Brasserie des Légendes, owner of the Quintine brand since it took over the original brewery of Ellezelloise in 2006, has apparently felt the winds of change in the international beer world and presents us with several barrel aged versions of their beers, in this case Quintine de Noël aged for half a year on cognac barrels (and put in a classy bottle, almost Italian in style). Gusher, so be prepared. Pale beige, loose and bubbly but eventually mousy, opening head on a hazy, deep ‘dirty amber’-hued orange blonde beer with lots of vivid, but ‘refined’ sparkling. Aroma of stewed peaches, brandy-soaked raisins and indeed actual cognac clearly piercing through without overpowering too much, wet old wood, cooked apple, soggy old peanuts, hints of dried orange peel, dried cranberries, fig, baked banana, bread crust, very old and oxidized rosé wine, ferrous spring water. Sweet onset with a tart edge, the whole reminiscent of ripe yellow plums, red apples, halfripe figs and a touch of pineapple, fizzy carbonation, supple and – for this strength – relatively slender body (thinned a bit by the alcohol). Caramelly and lightly peanutty, even very subtly toasty maltiness, well-developed and adorned with the spicy notes we know from the basic beer, both ‘real’ and phenolic (coriander seed, hint of clove), though obviously this spiciness in this case is muffled by the barrel treatment and ageing – so that instead, it is a firm tannic effect of oak wood and a warming, lingering, bittersweet cognac booziness that take over in the end. The alcohol becomes a tad rough eventually and this beer could do with more polishing and finetuning, but that said, it certainly is an interesting idea not badly executed; the familiar Quintine de Noël has ‘de facto’ been turned into a kind of Belgian style barleywine and even if the end product needs some evening out (and will probably benefit from some extended cellaring), it is a very enjoyable sipper for sure.

33 CL. stubby bottle @ the bungalow in St. Bonnet, bought @ intermarche St Armand. Hazy yellow with a nice form big white head. Hoppy aroma with some grain. Sweet taste with a low bitter finish. Easy going Belgian blonde.

Resealable bottle. Foam- small white foam From- plastic cup Taste - weak bitterness, hops and malt, faint citrus. Alcohol well hidden. Not bad, bitter aftertaste.

Smell-weak malt, hops, citrus, faint belgian yeast. Foam- thin, weak malt, weak citrus, weak hops. Head is small to medium, white color, maybe orange tint. Sticks. Appearance- re-sealable bottle, simple label. Hazy orange color, weak to medium carbonation. From- snifter Taste - hops, malt, citrus, hoppy after taste with some bitterness. Pine in the mix and some weak belgian notes. Long bitter, hoppy aftertaste. Not bad, but nothing special. Alcohol is well hidden.

Bouteille 33cl, BB 12/2021, lot#042.
Dorée-blonde, col épais crémeux blanc.
Arôme sur un nez rappelant des épices fermentées avec du grains. Rétro un peu noble citornné et frais - mais ne permettant pas de passer au-delà de ce fini de bouche - limite un peu chimique.

Palais est malté pils - de suite suivi par un caractère un peu 'off' qui fait passer la bière pour une bière au-delà de sa date de conservation. Le tout sur une impression de bouquet d'épices, le tout couplé avec une impression de carton mouillé (cela peut être en ligne avec le côté renaissance ?) avec un retour manifeste de grains- concassés et un effet phénolique de levure.

33cl bottle. Pours medium hazy golden with fine white foam. Aroma is delicate of honey and fruity. Body and carbonation are average. Taste is medium sweet, with very limited bitterness. Final is average.

9/VI/20 - 33cl bottle from Oxfam Wereldwinkel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: V/2021 (2020-482)

Clear deep blond beer, big towering creamy irregular off-white head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: bit sweet, malty, grains, bit spicy, cow fodder, banana, some marzipan. MF: lots of carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sweet, malty, yeast, alcohol, banana, grains, bit spicy. Aftertaste: little chemical, pretty bitter, sweet, very yeasty, ripe banana, dry, bit medicinal, rubbery finish. Not very good.

Paired with an Indian veggie curry, which was pretty ok.

Fles gedeeld door EdwinC. Het is een licht troebel goudgeel bier met een vol wit schuim. Het aroma is moutig en fris. De smaak is fris, citrus, wat gistachtig en banaan.
Earlier Rating: 6/4/2020 Total Score: 3.1
Fles gedeeld door EdwinC. Het heeft een licht troebele gele kleur met een stevige witte schuimkraag. Het aroma is fris en sinaasappel achtig. De smaak is fris, fruitig en wat wrang in de afdronk.