Ursa Major | L’Octant Microbrasserie

Score: 79/100 – Good

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear black (opaque in glass) with tall, dense, brown head. Great foam retention.

Aroma 21/24

Strong intensity with decent balance. The aroma leans heavy into the barrel with big woody character and pronounced fruity tones.

Noticeable alcohol. Moderate dark malts and esters. Very little – if any – perceivable hop character. Mild oxidation. Something seems off but it’s buried in significant complexity.

Flavour 34/40

Follows the aroma with strong intensity, decent balance, and assertive perceived bitterness.

Heavy barrel character, alcohol, and dark malts dominate. Pleasant oxidation, noteworthy esters, and no apparent off-flavours. The hops still seem to elude me…

Mouthfeel 6/10

Full body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is viscous and oily with a mild acrid quality. The alcohol warming is rather strong and there’s significant astringency on the palate. The beer finishes sweet. Somewhat harsh – especially for 8% ABV.

Overall 12/20

This is an interesting one… Ursa Major packs more character than most 8 percenters have any right to have. I love that. At the same time, the beer is rough around the edges and it lacks finesse.

The appearance is fantastic and the depth of character is commendable. However, there’s a lack of balance and the drinking experience is diminished by harshness on the palate.

Overall, I consider this worth trying, but at the price point I wouldn’t drink it regularly. With some fine-tuning, this could be an excellent beer.

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Mineris Tenebris | Microbrasserie Emporium

Score: 93/100 – Outstanding

Appearance 5/6

The beer pours a clear brown (red highlights) with low, somewhat thin, tan head. Poor foam retention.

Aroma 22/24

Medium intensity with good balance. The aroma is malt-forward with low hops and no remarkable esters. Big toasted bread and round nuttiness. No alcohol or off-notes. I like this, it’s inviting!

Flavour 38/40

Follows the aroma with medium intensity, good balance, and moderate perceived bitterness. Great malt-depth for such a low ABV brew. Toasted bread, nuts, brown sugar, and earthy-herbal hops. Not much in terms of esters and certainly no alcohol character. Pleasant minerality. No off-flavours.

Mouthfeel 10/10

Medium body with moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp yet smooth with moderate creaminess, no alcohol warming, and a medium-dry finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate.

Overall 18/20

Damn. This is an outstanding session beer. At 3.8% ABV it has layers and character that are not easy to come by in something this light. This beer boasts crushable drinkability while steering clear from any off-flavours. I could drink multiple pints of this without any issues. Biggest problem after three pints would be the sheer amount of ingested liquid. Highly recommended.

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Cheminée des Feux Follets | Microbrasserie Pit Caribou

Score: 89/100 – Great

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear black with generous, dense, mocha head. Good foam retention. A great looking stout.

Aroma 19/24

Strong intensity with decent balance. The aroma is rich and deep with massive barrel character. Pronounced dark malts and a bit of booze. There are borderline vinegary, deeply earthy, and somewhat acetic suggestions that make me nervous about how this beer will develop.

Flavour 38/40

Follows the aroma with mammoth intensity, great balance, and assertive perceived bitterness. The flavour is pretty darn glorious for a sub-ten-percenter brew. Bold dark malts with heavy barrel and significant chili heat. Delicious.

Mouthfeel 10/10

Medium-full body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is somewhat slick with a velvety quality to it. Heavy heat from the chili but without being too overwhelming. Sweet finish helps with the warming sensation. Sure, there’s harshness… it’s a chili beer. Perfect mouthfeel for the type of beer it is.

Overall 16/20

What a great barrel-aged chili stout. For the elevated ABV this packs more character than most sub 10% beers. I’m wondering if there’s a printing error on the label as previous vintages have clocked in at more than 10% ABV.

Looking at the overall flavour, I’m a bit nervous about this beer being taken over by bacteria. There are signs of spoilage organisms in the character. At the same time, if you’re drinking this right now, it’s a darn treat.

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Porter Baltique 3 Fèves | Archibald Microbrasserie

Score: 87/100 – Great

Appearance 4/6

The beer pours a slightly hazy dark brown with low, creamy, tan head. Poor foam retention.

Aroma 23/24

Strong intensity with sweet balance. The aroma is rich, round, and dessert-like.

Adjuncts dominate. Prominent milk chocolate and vanilla with caramel and molasses. Nice barrel character and mild oxidation at the back. Quite complex.

Flavour 36/40

Follows the aroma with strong intensity, good balance, and pronounced perceived bitterness.

