La Vache Folle (5%)
Microbrasserie Charlevoix

La Vache Folle (5%)La Vache Folle (5%)
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From:
Microbrasserie Charlevoix
 
Quebec, Canada
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
ABV:
5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 10.24%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 03, 2014
Added:
Apr 13, 2004
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by froggyfrog:
Photo of froggyfrog
Reviewed by froggyfrog from Pennsylvania

4.02/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Received this bottle in a trade from Goldorak. Unique 500 ml. bottle with an illustration of a crazed cow wearing a bucket on its head on the label. Served in a goblet.

Pours an impressive black with a fizzy candy caramel head. Exhibits moderate lacing when swirled.

Smells like a milk stout should. A little sweet but with big roasted overtones. I detect a mild spiciness from the hops and a little alcohol.

Taste is solid. Lots of lactose feel to this one. Again more roasted malt and your typical bitter chocolate and coffee descriptors would fit in nicely here.

In a direct cross comparison with the two examples of this style with which I am most familiar, Young's DCS and Lancaster MS; this beer falls right in the middle on drinkability. It is smoother and more quaffable than the Young's, but not quite as easy as the Lancaster.

Now that I've reached the end of my glass, I'm sorry that this beer is over. This was an enjoyable drink and a good solid example of the style. This brew would do well in a session at only 5% alc./ vol. Thanks Martin, got any more of these?
Jan 06, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by bunruh from Canada (SK)

Apr 03, 2014
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle shared courtesy of RLB (thanks!).

Poured a dark black color (with red at the edges) and a small sized off white head. Aromas of roasted malts and light chocolate. Milky tasting with chocolate and coffee. Lightly to medium sweet.

Notes from: 9/10/05
Jan 27, 2009
Photo of DrJay
Reviewed by DrJay from Texas

3.88/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Basically a black beer with a dense, light brown head. Superb head retention and thick, solid lace formed on the glass throughout. Glorious! Malty aroma with milk chocolate, burnt character and a bit of smoke. Kind of strange, but I liked it. Lactose sweetness with mild bitterness. A bit burnt and smokey, but not really roasted. Actually it was quite sweet, almost like malted milk balls. There was also a bit of tartness towards the end. Smooth, creamy texture with low carbonation and a medium/full body. A solid milk stout and a pleasure to look at (and drink). Thanks biegaman.
May 19, 2006
Photo of biegaman
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)

3.33/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured a froathy, chocolat milk coloured head with great head, great retenttion and would leave a great lacing too. Some fine bubbles rest overtop. Aroma very weak, this aspect seemingly overlooked completely by the brewer....Body a little overcarbonated maybe but very creamy. A murky, chocolat milk like flavour. Not the chocolat flavour you find in most stouts nowadays, but more towards the chocolat milk taste. I detected a slight smokey character that sorta muddy up and mixed into the mouthfeel. While faint, I personally could have done without. Not bold smoke, more like drinking while breathing in campfire smoke. There was an absence of coffee or burnt malt aswell. Only a half-roasted flavour. This left the beer with very little flavour to rely on, and any taste at all needed some hard searching to find.
Apr 29, 2006
Photo of Viggo
Reviewed by Viggo from Canada (ON)

4.23/5  rDev +14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Pours an opaque black, some brown hints in the edges, thick tan head, some of the prettiest lacing I ever saw, great retention. Smell is sweet, some cherry, roast, coffee/chocolate, toffee, some lacto sourness. Taste is sweet caramel, roast chocolate and coffee through the middle, lacto and milk chocolate finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low to medium carbonation, fantastically smooth beer, very very nice. Once again thanks DrJay via biegaman.
Apr 22, 2006
Photo of Goldorak
Reviewed by Goldorak from Canada (QC)

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Jet black, the strong tan mousse held up forever. I keep giving good scores for Stouts for some reason...

Smell: Creamy chocolate milk with a dash of coffee grinds, and only a tiny alcohol finish.

Taste: Carbonation on the low side, it tastes like a coffee crisp candy bar, or one of those iced cappuccinos with cocoa sprinkles. Body has just enough volume (even though it's never enough for me!) and the coffee finish tastes fresh, not stale like so many other stouts. Surprising considering this bottle was about 1 year old.
Nov 24, 2005
Photo of weeare138
Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
thanks to richlikebeer for sharing this...
Appears a black tone with a tan head that fades into a little film. Nice lacing is left behind.
Smell is of faintly roasted malt but lacking that lacto sugar and chocolate smell as expected.
Taste is creamy chocolate and black patent malt with maybe a little bit of lacto but not a whole lot compared to many others of the same style.
Mouthfeel is creamy smooth with a slightly sweet and sourness that comes through.
Drinkability is ok. I'm a fan of the style and was hoping for more but it's ok if there's nothing else around.
Sep 12, 2005
Photo of fisherman34
Reviewed by fisherman34 from Canada (MB)

