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L'Ours
Le Trou Du Diable
Barrel-aged rye ale that is an evolving concept. Each blend will be unique with the dominant flavors being sour or bitter or fruity. The beer will always be a blend of 20% sour rye ale aged for 2 years in Banyuls wine barrels and 80% a fresh saison.
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Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
4.22/5 rDev +9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
4.22/5 rDev +9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
750 mL bottle from the LCBO; 'assemblage' 17 02 20, listed at 6% and served slightly chilled. No stopper/cork on my bottle, merely a regular crown cap - which seems to indicate that there was at least some variation within this LCBO release (i.e. different packaging and possibly different blendings/assemblages).
Pours a cloudy golden colour, taking on a bright lemon drop yellow hue when held to the light; less than a finger of loose, fizzy white head vanishes almost as quickly as it came into existence. The surface is left utterly barren - no cap or collar, not even a speck of lace. OK, so she's not a looker, but I can move past that - especially when the aroma reminds me of Orval. I'm sensing notes of red apple flesh, stone fruit and plenty of grainy, wheaty malts, as well as a fair bit of rye breadiness and a vinous quality; lesser hints of banana/bubble gum, lemony tartness and oak are also discernible, as is some mildly funky, yeasty Brett character. There's lots going on here, and it only becomes more interesting as the glass warms.
A little sharp at the forefront - I'm getting notes of lemon, apples, underripe peach and grape, backed by a grainy, bready malt backbone comprised mostly of wheat and rye. Hints of banana, oak and Brett-y funk join the fray toward the tail end of the sip, with a vinous, lightly funky finish; very subtle hints of wine and banana bread linger on the taste buds well after the sip has concluded - a strange combo, but one that I found oddly appealing. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels that supply a crisp bite to the mouthfeel, which is generally smooth and a little soft. Its drinkability is alright - don't get me wrong, it's delicious, but it's also fairly intense and a bit of a palate exhauster.
Final Grade: 4.22, an excellent A-. L'Ours is one of the most unique and high-quality Canadian sours I've had the pleasure of sampling in 2020. No, it's not quite on the level of Orval, but it's at least in the same zip code, which is an impressive feat from any brewery. The serving size is a bit much for one person, so you should probably share this with someone who will appreciate it... unless, of course, your bottle came with a stopper, in which case you can stick it back in the fridge and save the remainder for another day. Worth the price of admission.
Jul 26, 2020Pours a cloudy golden colour, taking on a bright lemon drop yellow hue when held to the light; less than a finger of loose, fizzy white head vanishes almost as quickly as it came into existence. The surface is left utterly barren - no cap or collar, not even a speck of lace. OK, so she's not a looker, but I can move past that - especially when the aroma reminds me of Orval. I'm sensing notes of red apple flesh, stone fruit and plenty of grainy, wheaty malts, as well as a fair bit of rye breadiness and a vinous quality; lesser hints of banana/bubble gum, lemony tartness and oak are also discernible, as is some mildly funky, yeasty Brett character. There's lots going on here, and it only becomes more interesting as the glass warms.
A little sharp at the forefront - I'm getting notes of lemon, apples, underripe peach and grape, backed by a grainy, bready malt backbone comprised mostly of wheat and rye. Hints of banana, oak and Brett-y funk join the fray toward the tail end of the sip, with a vinous, lightly funky finish; very subtle hints of wine and banana bread linger on the taste buds well after the sip has concluded - a strange combo, but one that I found oddly appealing. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels that supply a crisp bite to the mouthfeel, which is generally smooth and a little soft. Its drinkability is alright - don't get me wrong, it's delicious, but it's also fairly intense and a bit of a palate exhauster.
Final Grade: 4.22, an excellent A-. L'Ours is one of the most unique and high-quality Canadian sours I've had the pleasure of sampling in 2020. No, it's not quite on the level of Orval, but it's at least in the same zip code, which is an impressive feat from any brewery. The serving size is a bit much for one person, so you should probably share this with someone who will appreciate it... unless, of course, your bottle came with a stopper, in which case you can stick it back in the fridge and save the remainder for another day. Worth the price of admission.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
750 ml bottle with a plastic stopper that pops like a cork. Listed at 6% ABV. LCBO purchase for $13.95 CDN. Served fairly cold into a Gouden Carolus chalice. Assemblage 23.
Appearance - hazy fleshy peach colored brew with loads and loads of carbonation and a very small thin white cap that fizzles away inside of 10 seconds. No lacing to speak of.