Great flavour. The beer’s sweet but there’s a saltiness and enough alcohol to cut through it. Specialty malt, adjuncts, and barrel take center stage.

Mouthfeel 9/10

Medium-full body with moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is mildly chewy with a bit of fizz and an overall smooth quality. Noticeable alcohol warming and a sweet finish. A bit of a bite on the tongue but no harshness.

Overall 15/20

For the most part, this is a great beer.

The appearance is ok – missing foam and clarity, offering nothing special. I love the luxurious aroma which is dominated by special ingredients. The palate follows with better balance and very enjoyable character. I think the barrel doesn’t come through as much as I’d like and the adjuncts overshadow the base recipe. The beer ends up feeling a little heavy-handed and missing finesse.

Having said that, Archibald delivers beyond my expectations by delivering a pleasant sipping experience.

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Christmas Ale | Brouwerij St. Bernardus

Score: 86/100 – Great

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear deep copper (red highlights) with massive, frothy, creamy, tan head. Exceptional foam retention.

Aroma 22/24

Strong intensity with sweet balance. The aroma is rich and quite perfumy with a mix of esters, phenols, alcohol, and malt. The character has a holiday season vibe with the different components coming together very well. Complex and balanced nose.

Flavour 34/40

Follows the aroma with strong intensity, sweet balance, and pronounced perceived bitterness. There’s a slight metallic off-note but luckily it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the flavour too much. Big, boozy fruit notes pair well with darker malts and some candi sugar. Mild spice and no apparent hop character. Quite tasty!

Mouthfeel 8/10

Medium-light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is prickly with some slickness and a mouth-coating quality to it. Notable alcohol warming and a sweet finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate. A little bit thin for the type of beer it is.

Overall 16/20

This is a great beer even if the journey across an ocean is obvious. Slight thinness and a metallic off-note keep this from standing out. The origin is clear from how complex and balanced yet drinkable the beer is. If you haven’t tried this, give it a go – just make sure it warms up past 14 degrees Celsius as it really opens up by gaining temperature.

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Moinette Brune | Brasserie Dupont

Score: 80/100 – Good

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a brilliant deep copper (red highlights) with big, fluffy, tan head. Decent foam retention.

Aroma 21/24

Medium intensity with great balance. For some reason (oxidation?), the aroma is a little dull. It’s missing excitement. There’s a nice mix of malt, yeast, and alcohol with no apparent hop character. However, I’m not excited to have a sip.

Flavour 32/40

Strong intensity with bitter-ish balance and pronounced perceived bitterness. Malt and yeast dominate with mild alcohol and oxidation at the back. A trace of metallic off-note. Good but lacking. Freshness is clearly an issue.

Mouthfeel 8/10

Medium body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is a little thin. Low creaminess and some slickness. Fizzy. Noticeable alcohol warming. Mild astringency but no harshness on the palate.

Overall 13/20

A good beer but I’m sure this is way better at source. It’s impressive how well the beer has help up against time and travel. At the cheap price point, it certainly offers good value. For that reason alone I could see myself drinking this regularly. Hopefully I’ll get to try this at source one day…

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Sainte-Flore | Flore Sauvage

Score: 60/100 – Not Recommended

From a 500ml bottle served at cellar temperature at 10 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. Bottled on 230530 – maybe that’s May 30th of this year? In that case this beer is 6 months old. I picked it up from a local specialty store about 3 weeks ago.

A new brewery – people have been saying positive things about them. There were three releases on the shelves when I grabbed this bottle. I was reluctant to pick them all up not knowing what the brewery’s product is like.

Here we go, first one ever from Flore Sauvage.

Appearance 5/6

The beer pours a slightly hazy pale gold with 3.5cm of thin, puffy, white head which dissipates into a solid cap within 2+ minutes. Poor lacing with decent head retention. Effervescent. Nice appearance.

Aroma 12/24

Medium-strong intensity with decent balance. The aroma is yeast-forward with deep earthiness.

Big, earthy, pungent farmyard funk. I’m struggling with words. Surprised. What I visualize, I have a hard time putting in writing. All I know is I don’t want to swirl the beer due to the barnyard vibes being so dominant and borderline off-putting. A tiny bit of honey and mild floral tones along with a hint of citrus show up if you leave the glass still. Mild wet hay and a low grassy quality. Low grainy malt at the back. No apparent alcohol.

The dry nose is light with mild farmyard funk, gentle floral tones, and a touch of wet hay.

Flavour 24/40

Medium intensity with sharp-ish balance and moderate perceived bitterness.

