Kasteel Cru
Brasserie Licorne

Kasteel CruKasteel Cru
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From:
Brasserie Licorne
 
France
Style:
Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
73
Avg:
2.93 | pDev: 22.18%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
32
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 21, 2016
Added:
Oct 29, 2005
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  2
Brand website: http://www.kasteelcru.com
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Ratings by Sage:
Photo of Sage
Reviewed by Sage from England

2.88/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Kasteel Cru is an exceptionally pale straw colour, but is perfectly clear. I may have been drinking this out of completely the wrong type of glass in using a tulip glass, but it served to highlight the fact that there are few aromas to be had from the beer, aside from some faint yeastiness. However, not unpleasant at all. The taste is similarly on the minimal side, but some pleasing floral and yeasty notes and very crisp. Good taste for what it is, and no sour aftertaste. The beer is not excessively fizzy. While perfectly drinkable, after one you'll probably be wanting to try something different.
Sep 08, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.34 by poppollutesminds from New Jersey

Feb 21, 2016
 
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey

Sep 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 26, 2014
Photo of flyingpig
Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland

2.38/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 1 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Clear straw yellow colour & forms the smallest of bubbly, white heads that fades almost instantly.

Premium lager type smell to it that contains a lot of grassy hops and it is quite sweet. In addition to this there is some mild skunk & biscuit like aromas but overall it is a pleasant smelling lager.

Sweet & sugar taste upfront that has a lot of hop character and hints of apple that make it seem like a cider at times. This is followed up with a disappointingly skunky after taste that is a little dry.

Light bodied beer that has plenty of carbonation and is generally quite smooth & crisp. It's dry & not too refreshing though.

Not the best tasting & I get a feeling that the fancy presentation of the bottle is an attempt to mask the lacks of flavour & quality in the beer.

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Jul 15, 2011
Photo of jazzyjeff13
Reviewed by jazzyjeff13 from England

2.76/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A 330ml green glass bottle with a BB of Nov 2011. The fancy neck label gives it a slightly posh appearance, which I think is intended. Described as biere brut.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear pale straw yellow with fine carbonation. Yields a small head of white foam that doesn't hang around. Weak aroma of light malt with faint hints of sourness, tart apples and leafy hops. A whiff of solvent as it warms. Hmmm....

Tastes of very light malt; not much to it really. A sour note is present - not sure if this is a flaw. Also an acidic hint of unripe apples. Hops don't make themselves known; no aroma or bitterness to speak of. Mouthfeel is light and tingly but rather watery - leaves the palate slightly dry. Faintly sour malt aftertaste.

Despite the higher price and 'premium' branding, this comes across as worse than many macro lagers. What little flavour there is will not reward you. Unworthy of your time or money; give it a miss.
Jun 09, 2011
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.45/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours lively straw yellow with a loose white head of fizz that fades fast. Some crisp yellow apple chardonnay notes on the nose but also grain sourness and noble hops. Lemon and table water cracker malts with very light grass hops. Slight fruity sweet finish, dry linger. Thin, crisp, lively, some stick.

First try with the style, and even with that it seems a bit thin. Still very drinkable and I could see it pairing with many foods.
Jan 30, 2011
Photo of damndirtyape
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

3.45/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Single bottle poured into a pilsner glass at the Lace Market Hotel. Best by 07/31/10 on bottle.

Appearance: Perfectly clear pale straw yellow color with persistent crackling white foam. Thin wisps of lace while drinking it down. Lots of carbonation bubbling up through the beer. Foam and bubbles pretty to look at, but the color is weak.

Smell: Very yeasty - I didn't notice much else.

Taste: Crisp granny smith apple flavor - not a lot else. Almost cider-like, but not bad.

Mouthfeel: Lots of carbonation - spicy on the tongue and it does a great job cleansing the palate. Carbonation is so strong that it is hard to detect much else here.

