La Vache Folle Double IPA - Mystery Hop
Microbrasserie Charlevoix

La Vache Folle Double IPA - Mystery HopLa Vache Folle Double IPA - Mystery Hop
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From:
Microbrasserie Charlevoix
 
Quebec, Canada
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 10.76%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
21
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 15, 2014
Added:
Mar 04, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Jan 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Sep 13, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by oldp0rt from Canada (QC)

Mar 15, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by NForr from Canada (QC)

Dec 08, 2011
Photo of DoreenAndDave
Reviewed by DoreenAndDave from Maine

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Beer is an attractive hazy copper with a nice beige head. Nice aroma of toast and malt and hops. Taste is a a solid malt and yeast backbone with a pleasantly bitter hop finish. This is a nice sturdy beer. It's less of a hop bomb than is typical of double IPAs, which is a nice change of pace. Mouthfeel is good. It's nicely carbonated and has some nice alcohol warmth at the end. This beer is is a nice compromise between heavy Quebec-style ales and hoppy IPAs. I like both of these styles, and so a beer that is kinda halfway between them is a nice combination.
Sep 18, 2011
Photo of fostachild
Reviewed by fostachild from Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
bottled on 2011 feb 17

pours a really nice medium amber color. good amount of head that leaves lacing until the end.

smell is hoppy, citrusy - slight alcohol. quite pleasant.

taste has fruit, lots of hops. sharp bitterness with a nice sweet aftertaste.

really well balanced, enjoyed this a lot.
Aug 14, 2011
Photo of ZorPrime
Reviewed by ZorPrime from Canada (QC)

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottle says it was bottled on February 17th, 2011. Tasted on March, 20th, 2011.

Notes from the tasting:
Beer color is copper. Nice foamy head on top. Sticks well to the glass like all the beers from this series. This one is 8% abv instead of 9% like the others. The aroma presents notes of agrees. When the beer is colder, the aroma intensity is light. However, as the beer warms up, the aroma intensity gets stronger. Get some ananas when it is warmer. This one is so easy to drink... Its crazy. Sweet and mellow, like honey. Also the taste presents some caramel notes. I get some citrus too here. The bitterness is a little woody... Another good beer in this series and from this brewery. I like it.
Aug 11, 2011
Photo of Seanstoppable
Reviewed by Seanstoppable from Canada (NS)

3.71/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bottle on date of Feb 13, 2011

Pours a clear dark orange color with tons of frothy white head Head evaporated sporadically, leaving hills and valleys. Sporadic lacing on the glass.

Slight scent of fruit and pine.

Flavor is more full than the smell. Enough hops to shock your tongue if going from zero to this. A lightly piney flavor mixes in with the malt taste. Some good hop bitterness. Slight hint of alcohol at the end.

The alcohol flavor at the end is a bit offputting, especially as I don't recall it in their other Double IPAs in this series. However, as the beer warms up a bit it mellows out and all but disappears. Not the best of their Double IPA line, but certainly a good one.
Jul 03, 2011
Photo of nighthawk
Reviewed by nighthawk from Canada (NS)

3.16/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
500ml bottle poured into nonic pint. Bottled-on date (Thank you Charlevoix!) of Feb 17 2011 on back label. This review is a partial amalgam of an on the spot review and a.review from a fresher bottle. Marks may be skewed higher than a current purchase would indicate.

Pours a bright, clear orange with a fluffy white hoead that retains as a lady covering until.the end. Not a mind blowing appearance, but par for the course.

Not as hoppy an aroma as I would like. Bit of mango tropical fruit and brash weedy hop bitterness in there, but fruit esters and a bit of sweet bready malt seem to dominate the aroma.

Taste follows suit with the nose; bitter hops with a slight tropical nature are quickly overtaken by fruit esters and bready sweet malt.

Solid medium body and light to.medium carbonation. Feels pretty good in the mouth.

Unfortunately for this beer the DIPA category is flooded with offerings that are bursting at the seams with hop flavour. This example is tasty, but lets my taste bids down just a little.
Jul 01, 2011
Photo of Long813
Reviewed by Long813 from Canada (ON)

3.96/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Dark golden-copper body with two fingers of white fluffy head. Retention is great along with amazing thick lacing.

