Beerfection

Tag: Monastic Ale

  • Herbe à Détourne | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

    Herbe à Détourne | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

    Score: 95/100 – Outstanding

    Appearance 6/6

    The beer pours a veiled gold with tall, dense, creamy, off-white head. Great foam retention. A beautiful looking brew.

    Aroma 22/24

    Strong intensity with great balance. The aroma is perfumy, characterful, and complex.

    A fabulous mix of esters, phenols, alcohol, hops, and malt. Mild ethyl acetate quality but it’s not unpleasant. Punchy!

    Flavour 39/40

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

    Dominated by yeast character, the flavour comes together in a delightful package including malt, hops, and alcohol. Outstanding.

    Mouthfeel 10/10

    Medium-full body with moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is slightly crisp, mouth-coating, and creamy with noticeable alcohol warming and an off-dry finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate. Excellent.

    Overall 18/20

    Herbe à Détourne is an outstanding beer.

    It packs a wallop of flavour; there’s just so much going on and the balance is really, really worth noting. Recently, I’ve fallen in love with this brew and I’m happy it now comes in a 473ml/16oz can.

    Well worth seeking out if you like beers with Belgian yeast character. It’s only missing the intangible finesse and wow-factor of a world-class beer.

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  • Sanctuaire | Microbrasserie Le Castor

    Sanctuaire | Microbrasserie Le Castor

    Score: 71/100 – Average

    Appearance 6/6

    The beer pours a veiled gold with moderately tall, frothy, off-white head. Decent foam retention. Highly effervescent. A good-looking beer.

    Aroma 19/24

    Medium-strong intensity with good balance. The aroma is fruity and somewhat vinous with a delicate quality.

    Esters, barrel character, and alcohol dominate. Low pale malt and a suggestion of tartness from a trace of vinegar. No apparent hops. Very good aroma.

    Flavour 29/40

    Strong intensity with sharp balance and moderate perceived bitterness.

    Mixed lactic and acetic acidity dominate the flavour. Fruity esters and alcohol along with some barrel character follow. Low pale malt at the back. THP shows up in the finish. Good flavour.

    Mouthfeel 6/10

    Medium-light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is prickly and sharp with restrained alcohol warming and dry finish. Moderate astringency and some harshness on the palate. Slightly lacking…

    Overall 11/20

    Overall, Sanctuaire lands at the upper end of average beer. It’s drinkable and has some pleasant layers to it. I imagine some people might even like this a lot.

    The aroma stands out as my favourite attribute of the beer. Yet, there are issues. The mouthfeel is rather sharp with qualities flirting with diminishing drinking experience. The overall flavour lacks refinement and the THP in the finish – even if I don’t mind it too much – is considered a fault.

    I like this more than yesterday’s barleywine, but it also confirms that I’ll be focusing on other breweries in the next bit as I find the value with Le Castor is just not there for me.

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  • Christmas Ale | Brouwerij St. Bernardus

    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

    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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  • Thomas | 5e Baron Microbrasserie

    Thomas | 5e Baron Microbrasserie

    Score: 75/100 – Average

    From a 473ml can served at cellar temperature at 10 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. Canned on 26/09/23 – making this over 5 weeks old.

    I picked up the can from a local specialty shop a bit over a week ago. It’s been a while since I bought beers from the brewery – I feel like the value’s been missing compared to many other breweries.

    I really like 5e Baron, however, I’ve experienced inconsistencies with them that have me picking up other breweries when it comes down to certain constraints. The date and style had a lot to do with why Thomas ended up in the breview queue. I’m excited to try this even if I’m managing my expectations.

    Appearance 6/6

    The beer pours a brilliant deep gold with 4cm of fluffy, creamy, off-white head which dissipates into a craggy cap within 3+ minutes. Good lacing and head retention. An attractive beer.

    Aroma 16/24

    Medium-strong intensity with good balance. The aroma is balanced and interesting with quite a bit of character – yet I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it.

    Notable pome fruit esters and a decent dose of perfumy alcohol (mild fusels). The phenols meld in but have a slightly medicinal Band-Aid note. Pleasant breakfast cereal malt (wheat-like) rounds out edges while quite a bit of hop character comes through with an earthy, herbal, tea-like quality.

    The dry nose is nuanced and quite grainy with a little bit of phenols, alcohol, and herbs. There’s a lack of harmony in the aroma.

    Flavour 30/40

    Strong intensity with decent balance and assertive perceived bitterness.

    The colourful palate opens up with notes of pome fruit (apples), herbs (black tea), alcohol, and mild honey – transitioning towards a sharp center with piercing alcohol character, loads of herbal-woody hops, apple skin, and competing phenols (spicy + medicinal).

    The long finish is strong and bitter-ish with notes of herbal hops, grainy-crackery (breakfast cereal) malt, some candi sugar, and mild pome fruit.

