Brasserie de Sarlat (Brassée 24 / Le Fût Sarladais)
Microbrewery in Sarlat-la-Canéda, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France 🇫🇷
Established in 2014
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Dry stout in Irish style from a brewery in Sarlat in southwestern France; tasted from both a longneck and a 75 cl bottle with crown cap. Moussy, mocha-beige, medium thick, closed and stable head, very dark chocolate brown robe, looking blackish but still with burgundy-reddish hue at the edges. Aroma of hard caramel, ground walnuts, dry leather, beef stock, nutmeg, some bitter chocolate in the background, dry tree leaves, coffee grounds, plaster. Sweetish but restrainedly so, old raisins, dried figs and a touch of apple peel, fizzily carbonated with smooth mouthfeel; hard-caramelly, walnutty and brown-bready maltiness, dryish, with a light beef stock-like umami hint. Roasty coffee grounds bitterness dominates the finish, along with a herbal and peppery hop touch; aspects of dry tree leaves, nutmeg and old liquorice peep through along with something iron-like (blood) and a subtle sourish undertone, but the roasted bitterness sufficiently holds its own. Balanced, rather unassuming dry stout, nothing spectacular but enjoyably old school – probably the best of the tasted ‘24’ beers for me during that holiday in the Périgord.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
‘Generic’ IPA by this 24 brewery in the Périgord region, longneck bottle bought at the shop near the Beynac castle. Thick, moussy, membrane-lacing, egg-white, stable head, misty orange-tinged peach blonde robe. Aroma of mandarin and orange peel, ripe melon, biscuit, honey, hints of lemon thyme and dried lime peel. Cleanly fruity onset, mandarin and melon aspects, touch of ripe peach, minerally carb, slick oily body. Smooth biscuit malt sweetness in the middle, gradually bittered by a mildly grapefruity, bit zesty hoppiness, ending in a rooty, quinine-like bitterness, even if that biscuity malt sweetness still peeps through. Very accessible “beginners’ IPA”, a bit run-of-the-mill, but well executed, enjoyable and balanced, a pleasant surprise after that disappointing Adorée from the same brewery.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Blonde ale by Bière 24 in Sarlat in the French Périgord region, tasted in the shadow of the castle of Beynac. Egg-white, thickly moussy, regular, large-bubbled head, hazy warm apricot blonde robe with deep orangey tinge – but not quite amber in the strict sense of the word. Aroma of ripe apricot, some canned pineapple, sugar bread, honey, moist white pepper, mandarin peel, damp straw, fried sweet potato and a persistent background presence of DMS (overcooked green beans). Sweet onset, peach, apricot and banana hints, moderately carbonated; smooth and slick body. White-bready malt sweetish core under a layer of residual, honeyish white candi syrup sweetness, balanced a bit by mild spicy phenols and equally mild floral hoppiness but the sweetness maintains the core flavour here – too much so for me, even for a simple, mass-marketed basic blonde. Completely forgettable at best.