The delicate palate opens up with light citrus notes, mild minerals, and some farmyard funk continuing through the center with very similar character. The mid-palate features notes of citrus (lemon + sweet oranges), moderate brett-like earthiness, gentle floral tones, and some methyl mercaptan (bad breath). No alcohol.

The short finish is bitter-ish and of moderate intensity with notes of earthy farmyard funk, mild grainy-crackery malt, and low citrus (lemon). Rustic. Somewhat bland.

Mouthfeel 9/10

Medium-light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is prickly, lively, and fizzy with no apparent alcohol warming and a dry finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate. This is very palate-cleansing.

Overall 10/20

Flore Sauvage Microbrasserie’s Sainte-Flore is a below average brew.

Nice enough appearance even if the clarity and foam attributes don’t impress. Considering the type of beer this is, the looks are solid. There’s no way around it: I find the aroma unpleasant. There’s just too much pungent animal funk reminiscent of horse blanket, rotten eggs, and bad breath. Swirling the glass really brings it out so I would stay away from agitating the beer. If left undisturbed, the aroma is rustic and kind of nice. On the palate, the beer is much more enjoyable. The funk shows more restraint while the other components get a chance to showcase themselves. That said, what comes through is a little thin for me. I used to water down my orange juice a lot when I was drinking it back in the days. This is making me think of that. Sure, it’s refreshing, but it lacks excitement. The mouthfeel is likely my favourite part of the beer: it’s spritzy and bone dry, ensuring a thorough tongue scrub.

Overall, Sainte-Flore is below my expectations. It ends up being on the watery side with very little depth. Where it does show character is in the aroma – and it’s unpleasant with a big animal/fetid quality.

As it stands, I simply can’t recommend this to people. By bumping up the flavour intensity and diminishing some of the “wild” character I could see myself really enjoying this. There’s a highly drinkable, brett grisette vibe here but it fails to deliver an enjoyable drinking experience for me.

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No. 13 Tennessee | Microbrasserie Pit Caribou

Score: 69/100 – Average

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear black with moderate, dense, creamy, deep tan head. Very good foam retention. A great looking brew.

Aroma 15/24

Medium intensity with good balance. The aroma is surprisingly restrained (borderline muted) featuring a mix of dark malt, alcohol, barrel, and oxidation. Barrel and malt lead but the oxidation has gone too far. Clearly past prime and I’m wondering if this is from storage/temperature issues.

Flavour 28/40

Strong intensity with sweet balance and pronounced perceived bitterness. Same as aroma: malt, alcohol, barrel, and oxidation rule with the age showing itself too much. This must’ve been much better when it first came out. I’m now leaning even more towards warm storage issues considering how much T2N there is. It just doesn’t make sense that such high alcohol beer would be this far gone in the time frame.

Mouthfeel 8/10

Medium body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is slick yet there’s a sense of thinness there. Restrained alcohol warming with a sweet finish. Mild astringency on the palate with no actual harshness.

Overall 12/20

I’m sad to report, but oxidation has gotten the best of this beer. I picked up the bottle from a store shelf; where it likely spent months considering the level of oxidation for such a hefty brew. I’ve had imperial stouts after two to three years which demonstrate the same level of aging. A month on a shelf at room temperature can equal seven months in a cold fridge. I’d try this again but I’d have to know it’s fresh.

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Tamise | Nano Cinco – Brasserie Artisanale

Score: 91/100 – Outstanding

From a 330ml bottle served at cellar temperature at 10 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging outside of #Lot 129.

I picked up this beer from a local specialty store about 4 weeks ago. It’s not often you see this style on the shelves and Nano Cinco has finally entered my breview queue so this was destined to happen.

I suppose Tamise kind of slipped through cracks these the past few weeks as I’m not entirely sure what to expect of it and the mood had to be right. Today, I’m sort of forcing myself to prioritize this beer over the more exciting beers in the fridge. My expectations are around average.

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear dark brown (red highlights) with 4cm of dense, creamy, tan head which dissipates into a thick cap within 4+ minutes. Poor lacing with great head retention. An excellent looking beer.

Aroma 22/24

Medium-strong intensity with sweet balance. The aroma is round, comforting, and malt-forward.

Big caramel + butterscotch character flirts with notes of milk chocolate and low earthy nuttiness. Mild dried fruit, toast, and a suggestion of cream (dairy). Tiny bit of earthy hops underneath all that maltiness.

The dry nose is malt-forward with notes of toasted bread, mild caramel, nuts, and low earthy hops. Nicely done!

Flavour 36/40

Follows the aroma with medium-strong intensity, good balance, and pronounced perceived bitterness.