    Mouthfeel 9/10

    Medium body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp and mouth-coating with a mild edge, restrained alcohol warming, and a medium-dry finish. Mild astringency with no actual harshness on the palate.

    Overall 14/20

    5e Baron’s Thomas lands somewhere in the average territory.

    Beautiful appearance with lovely colour and clarity as well as respectable foam attributes. For the style of beer, even more head with longer retention is possible. The aroma has quite a bit of character and complexity but it doesn’t quite come together as a unit. The alcohol has a suggestion of fusels while the phenols have a bit of a medicinal tone. A mild glue-like quality comes through every now and then. On the palate, the beer packs quite a punch – which I enjoy. However, the hop character really dominates while the yeast doesn’t synchronize well and the malt is ultimately overshadowed by the other ingredients. The mouthfeel is rather nice and matches the intensity very well.

    Overall, Thomas is a decent beer with lot’s of character and an interesting personality. There’s a lack of harmony between the ingredients and mild off-notes diminish the drinking experience. With small tweaks this could be a really good beer. There’s no question I’d pick up Unibroue’s Fin du Monde or Don Dieu over this. At the same time I appreciate the effort and I could regularly drink this if the price was low. If you’re curious, go ahead and try this. If you’re looking for something great, I’d look elsewhere.

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  • Genèse | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

    Genèse | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

    Score: 95/100 – World-Class

    From a 341ml bottle served warm (darn it, I dropped the ball on the temp) at 16 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. Bottled on 2022-01-07 – making this about 5 months old.

    I picked up a 4-pack of these babies after having had the beer a week earlier. I decided this was a must breview kind of beer. One of the best tripels I’ve ever had. Here we go.

    Appearance 3/6

    The beer pours a cloudy orange with 1.5cm of frothy, off-white head which dissipates into a partial film in less than a minute. Poor lacing and head retention. Not great.

    Aroma 22/24

    Medium-strong intensity with superb balance. The aroma is fruit-forward, enticing, and incredibly balanced.

    Pronounced apricot character marries a base recipe of pome fruit (apples + pear), moderate earthy-herbal hops, and a grainy cereal malt. Low perfumy alcohol ties it all together. Mild spicy phenols and a hint of citrus peel add intrigue.

    The dry nose is characterful with notes of hay, pome fruit, dried apricots, mild phenols, and mild granola tones.

    Flavour 40/40

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

    The wonderful palate opens up slightly tart with juicy apricots, apple skins, and a splash of alcohol whereas the center switches gears by bringing in the hops (herbs + earth), malt (cereal grain), mild interesting phenols (spicy), as well as a touch of citrus peel.

    The long finish is strong and bitter-ish with notes of grapefruit peel, apricots, mild herbs, low perfumy alcohol, and breakfast cereal malt. Ufff.

    Mouthfeel 10/10

    Medium-full body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp, lively, and somewhat mouth-coating (even slick-ish) with restrained alcohol warming and an off-dry finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate even if it has a significant presence on the tongue.

    Overall 20/20

    Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!’s Genese is a world-class tripel.

    Having said that, the appearance could use some work as the beer is cloudy and lacking in foam attributes (texture + retention + lacing). I’m not sure if anything could be done about it without sacrificing flavour so let’s not judge a book by its cover. The aroma is inviting with nuanced layers which find equilibrium. On the palate the beer punches you with flavour while maintaining a stunning balance. Meanwhile the mouthfeel is rather full yet vivacious with a snappy, lingering finish.

    Remarkable work in integrating the special ingredient which truly sets this apart from the pack. I highly recommend this beer as it is without question one of my favourite tripels in memory. My compliments to DDC – please never stop brewing this jewel.

    P.S. I’m currently riding a DDC brew train so you can expect more reviews dropping from the brewery.

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  • Gâteau Forêt-Noire | Unibroue

    Gâteau Forêt-Noire | Unibroue

    Score: 91/100 – Outstanding

    From a 750ml bottle (corked & caged) served at cellar temperature into a stemless wine glass. No clear date code on the bottle – classic Unibroue and I wish they changed it.

    I think this is a recent vintage (21 or 22) of a past release. In any case, I haven’t had a bad bottle from Unibroue regardless of the age. Some of my favourite cellar-aged brews have been from these guys.

    I picked up the bottle recently from a local grocery store. I actually already had this about a month back and decided it’s worth a breview. So here it goes.

    Appearance 6/6

    The beer pours a clear dark brown (red highlights) with 7cm of creamy, fluffy, tan head which dissipates into a thick cap within 4+ minutes. Good lacing with great head retention. Fantastic appearance!

    Aroma 22/24

    Strong intensity with good balance. The aroma is perfumy, deep, and sumptuous (hey, it’s on the bottle!)