Drinkability: Did what I wanted it to do - clean off strong flavors between portions of the meal, and really is a beer which does seem to really borrow from Champagne - the yeast it uses does show through in this beer. This is a highly carbonated beer - it's not fizzy water - it has flavor and it's good, but it's unusual. I would have had another with the meal had it been offered, but really, one is okay and it's enough as well.
Jul 07, 2010
Photo of benclimbs
Reviewed by benclimbs from California

2.92/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
pours clear golden with a small head and no lacing...not many bubbles for a 'champagne yeast beer' just seems liek a gimmick to me.

smells really nice for a nlager - none of the nasty skunky tones, just a bit of ripe fruit and some yeasty niceness.

taste is just dull - smoothish, but dont know if i could really tell this apart in taste from a fosters in the pub.

not too good - really dissapointing from a nicely bottled, good sounding and decent selling beer.
Feb 24, 2010
Photo of FreshHawk
Reviewed by FreshHawk from Illinois

3.06/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A - Light straw, nearing clear color. Large white head that sticks around for a while. Looks a lot like a sparkling wine.

S - Pretty clean and light. The scents present are slight grain, fruit, and yeast. Very slight skunky smell (not much).

T - Champagne like, yeasty with slight tangy apple and lemon. Somewhat sweet. These flavors aren't that strong however, and taste a little watered down.

M - Champagne-like again, dry and crisp. Also watery.

D - Is a bit dry and leaves a slight cotton mouth feel so drinkability is not great. That along with the flavors seeming a little watered down help reduce drinkability as well.

Note: Champagne-like but the flavors aren't that great. Ok for showing what the style is like but not a great beer.
Feb 16, 2010
Photo of emsroth
Reviewed by emsroth from New York

3.54/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
12oz bottle

App: flaxen gold. Small, tightly carbonated head that quickly dissipates.

Smell: The sweet, fruity scent of champagne with the undertone of barley malt and a hint of grassy european hops.

Taste: Greeted by a strong rush of biting carbonation, perfectly akin to champagne. Next is a fruity sweetness that fades into a sweet, slightly husky barley malt. The sides of the palette are awakened by the grape-like tartness. Other than the subtle champagne yeast sweetness, the flavor is imported, green bottle, euro pale lager.

Light crisp mouthfeel that spans the crispness of beer and the silkiness of champagne.

Although this beer was mediocre, the style intrigues and excites me, and I can't wait to try more.
Nov 09, 2009
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

3.48/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bought out of morbid curiosity (plus it was on sale), I expect this to be nothing more than a gimmick. We shall see.

First of all, £1.99 and they couldn't spring for brown glass? Bah. I must say, though, it looks like a million bucks - most people could probably be easily tricked into thinking it's champagne. Same pale yellow, same streams of bubbles, same frothy, fizzy, fleeting white head. Surprisingly, it actually smells a bit like champagne, too. It has a musty-yet-fruity quality, and in fact, it smells more like champagne than beer, delicately fruity and vinous with a mild apple sweetness and lemon bitterness. Bone-dry and very light in terms of flavor - this tastes like some kind of weird shandy-type concoction made from Stella, brut champagne, and club soda. But what it lacks in impact and depth, it makes up for with sheer clarity and refreshment. This beer is interesting in that it is very unique, but on the other hand it is uninteresting in that it is bland, bland, bland.
Aug 20, 2009
Photo of m1ked
Reviewed by m1ked from California

2.12/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 1
After having Deus, and the fact that my wife loves Champagne....we were interested in trying another Champagne yeast beer... should've stopped with the Deus.

A- Actually looks good, light champagne color with lots of streamers of tiny bubbles. Minimal white head. Solid start.

S- No beer worthy characteristics. No wine/Champagne characteristics. Just smells skunky. Like Grolsch, but not in a pleasant way.

T- Bland, boring. My wife refused to finish it....this after enjoying some PBR's earlier in the day. and I quote "This beer sucks" I suffered through it merely because of the $6 price tag.

M- Actually not bad here. Bubbles did remind me of a Champagne.

D- "This beer sucks". Looks and feels good...if that's the kind of beer you like, here you go. Just be prepated for a skunky void of flavor.
Jun 28, 2009
Photo of DerBayer
Reviewed by DerBayer from Germany

2.86/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
OK chaps this beer is interesting rather than good and maybe therefore worth a try - had one yesterday:

A - Light very light almost like Lemonade or maybe "Radler"

S - hops and slightly sweet then ... I dont know how to describe it ... Men s loos?!?