S: Great collection of citrus fruits, sweet malts and pine. It have quite an intricate aroma. Very pleasing

T: Pleasing taste of sour citrus fruits and biscuits. There is a nice touch of sweetness that it mixed with the pine. It's quite a interesting flavour from this hop strain.

M: Medium bodied with medium carbonation, texture is velvety with a great aftertaste of hops and biscuits. Alcohol is only slightly noticable - not bothersome at all.

O: It's another well done beer for the series. I don't like it as much as I do the other hops, but what can you do?
Jun 10, 2011
Photo of grub
Reviewed by grub from Canada (ON)

3.88/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
another bottle from freud. thanks fred!

500ml bottle. sampled june 5/2011.

pours crystal clear golden amber with a small cap of fine off-white head. the head drops slowly and leaves a few spots of lace.

aroma is nice. whole wheat bread. bit of biscuit and cracker. caramel and a touch of toffee. grapefruit, orange, and tangerine. earthy and herbal. hint of pine.

taste is good. whole wheat bread. bit of biscuit and cracker. caramel and a touch of toffee. grapefruit, orange, and tangerine. earthy and herbal. hint of pine. lightly warming alcohol. medium bitterness level.

mouthfeel is good. medium body. just under medium carbonation level.

drinkability is good. nice balance. great malt base. i'd like to see a bigger hop presence. the dipa series has been fairly malty, but this one seems a little bolder there... perhaps it hasn't aged as well as the others.
Jun 06, 2011
Photo of bylerteck
Reviewed by bylerteck from Canada (ON)

3.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from Broue HAHA. Bottled Feb 2011 so about three months old. From notes.

A - Dark copper pour with good carbonation. Bright. One finger eggshell head elaves good rings of lacing and one finger of retention.

S - Citrus, peach jumps out for some reason, and clean hops.

T - Peach mostly. Not resinous. Hops are clean for the most part and nice.

M - Dry finish, good carbonation with a medium to full body. Not overly bitter.

O/D - Another so-so IIPA from Charlevoix for the night. Didn't really go anywhere and while tasty, wasn't anything special.
Jun 05, 2011
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.36/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
So-so DIPA. It hits the style in that there is bitterness in your face. Lots of white lace. Yet, little hop aromas, more booziness in the smell than anything. Tad above average mouthfeel, but just a hop delivery. Northern Brewer hop, not the highlight of the series. A musty aftertaste, not that satisfying.
Jun 02, 2011
Photo of eat
Reviewed by eat from Canada (QC)

3.7/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottled February 17; it's a little old at this point. Clear amber-coloured body with a good finger of rocky cream-white head. Decent head retention and lacing.

Very tropical nose: pineapple, passion fruit, lychee, mandarin orange, sugary malt. Smells pretty good.

Much too sweet as anticipated, based on previous Charlevoix double IPAs. Too much sugary malt bordering on cloying. Alcohol is quite apparent as well. Strange, I think all their other double IPAs have been 9% ABV; this one is 8% and probably the hottest of the bunch. Under all the sugar and alcohol there's a pretty flavourful, tropical hop variety trying to poke through, showing unripe pineapple, tangerine and lime zest. Light pine on the finish along with a moderate drying.

Decent slightly viscous feel. Medium body and carbonation.

Unfortunately, I don't feel freshness would have helped this one much; the sweetness and alcohol would still have been the same. I can't say this is too drinkable and I wouldn't buy it again. I keep buying these things hoping for another like the Amarillo but so far none have approached it.
May 11, 2011
Photo of Swedes21
Reviewed by Swedes21 from Canada (ON)

3.4/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Appearance - very clear and clean coper in appearance, there isnt much carbonation. the head is about 2 fingers and last a long time, some good lacing. head is an off fluffy white.

Smell - decent smelling beer, some good balance between hops and malts. there is not a dominant smell of pine like i expected. maybe some citrus smell, more on the lemon than grapefruit side.

Taste - more of a malty/pine than a hop/pine taste. some bitterness at the end that lingers a little. nothing overly dynamic in this beer.

Mouthfeel - smoother tasting, some good volume added. nothing stands out anymore than in the taste..