    Prominent sour cherry note is surrounded by medium-low chocolate malt character, mild anise, a hint of earth, a touch of caramel, and perfumy alcohol. A dash of brown sugar and a scintilla of smoky, roasted barley at the back.

    The dry nose is round with notes of sour cherries, caramel, spice, and a hint of smoke.

    Flavour 36/40

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

    The indulgent palate opens up with lovely cherry tartness, alcohol, chocolate malt, and brown sugar making way for a delicious center still remaining focused around the cherries. There’s a charming spice (anise + black pepper) quality which pairs really well with a round caramelly note and mild chocolate cake character. Mild earthy tones, a splash of booze, and a few crumbs of bread crust.

    The long finish is balanced and of moderate strength with notes of sour cherries, chocolate malt, alcohol, earth, bread crust, and a wisp of smoke.

    Mouthfeel 9/10

    Medium body with moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is somewhat slick and mouth-coating with a bit of fizziness, restrained alcohol warming, and a sweet finish. No astringency or harshness on the palate.

    Overall 18/20

    Unibroue’s Gâteau Forêt-Noire is an outstanding beer.

    Gorgeous looks lead the way into a rich yet nuanced aroma with wonderful layers – even if it doesn’t bring about an image of black forest cake. The cherry is strong with this one and by only looking at the surface, you’ll miss the beautiful complexity that lies beneath it. The malt, yeast, alcohol, and even hops provide an interesting drinking experience worth savouring. Don’t worry, the mouthfeel won’t hold you back by overwhelming your palate.

    Having said that, this is a sweet beer and while ample alcohol and cherry tartness cut right through it, this brew may be too much for certain drinkers. In addition, when I shared this with my partner some weeks ago, she found it medicinal. However, if your palate tends to align with mine, then you’re in for a high value treat. Don’t hesitate to roll the dice and get yourself a bottle while supplies last. Cheers!

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  • Westmalle Trappist Tripel | Brouwerij Westmalle

    Westmalle Trappist Tripel | Brouwerij Westmalle

    From a 330ml bottle served warm at 14 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. Two dates: bottled on 29/10/2018 as well as best before 29/10/2020 – Westmalle has the gold standard for labeling their product clearly.

    I picked up this bottle from the LCBO about a month back and just never got around to reviewing it… I suppose mostly because I had new, fresher specimens that were more time sensitive as this had already spent months in the bottle.

    Since I’ve had this beer on multiple different occasions, my expectations are above average.

    Appearance

    The beer pours a brilliant gold with 6.5cm of dense, mousse-like, white head that settles into a thick cap within 6+ minutes. Exceptional lacing with persistent head retention. Highly effervescent.

    This would be world-class if it wasn’t for the particles from the sediment. I must say, the bubbles are really tossing those particles around the glass making me think of a beer globe… the most beautiful one I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. You know what, I’m calling it world-class.

    Aroma

    Strong intensity with sweet-ish balance. The aroma is layered, perfumy, and inviting.

    Pronounced esters reminiscent of apples, pears, sweet orange, and mild banana. Moderately low peppery phenols and some clove. Hints of vanilla. Some notes of supporting honey-like malt along with mild, earthy, noble hops and a touch of ethanol at the back.

    The dry nose is reminiscent of sugar cookies and fruity esters. How I wish more beers had the depth and complexity of this one.

    Flavour

    Follows the aroma with strong intensity, great balance, and moderate perceived bitterness.

    The palate opens up on the sweet side with a complex fruit bill of apples, pear, banana, and sweet orange. The flavour artfully transforms into a less sweet center where malty notes of honey and bread crust intertwine with noble hops, more sweet orange, and some ethanol. The yeast never leaves the stage by staying in the mix with a peppery, phenolic quality. Is that cloves that I’m tasting?

    The relatively long finish is strong and balanced with notes of sweet orange, clove-like phenols, bready malt, some earthy hops, and a kiss of ethanol. I’ve forgotten how much of a joyride a sip of beer can be.

    Mouthfeel

    Medium-full body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and round with a pleasant, mouth-coating quality. Restrained alcohol warming of moderate strength and a medium-dry finish. No astringency or harshness of any kind.

    Man, this beer has a strong presence on the palate and it bows out eloquently. The Belgians are spoiled.

    Overall

    Westmalle’s Tripel is a world-class beer demonstrating excellent craftsmanship.

    It blows my mind how this has held up against the conditions of travel and storage. It’s pretty much flawless in every aspect of beer. Gorgeous looks with strong, balanced, yet nuanced flavour paired with an exceptional mouthfeel.

    I highly recommend this to anyone interested in anything related to beer – ha! Westmalle’s Tripel is a must try and worth seeking out. I’m already looking forward to my next serving of this.

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