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Beer reviews from my bucket-of-gift-beer
Sep. 16th, 2010 08:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
metawidgetI've been posting short beer reviews in my journal since my folks gave me a bucket of thirty different bottles of beer for my thirtieth birthday. I thought I'd post the last few in here; anyone else tried these beers?
On Saturday, while we were waiting for contractions to go from "noticeable" to "get thee to a midwife," we had some L'Affriolante. Bilboquet's label art is also kind of fun and sexy, like their beer. It's a honey-and-spice beer, with a little creamy, clingy head over a dark reddish-brown beer. It's not too sweet or heavy — substantial without being over the top. I had it in a little tumbler at room temperature. The honey is noticeable, and the spicing (cinnamon? nutmeg? Actually orange peel and coriander...) was pleasant but not overpowering, although it left my tongue a little bit tingly. The beer is malty and a little bit sweet. I think this is a drink-on-its-own sort of beer, or maybe with a sweet dessert.
Today, we both cracked open some stout — the classic postpartum beer with its meal-like qualities. I had Maître Brasseur Noire Classique. I had it in a pint glass at room temperature. It had a thick, sort of tangy foam, and an un-stout-like tang at first sip, but further down it had a more conventional bitter stouty taste, and hints of smoke and coffee, which were quite nice. It's not an overwhelmingly heavy stout, with a weight pretty similar to L'Affriolante, and has less chocolate and snap than O'Hara's, but is very drinkable with some interesting character in the latter half of the glass — the coffee notes are definitely dark roast, which I count as a good thing. I think this beer would be pretty unimpressive straight from the bottle — the smells really make it.
Maître Brasseur seemed to pop out of nowhere (actually, they were a Laval brewpub, I imagine they've pulled together a bigger facility now); it sounds and is packaged like a supermarket brand at Metro or something, but I've had a few of their beers in a non-review context before, and they are generally pretty good! The only AMB beer I've tasted that I might shy away from is their IPA — their American Pale Ale tastes more like IPA to me.
Today I made some spicy coconut milk-and-veggie soup, and decided to pair it with Hue Beer, whose label specifically indicates it is good with spicy food. I threw it in the fridge for an hour, and then poured it into a tall, skinny glass.
Hue doesn't have much head, but it is fairly bubbly and pale golden in colour. I think the first sip is the best — a waft of toasty grain an a little bit of aromatic bitterness, grain on the tongue and the prickle of bubbles. It's not particularly original, but Hue does it well. Further down the glass, it gets kind of unobtrusive, with it getting a little sweeter as the beer warmed up. It definitely is a with-food beer, although you might want to savour the first swallow or two before tucking into the food.
This will be a short one: MB Rousse is a red beer from the same Maître Brasseur in Laval as I had the Noire from. I had it with baked stuffed squash, chilled slightly, in a pint glass. It has a red colour and a thin, clingy head; there are very few bubbles in it. The aroma and taste are both quite sweet and malty, and the mouth-feel is pretty light: it reminds me of a lighter-bodied Brutopia beer in its sweetness and simplicity. There are caramel notes and maybe just a hint of citrus-y acidity. This could be a very easy-to-drink beer, alone or with hearty food.
On Saturday, while we were waiting for contractions to go from "noticeable" to "get thee to a midwife," we had some L'Affriolante. Bilboquet's label art is also kind of fun and sexy, like their beer. It's a honey-and-spice beer, with a little creamy, clingy head over a dark reddish-brown beer. It's not too sweet or heavy — substantial without being over the top. I had it in a little tumbler at room temperature. The honey is noticeable, and the spicing (cinnamon? nutmeg? Actually orange peel and coriander...) was pleasant but not overpowering, although it left my tongue a little bit tingly. The beer is malty and a little bit sweet. I think this is a drink-on-its-own sort of beer, or maybe with a sweet dessert.
Today, we both cracked open some stout — the classic postpartum beer with its meal-like qualities. I had Maître Brasseur Noire Classique. I had it in a pint glass at room temperature. It had a thick, sort of tangy foam, and an un-stout-like tang at first sip, but further down it had a more conventional bitter stouty taste, and hints of smoke and coffee, which were quite nice. It's not an overwhelmingly heavy stout, with a weight pretty similar to L'Affriolante, and has less chocolate and snap than O'Hara's, but is very drinkable with some interesting character in the latter half of the glass — the coffee notes are definitely dark roast, which I count as a good thing. I think this beer would be pretty unimpressive straight from the bottle — the smells really make it.
Maître Brasseur seemed to pop out of nowhere (actually, they were a Laval brewpub, I imagine they've pulled together a bigger facility now); it sounds and is packaged like a supermarket brand at Metro or something, but I've had a few of their beers in a non-review context before, and they are generally pretty good! The only AMB beer I've tasted that I might shy away from is their IPA — their American Pale Ale tastes more like IPA to me.
Today I made some spicy coconut milk-and-veggie soup, and decided to pair it with Hue Beer, whose label specifically indicates it is good with spicy food. I threw it in the fridge for an hour, and then poured it into a tall, skinny glass.
Hue doesn't have much head, but it is fairly bubbly and pale golden in colour. I think the first sip is the best — a waft of toasty grain an a little bit of aromatic bitterness, grain on the tongue and the prickle of bubbles. It's not particularly original, but Hue does it well. Further down the glass, it gets kind of unobtrusive, with it getting a little sweeter as the beer warmed up. It definitely is a with-food beer, although you might want to savour the first swallow or two before tucking into the food.
This will be a short one: MB Rousse is a red beer from the same Maître Brasseur in Laval as I had the Noire from. I had it with baked stuffed squash, chilled slightly, in a pint glass. It has a red colour and a thin, clingy head; there are very few bubbles in it. The aroma and taste are both quite sweet and malty, and the mouth-feel is pretty light: it reminds me of a lighter-bodied Brutopia beer in its sweetness and simplicity. There are caramel notes and maybe just a hint of citrus-y acidity. This could be a very easy-to-drink beer, alone or with hearty food.
Minneapolis?
Sep. 10th, 2010 08:27 pmh4hahnI'm headed to downtown Minneapolis next week. Got any recommendation for brewpubs to check out? What about this Old Chicago in Roseville?
h4hahnWelcome! So I'm thinking we need an active and up-to-date community on DW for beer lovers. I need new beer recs in my life. I need the heads up on Beer festivals. Reviews of breweries. Opinions on brewpubs. I want it all.
Are you with me? Are you with me?! Please say that you are.
This is the place to share your love of liquid bread. To turn DW users onto little known brews that you just adore. Post your pics, your reviews, your ode to hops and malts. Want to let people see how you enjoyed a night at the local pub? We're waiting...
Are you with me? Are you with me?! Please say that you are.
This is the place to share your love of liquid bread. To turn DW users onto little known brews that you just adore. Post your pics, your reviews, your ode to hops and malts. Want to let people see how you enjoyed a night at the local pub? We're waiting...