Overall - glad i tried it, would not rate this as a must try, i am sure there are butter DIPA out there.
Apr 27, 2011
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: Poured a clear amber color ale with a quite large foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of light citrus notes with piney hops is quite intense. Taste is more hop-centric then other beers from this series with also a solid caramel malt backbone. Body is about average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well brewed and surprisingly one of my favourite from this series with more intense hoppiness.
Apr 06, 2011
Photo of Intrinsic
Reviewed by Intrinsic from Germany

3.89/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is a great example of the DIPA style. Its dark amber in colour with a light density head and great retention. For this reason it gives you plenty of time to soak in the smell. The mystery hop variety has an intense citrus aroma, backed with floral notes. I smell zero malt, which either means they dry-hopped this thing so much it masks other smells or my olfactory senses are poor. I don't mind though - its very pleasant.

The malt characteristics shine through in the taste up-front but this doesn't last long at all considering its a DIPA. These hops, whatever they are, are incredibly tasty. Citrus, pine, floral, all mingled together to give a very natural and almost earthy feel to it.

As for mouthfeel, well, it isn't anything to write home about. Its slightly syrupy, which lost it some points, but its also well carbonated so it made ground there. Overall, its a pretty good beer. The only problem is I paid $5.95 for it. At that price, its only a "try it once" beer.
Mar 31, 2011
Photo of rodenbach99
Reviewed by rodenbach99 from Canada (QC)

3.41/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
From a 500ml bottle bought at Peluso.

The liquid is beautiful, nice coppery translucent with a off-white foam compact and durable all through the end of the glass.

The aroma of malt and hops is nice but with little complexety.

The mouth is strong, hard, a slightly sweet taste of hops are present, more floral than fruity. Touch of alcohol. The bitterness is pleasant in aftertaste.
Mar 24, 2011
Photo of flipper2gv
Reviewed by flipper2gv from Canada (QC)

3.09/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5
FYI, the Hop used is "Northern Brewer" which is the first time I hear being used as the main hop for an IPA.

A: Microbrasserie Charlevoix always made the best looking beers I've ever seen. Perfectly translucent amber color with a big off white creamy looking head that has lots of retention and lacing.

S: Smell really not as good as the others (especially the amarillo version). Really strong on the pine resin and not much citrus except some light lemon peel. A little bit of undefined vegetal like qualities. The malt base is very strong and sweet in the smell. Strong brown sugar, caramel, vanilla and bready-ness.

T: Sweet malts upfront with caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and the bread. Really not much hops at all and this is supposed to be a DIPA. Some light pine resin, mint, some mango juice but all in subtlety. Very lackluster and really really does not feel like 80 (more like 40). The beer isn't bad, but it's just boring.

M: Medium body with super smooth carbonation. A little bit sticky. Really nice here.

O: An american strong ale might be a better descriptor here as it's not strong enough in the barley to be called a barleywine.
Even if it would have been described as such, it would be a pretty boring. There's not much complexity in the malts or in the hops, it makes a boring beer overall.

By far the worst in the series.
Mar 23, 2011
Photo of Yoonisaykul
Reviewed by Yoonisaykul from Canada (QC)

3.69/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Heard a new Vache Folle DoubleIPA was coming out more than a month ago but I just found it in stores today. Kind of sucks to see it with bottled on feb 17 stamp.

The mystery hop thing is pretty cool. Nice label.

A- Looks like the others in the single hop series. Maybe a bit lighter in color. Slight beige tint to the white head. Clear dark copper. Almost caramel. Lots of expected lacing.

S- I don't think this smells as good as the others I've had. More sour... a bit of onion. Bubblegum. Grapefruit rind. Some grassiness which I didn't remember smelling in the others.

T- Nice grapefruit juice taste but some woodiness and still a tiny bit of onion. Mild grapefruit rind bitterness followed by a harsher woody bitter after-taste.

M- Low to medium carbonation. A little bit syrupybut also a bit to thin.. or maybe it's just the lack of carbonation. Semi-dry finish. A bit of alcohol burnin the back of the throat.

D- Okay. I like the grapefruit taste but dislike the wood, grass and onion. Kind of refreshing. Alcohol is a bit too present to ensure good drinkability but is enjoyable nonetheless.

Yeah, not one of my favoites in the series. Not too disappointed since I wasn't expecting too much (just hoping).
It is a good beer. Always happy to see another Quebec (Double!)IPA.
Mar 16, 2011
La Vache Folle Double IPA - Mystery Hop from Microbrasserie Charlevoix
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 21 ratings