Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4
Draught tulip at Le St. Bock on 1/27/07
Fluffy white head perched atop a clear, lemon-yellow body with strong golden hues. The head fades steadily to partial cover, leaving light lacing behind. Light carbonation in the liquid.
Moderate amounts of hops in the nose are quickly joined by honey and caramel and a strong yeastiness. Lemons, oranges and a dry, but light white grapefruit note are the aromas given off by the hops. Warm honey-dough and light, earthy caramel give a strong malt backing, but it still seems a touch too bare behind the hops. Furthermore, on the finish, mixed in with light Belgian yeast esters is a strong dirtiness. Dirty carpet, wet wool, not exactly sure, but it’s definitely noticeable. Hops try their best to drive it out, but the aroma isnt overly strong or lasting, and seems to thin out heavily as it warms/breathes. Alcohol well-concealed.
The flavor begins with juicy citrus and strong grassiness. Round and lively it sits atop lightly sweet pale malts, with a touch of light caramel/toastiness. However, a pervasive dirtiness sets in quickly and completely ruins the beer. I’m not sure the cause, but it’s been my biggest problem in homebrewing thus far. I’ve narrowed it down to either A) bacterial infection from dry-hopping or B) bacterial infection from too high a lag time. I’ve got to imagine that commercial breweries don’t have problems with lag times, so it seems to me that it’s some type of complication with dry-hopping (both beers that I’ve dry-hopped have had this exact dirtiness). It’s strange too because this beer is filtered, so you would have thought all the hop debris would have been filtered off. Anyways, if I put this side-by-side with my homebrew, you’d be amazed at the similarity.
Unfortunately, it dosent translate in to such a good beer. Try as I may, I couldnt choke down my tulip. Odd that no one else reports this...but I’ve got Olivier to corroborate my story...
Lubiere (24605) reviewed Oktoberfest from Microbrasserie Charlevoix 19 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Reddish amber ale with a thin off white head. A pleasant fruity aroma with light caramel, light bananas and fusel alcohol. In mouth, a sweet caramel malt with nuts, and light aniseed. A bit thin. Oily mouthfeel. On tap at Vices Versa, Dec. 16 2006. with ProbstK.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Huge, dense yellowish head; yellow-golden beer with a faint amber shine and high carbonation level. Very outspoken nose of white candi sugar, perfumed and with no doubt coriander - to be artsy Belgy. Way too sweet, way too perfumed syrupy-sugary taste. What is the point of adding tons of totally fermentable sugars if you don’t allow them, in one way or another, to ferment out? A "triple"- Flemish strong blonde ought to be bone DRY. Ends in a bit gingery-orangey flavours, and warming up, there remains less and less beer in the corianderjuice. Too thick, too sweet by half; limited alcoholwarming. Not a particulary good interpretation of a Belgian Strong Blonde. Very New World. Merci quand-même, Luc! I have been informed that this beer actually contains no coriander. There must be some other spice and a very specific yeast, especially. If that last is culprit, I recommend immediate genocide on this infernal race.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Brown bottle, 500 ml; eye: oraney, nice effervescence, clear, off-white head that resembles champagne but eventually disappears completely; nose: total domination of the coriander, yeast, bread; mouth: coriander towers above everything else, yeast, bread, fizzy, finale in coriander with a hint of yeast, lightly bitter and astringent, medium body, rather thin; overall: enjoyed FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml; oeil : orangée, belle effervescence, claire, mousse blanc cassé faisant penser à du champagne et qui éventuellement disparaît complètement; nez : dominance de la coriandre, levure, pain; bouche : coriandre qui domine, levure, pain, pétillante, finale en coriandre avec une pointe de levure, légèrement amère et astringente, corps moyen, texture plutôt mince; en résumé : bien aimé
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
(Bottle 50 cl) Pours a hazy, amber golden with an off-white head. Very perfumy aroma of violets and ginger and some coriander. Rather full and alcoholic body. Sweetish, fruity notes, again perfumy patterns and a marked alcohol. Quite interesting really. 290806
GRM (7527) reviewed La Côteilleuse from Microbrasserie Charlevoix 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Brown bottle, 500 ml; eye: amber with golden reflection, champagne-style white head that falls rather rapidly, average effervescence, lightly hazy; nose; coriander, pepper, other spices, hops, yeat, cabbage, bread; mouth: in that order, coriander, coriander even more present and spicier with a hint of pepper, caramel, finale in coriander with a slight presence of cabbage, creamy texture, lightly sweet, even more slightly bitterness, medium body, good carbonation; overall: quite enjoyable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml,; oeil : ambrée avec des reflets dorés, mousse blanche style champagne qui tombe assez rapidement, effervescence moyenne, légèrement voilée, légère dentelle; nez : coriandre, autres épices, houblon, levure, chou, pain; bouche : coriandre, coriandre encore plus présent et plus épicée et poivrée, caramel, finale en coriandre avec un filet de chou, texture crémeuxe, légèrement sucrée, très légèrement amère, corps moyen, bonne carbonatation; en résumé : bien aimé
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
A hazy orange beer with an orange head. The aroma is very spicy - especially black peber is noticable, but also with notes of peaches and hints of alcohol. The flavor is very sweet and very spicy - again with black peber, but also notes of oranges, peaches, and alcohol that burns in the throat.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
A brown ale with nice mahogany hues and an extra thick light moka head. In aroma, wonderful candy sugar mix in with orange pulp with notes of nutmeg. In mouth, a ricjh alcohol gives way to a sweet candy malt, with hints of choclate, nutmeg, and oranges. Slightly nutty notes. An excellent offering from Fred. Bottle bought at Joanette, May 2006.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
Bottle my sister had for at least a year. Hazy blonde with a thin white head. A sweet perfumey malt but with faint memories of bananas in its glorious past. In mouht, a decent quaffer, with light sweet bubblegum notes, lactic points, but again, showing its venerable age.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Brown bottle, 500 ml, 9 %, date d’achat : June 7 2006; eye: brown with shades of burgundy and orange, beige head made up of small bubbles that disapper rapidely, full of little bubbles after it was poured but that disappears rapidly, no effervescence nor lacing; nose: anis, balloon that you blow in for kids’ party (?!?), cocoa powder; mouth: smooth, velvety, despite the high alcohol content it is not apparent except for a little peppery appearance in the finale, "balloon for kids’ party (?!?)", fizzy, lightly sweet and very lightly bitter, medium to full body; overall: special FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, date d’achat : 7 juin 2006; oeil : brune avec des dégradés bourgogne et orange, mousse beige formée de petites builles qui s’affaise rapidement, pleins de petites bulles sur la paroi du verre mais ceux-ci disparaissent assez rapidement, pas d’effervescence ni de dentelle; nez : anis, balloune qu’on souffle pour les fêtes d’enfants (?!?), poudre de cacao; bouche : tout doux, velouté, on ne sent pas la présence de l’alcool sauf pour une petite pointe poivrée en finale, anis, « balloune qu’on souffle pour les fêtes d’enfant (?!?) », pétillante, légèrement sucrée et très légèrement amère, corps moyen à complet; en résumé : spéciale