The malty-sweet palate opens up with notes of caramel, butterscotch, and dried fruit – making way for a balanced center where the caramel and butterscotch character are rounded out by moderate earthy-herbal (tea-like) hops and a trace of alcohol. Tiny bit of earthy nuttiness.

The medium-length finish is of moderate strength and balanced with notes of dried fruit, caramel, earthy-herbal hops, mild spice (anise), and mild nuttiness.

Mouthfeel 10/10

Medium-full body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is velvety-smooth with a little bit of fizziness, very light alcohol warming, and a medium-sweet finish. No astringency or harshness of any kind on the palate.

Overall 17/20

Nano Cinco Brasserie Artisanale’s Tamise is an outstanding beer.

A handsome brew with charming looks; impressive clarity, colour, and foam attributes. The aroma is surprisingly characterful for the normal alcohol strength and it has an inviting round quality to it. The flavour follows with great depth and balance. Less sweetness than what is perceived in the aroma but that’s probably a good thing. The mouthfeel is very smooth and perfectly fits the rest of the beer.

Overall Tamise is a big surprise to me; it’s much better than I expected. The beer is flavourful and balanced while maintaining good drinkability. The small serving size is a bit sad as I’d happily drink an imperial pint of this. Having said that, it’s my understanding that these beers (London brown ale) are always bottled.

Nano Cinco keeps delivering. And by opening a door to malty beers, I’m now excited to line up more of their product to write about. If you can find a bottle of this, give it a shot, Tamise is a great beer. Highly recommended.

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Old Fashioned de Glace | Beauregard Brasserie

Score: 84/100 – Very Good

From a 500ml bottle served warm at 14 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging but this is a fresh, 5-year anniversary release by the brewery.

I picked up the beer straight from the source earlier today. I had a chance to try some of their beers while visiting the brewery – and oh boy, do some of these anniversary releases pack a punch! Hefty alcohol and some interesting special ingredients. The base recipe for this beer is one of my Beauregard favourites so I’m very curious how this beer has panned out.

Appearance 6/6

The beer pours a clear black with 3cm of frothy, moderately dense, beige head which dissipates into a partial film within 2+ minutes. No lacing with decent head retention. With such incredibly high ABV the foam quality is very respectable. A good looking beer.

Aroma 19/24

Medium-strong intensity with good balance. The aroma is rustic, quite perfumy, and liquor-like.

Significant alcohol character which works really well with a fragrant orange rind quality and some dark chocolate notes. Mild dark fruit (raisins) at the back along with some star anise. A tiny bit of toffee and a suggestion of soy sauce. No apparent off-notes and no apparent hop character.

The dry nose is rich and malt-forward with notes of toffee, toast, soy sauce, and mild perfumy alcohol.

Flavour 34/40

Strong intensity with sharp balance and aggressive perceived bitterness.

The extreme palate opens up quite sweet with notes of raw sugar, sweet orange, dried fruit (prunes), and booze – making way for an intense center with notes of prominent alcohol, sweet orange, star anise, and dark chocolate. No apparent hop character and no off-flavours.

The long finish is strong and sharp with notes of roasted barley, dark chocolate, mild star anise, generous alcohol, a touch of barrel (woody oak + mustiness), and low sweet orange. A true sledgehammer.

Mouthfeel 8/10

Medium-full body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is heavy, sharp, and slick with hot alcohol warming and a sweet finish. No apparent astringency on the palate but the alcohol takes its toll with noticeable burning sensation on the tongue.

Overall 17/20

Beauregard Brasserie’s Old Fashioned de Glace is an above average beer – especially considering the weight of it.

Impressive appearance for such a hefty brew – the foam attributes are better than many less alcoholic beers. The aroma reveals the strength of the beer with significant alcohol character. However, there are no offensive fusel oil notes and the special ingredient links up really well with the booze. The palate steps up in intensity with massive strength. There’s a lack of complexity in the flavour but what makes it through is uniform and concentrated. The mouthfeel is fierce – yet it suits the strength really well.

There’s no doubt about it – Old Fashioned de Glace is a sledgehammer of sledgehammers. The strength is beyond what most people have experienced drinking beer. In many ways, this is an impressive brew and I think it’s totally worth trying if you can get your hands on a bottle. At the same time, this is very expensive (among the most expensive beers I’ve ever bought) and the value is simply not there for me.

I feel like the sheer amount of alcohol ends up shaving away some of the nuances in the character. In addition, the beer is not very practical to enjoy on your own. I recommend this if you’re looking to try something extreme and you’re sharing it with your friends.

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