T - It tastes the way it smells at first OK but unspecatcular with an interesting aftertaste that soon turns into something nasty and therefore worth atry

M - Like a light lager type beer - average

D - ONCE drinkable - I think you should try it
Jun 26, 2009
Photo of EatsTacos
Reviewed by EatsTacos from Canada (YT)

3.18/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured a crystal clear champagne-like yellow with a fizzy, thin head

The aroma was light malt, biscuits and cookies. Some floral hops were pleasant

The taste is very floral with a sweet and sugary malt as the backbone. The sweetness seemed to me to be artifical tasting and reminded me of splenda or some articial sweetener.

Mouthfeel could very well be compared to Champagne, light bodied with a crisp and sharp carbonation
Jun 15, 2009
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +32.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I appreciate that this beer is available in an 11.2 oz bottle. I paid $4.99, and I'm sure a 750 ml bottle would have set me back much more just to try it.

It pours a crystal-clear straw-gold body beneath a creamy cap of bright white that dwindles slowly into an average collar and whispy surface covering. Minor lacing is left behind on the glass.

In the nose, unfortunately, I find a bit of skunkiness. I find it hard to believe they'd put such an expensive beer in green glass, but they did. Beyond that, there are discernable hoppy notes that are grassy, floral, and herbal. It's also a little fruity with sweet and lightly tart, juicy apple, and even a hint of earthiness.

The flavor follows the lead that the aroma presents, and it's a wonderful blend of delicately grassy and grainy pilsner malts, soft apple-like and just slightly tart fruitiness, and grassy, floral, and herbal hoppiness. A firm bitterness backs it, and it's quite round and balanced with every component in focus, and each one clearly discernable on its own.

The yeast is what makes this beer, and perhaps the process (I'm not sure). Cost-wise, the yeast shouldn't have any bearing, so it must be process (which I also question), but honestly, it doesn't really come off as anything more than a very well done and softly-bitter pilsner (and that's allowing the flawed aroma). I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I don't think it's worth the cost.
May 09, 2009
Photo of BlackHaddock
Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

1.65/5  rDev -43.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
Green 330ml bottle with a best before date of 30 June 09, drank April 09. Poured into a stemmed 'Hoegaarden Grand Cru' glass.

Very pale golden yellow with next too no head even though I poured it vigorously. What bit of foam did arrive didn't stay one iota of a second.

A freshly opened tin of Cornbeef was the smell I got, then a weak yeast aroma, strange combination I thought?

Almost tasteless, a really thin yeasty flavour hides behind a dry cardboard nasty tinny hint.

I had to open some cheese to help me finish the beer, a lesser man would have thrown it away, but I'm made of stronger stuff and refuse to waste beer, no matter how poor it is.

Expensive crap!

When you look at the ABV of other beers within this style you can see this is a rip-off watered down version playing on the name.

I have found some really good French beers over the years, this however isn't one of them. I should have known when I saw who imported it.
Coors!
Apr 27, 2009
Photo of CHickman
Reviewed by CHickman from New York

3.87/5  rDev +32.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Very good beer that started out with a nice big head; good amount of carbonation in this beer. A nice light lager made with champagne yeast and has a distinct champagne taste, which was very different and enjoyable. Light and crisp with a slight malty taste, which borders on tasting like a white wine.

It is a very different beer that went well with my complex meal. I would have it again with spicy food and certain meals, but would not pound this beer at a bar.
Apr 01, 2009
Photo of rec
Reviewed by rec from Australia

1.88/5  rDev -35.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
In a nutshell? Rubbish. But here are some details, anyway...

Pale straw body, lack of head.

An almost absent aroma, bar some farmyard grain.

Taste like a weaker than usual pils, but with something distinctly champagne about the finish. Or maybe that's just my mind trying to salvage something from the otherwise gimmick brew.

The mouthfeel is nothing more than bubbles and water.

The drinkability would be ok, if it wasn't so damn boring. Like soda water, downing a few of these could probably give you a stich/cramp before anything else.

Don't bother.
Mar 14, 2009
Kasteel Cru from Brasserie Licorne
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 32 ratings