in the middle and lingers lightly on the end, just enough there to add complexity, without going overboard/out-of-style. As it warms, the flavor thins out somewhat on the end, and there is a little bit too much dry breadiness on the end, but it’s hardly a significant fault. Zesty hops, oranges, pears and apples, with light caramel malt linger on. This brewery kicks ass!