3.28/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I would have liked a bit more lactic flavor in this one, but it’s still a very solid sweet stout. Pitch black with minimal head. There are some malty and mild chocolate aromas to this one. Milk chocolate flavors dominate, with some nut flavors sneaking in there too. It’s a bit tame and lacking in complexity, but at least it's well balanced.
Aug 08, 2005
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A tasty brew-very ovaltine and chocolate taste, spiked stout. Not a rich cream stout, and on the sweet side. A pint is a lot for one person, yet the mxiture is drinkable. A bit metallic but the sugar beats it down. Low hoppiness, you almost could believe it is just spiked with coffee liquer.
Aug 07, 2005
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.45/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: Poured a clear dark stout with a huge bubbly off white head with better then standard retention. Aroma of light chocolate is kind of weak. Taste has a very creamy texture with some chocolate also detectable. No hops are discernable which result in low mouthfeel points. Overall, this is quite enjoyable but not overpowering in any way which seems to be the fashion for stout these days.
Jul 04, 2005
Photo of pootz
Reviewed by pootz from Canada (ON)

3.85/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3
Half liter "subbie" bottle: Poured a black viscous ale in the glass...modest carbonation...small mocha head....smels delicious..sweet, chocolaty. some coffe..light grass tones. Mouth feel is viscous..syrupt....good malt backbone and all the cocoa/coffee toasty stout tastes but toned back with rounded taste profile from the lactose. Not a cloyingly sweet drink bit very sweetish, toasty chocolaey and mild....nice effort.
Apr 04, 2005
Photo of 3Vandoo
Reviewed by 3Vandoo from Canada (QC)

4.1/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A pitch black beer, well not uncommon for stouts eh, opaque, full bodied, a nice brown head let herself slowly die leaving an oily leftover over the glass.

Smell, I havent smelled anything like this, seems like alcohol with a sweet flavours mixed with chocolate milk.

Taste like chocolate milk and coffee, the lactose taste hits you first then it reminds me of chocolate milk and then coffee comes. Also a similarity with cafe latte hits me right away! Oh, also reminds me of frappucino, or cold cappucino...

Mouthfeel is not bad, not hard, neither soft, more a smooth coffee flavours followed by a milkish touch.

A very drinkable beer, something different here in Qc!
Feb 17, 2005
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

3.47/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance – Very dark, dirty brown with a modest tan head that went down rather quickly.

Smell – This is a very sweet, milky stout loaded with chocolate notes and some good yet subtle roasted malt.

Taste – This is more like stouty milk than milky stout. The chocolate milk flavor dominates and is complimented by some light cream and roasty dark malts.

Mouthfeel – Medium-bodied with a bit of carbonation, which didn’t seem out of place given the sweet, milky nature of this stout.

Drinkability – What can I say? A good stout that will go with everything. If you like to drink beer for breakfast, consider this one.
Jul 13, 2004
Photo of francisweizen
Reviewed by francisweizen from Washington

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to my pal Martin (goldorak). For sending me away with this excellent brew, after we chilled and had dinner at his house, following a day of sampling at the Mondial De La Biere. This is a nice dark brown stout with a lovely tan head of foam. Aromas are of sweet roasted malts, milk chocolate, caramel, and a nice lactic sourness. The taste is chocolatey up front, with subtle coffee notes, and the finish is smooth, yet a bit acrid because of the lactic acid that is added to this brew. The mouthfeel is sharp, yet creamy, and this stuff goes down very smooth. Another excellent Quebecois beer. One of many!
Jun 18, 2004
Photo of Rastacouere
Reviewed by Rastacouere from Canada (QC)

2.96/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2
It pours black, not totally opaque with a very effervescent light brown head that leaves at light speed unfortunately. Aroma is mostly malty sweet with something along the lines of almond toblerone melting with cream. I'm happy this doesn't have any lactic acidity to speak of, but while I've not had many, I'm not a fan of these milky/creamy(the taste, not body) sweet stouts that often leave a little plastic/rubber sentiment even if the flavor itself is not present. Does that make any sense? Great medium body with gentle carbonation, but not much going on in the finish beside more of the milk feel. Not too complex basically and could use a bit more hops or roastiness. It tastes a bit fat and is not really my style, but it's still well made and welcomed in a county where the best stouts aren't bottled beside one (not unlike bells special double cream for instance, but lighter bodied). Most people will probably like this better than me though, but I'm dreaming of a 8e Jour now.
Apr 24, 2004
Photo of Beersignal
Reviewed by Beersignal from Canada (QC)

4.23/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
La Vache Folle translates into Mad Cow. Wink and nudge inscription on the label states ''interdite aux États Unis'' (Banned in the U.S) but this is beer not beef... ergo it's allowed.

Very deep dark charred brown colour with crimson highlights under a very generous cola coloured and lightly textured head of foam with medium hold. Some sporadic lace.

Soft and malty nose up front with underlying notes of field berry aromas (mainly fresh blueberries from Lac St-Jean) and a firm burned character. Once revisited, hints of coffee cream and soft wood smoke linger in the back. Nicely complex, gains as it warms.

First sip sees a dense carbonation and medium to thin body. The texture is silky, creamy and enticing. Soft flavours of chocolatey café au lait spiked with traces of vanilla and malteasers mingle with notes of fire roasted marshmallows. As the beer warms up a mild fruityness develops but is too mild to pinpoint the origins of. A long and delicate roasted bitter aftertaste settles on the tastebuds and slowly yields a silky residual sugar.

A very comforting brew of surprising complexity in taste. Would pair nicely with a bowl of vanilla ice cream or in a float?
Apr 13, 2004
La Vache Folle (5%) from Microbrasserie Charlevoix
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 17 ratings