Smell - there's a little stone fruit, some wood, grapes, barnyard funk, brett, some must, lemon and possibly some sort of plum. Complicated and pretty balanced, the barnyard funk, grapes and wood shine most of all.
Taste - Quite tart and sour initially although that fades to grape, wood and especially barnyard funk or horse blanket and brett. Lemon mixes in there as well. Pretty intense although the flavor fades quickly, the aftertaste does stick around for a while and builds the more you enjoy.
Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, very heavily carbonated, quite refreshing and booze is well concealed.
Overall - An interesting, a well conceived and well constructed brew, fairly intense and best enjoyed with a friend. Knocking back a 375 or 500ml of this is no sweat, the bigger serving size means this is a lot of sour in one go. Thank goodness for the stopper. With the funk present here, I get vibes of Orval, only this is sour.
Jun 12, 2020Appearance - hazy fleshy peach colored brew with loads and loads of carbonation and a very small thin white cap that fizzles away inside of 10 seconds. No lacing to speak of.
Smell - there's a little stone fruit, some wood, grapes, barnyard funk, brett, some must, lemon and possibly some sort of plum. Complicated and pretty balanced, the barnyard funk, grapes and wood shine most of all.
Taste - Quite tart and sour initially although that fades to grape, wood and especially barnyard funk or horse blanket and brett. Lemon mixes in there as well. Pretty intense although the flavor fades quickly, the aftertaste does stick around for a while and builds the more you enjoy.
Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, very heavily carbonated, quite refreshing and booze is well concealed.
Overall - An interesting, a well conceived and well constructed brew, fairly intense and best enjoyed with a friend. Knocking back a 375 or 500ml of this is no sweat, the bigger serving size means this is a lot of sour in one go. Thank goodness for the stopper. With the funk present here, I get vibes of Orval, only this is sour.
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
4.5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
pricey beer, but special and worth it. its a blended rye saison, with some threads being aged up to two years in french dessert wine barrels i believe. the beer is super light in color, soft hazy yellow, with visible carbonation, a little viscosity from the wheat malt i would think, and a tall and lasting pure white bubbly head thats absolutely gorgeous. the nose is immediately woody and funky, i dont think all the beer blended in here was wild, but it sure comes across as a wild beer, funky fruity brett jumping right out of the glass at me along with a mild and dry cereal malt base and some more robust grapey sweetness from the wine and the wood. complex to say the least, but really well put together. the flavor is a little surprising, it keeps evolving well beyond what was there in the nose, brett first, but with maybe a little more of a belgian saison yeast note behind it, so dry and so rustic, farmy, funky, its the kind of brett beer i like, layered and wild and mature, not even a little bit sour. the wine barrels are interesting, more sweet than tannic this time, with a lot of oak all the way through, really leaving a cool mark on this beer. somehow still so light. the rye malt is peppery and earthy, distinct and different from the masses, a wonderful wrinkle. i was not expecting the hoppiness here, seems like a bit of a citrusy dry hop on it, not bitter, but pungent still, a neat touch as well. this is cohesive, but enormously complex and incredible beer, as good as any they do, and worth the price. i expected it to be great, and it exceeded that expectation by quite a lot. effervescent on the carbonation, dry and creamy feeling. this is the kind of beer i live for!
Dec 29, 2016Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York
4.11/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.11/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Batch 14
Snowy film that clings over bright cloudy ocre. 4
Doughy start, lemon peel, touch of fusels, Band-aids, and honeycomb. 4.25
Dough, feathery cider vinegar, a whack of honey, and a floral end. 4
Round, lacto fizz, lt-med. 4
Delicate tartness buried under a ton of sweetness - honey on white bread. There’s a bit of farmy chalk and pineapple - is that Brett that needs more time to work? Bits of oak, too, and a good balance of sourness with hints of kumquat and golden raisin plus some saison lemon pepper underneath. Skilled; I’d like more time with this + I need to investigate this brewery. 4.25
Sep 08, 2016Snowy film that clings over bright cloudy ocre. 4
Doughy start, lemon peel, touch of fusels, Band-aids, and honeycomb. 4.25
Dough, feathery cider vinegar, a whack of honey, and a floral end. 4
Round, lacto fizz, lt-med. 4
Delicate tartness buried under a ton of sweetness - honey on white bread. There’s a bit of farmy chalk and pineapple - is that Brett that needs more time to work? Bits of oak, too, and a good balance of sourness with hints of kumquat and golden raisin plus some saison lemon pepper underneath. Skilled; I’d like more time with this + I need to investigate this brewery. 4.25
L'Ours from Le Trou Du Diable
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
83 ratings
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