Loirette 5.5 %
Brasserie De La Pigeonnelle

 

 

 

Cloudy orange pour with a white head and crowned lacing. The feel makes this saison sing: soft waves of bready saison yeast shape the body to be airy, full, and velvet smooth. Smell is led by this same yeast with bready, floral and lemon accents. Taste has the lemon become orange peel with a hint of lemon, yeast again is the star, lush and bready, sweeter with some malt coming in. Paired great with pate

"Best by 5/15/26"; drank 8/4/24 @ Pokemon Communion.

Cloudy orange appearance.

Big, fluffy bright white head; frothy lacing remained.

Cracked wheat, mild caramel & faint clove notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Soft wheat & faint caramel flavors up front; banana & mild clove notes on the finish.

Bold; perhaps even a bit over the top!

Pours clean, pale golden in the glass. Nose leads you to think it has the potential to be another flabby saison. Taste delivers, yeasty notes but drinks crisp and dry, slight lemony tartness, very refreshing.

April 2017: 330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. BB date 08.01.2015. ABV is 5.5%. Pale golden colour, clear first, hazy when the yeast is poured in the end. Large white head of poor retention. Strange aroma of dust, sea water, cooked vegetables. Soft mouthfeel. Fairly dry and refreshing flavour, hints of salt, mild spices and citrus. Moderate hops.

 

 

Hazy orange with racing carb trails, huge head initially that settles to a broken skim after the first couple sips. Random spotty lacing.

Aroma of cereal grains, musty minerality, a vague and simple malt sweetness.

Malty and yeast forward with some apple and pear esters, very light phenolics, sweet pale malt. Well carbonated, prickly feel, light bodied. Overall it’s decent though a bit restrained. Could use a bit more rustic yeast or hop character to liven it up a little. Drinks more like a Belgian pale ale than saison.

APP - hazy deep gold, low white head persists with little lace, roar of racing carbonation

AROMA - bread, honey, straw, apple, wheat, very faint herbal hop, wisp of sulfur. a little on the malty-sweet end but im into it

FLAVOR - light pilsner malt base with lively and balanced honey and lemon characters. get a little vanilla from the alcohol and very low herbal hop flavor without much bitterness. slight menthol note. Clean bready finish. Maybe a hint of DMS. Its like Ricola in a glass.

MF- bracing from extremely high carbonation. light body, noticeable alcohol is slightly hot and lingers in finish
OVERALL - bright, light, brisk - somewhere between saison, Blonde BDG, and Belgian Blonde. Fun beer.

Big, bubbly, off white head with good retention. Pure gold body, unfiltered.
Very light pale malt, hint of lemon
A unique bright zestiness hits the tastebuds first, only lightly fruity - of orange mainly, but zesty is the word that comes to mind. A rustic floral-ness to it. Mild caramel malt. Fine and vigourous effervescence feels refined. Medium body with a crisp & yet smooth feel and dry finish. Lingering esters.

Simple yet sophisticated, a refreshing everyday beer for those that want a bit more flavour and appreciate the unfiltered fruity contribution of yeast.

 

 

 

 

Look: Crystal clear blond with a medium white head.

Smell: Notes of Light Brett funk, dried pear, hay, and a subtle sweetness.

Taste: Big dried pear and green apple sets the attack. The beer dried out very quickly with notes of champagne, Brett funk, and cracker malt.

Feel: Quenching at first but goes bone dry very fast. Natural prickly carbonation. Smooth. No alcohol.

Overall: A beer that is clean and refreshing but just way to subtle over all. Average.

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had an orange-yellow color and a cloudy consistency. There was a big, creamy, fluffy, fairly long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: A nice aroma of citrus, spices, malt, and yeast.

T: Tasted of some mild spices (coriander, in particular), a lot of malt notes, some pronounced Belgian-style yeast, a bit of citrus (lemon, orange), and a funky quality. A solid enough flavor that isn't quite what I expected. Not quite a witbier flavor, but still pretty tasty in spite of some thinness in places.

F: A good amount of carbonation with a prickly, lively finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This might be the first French beer I've tried that I can say I liked. It isn't perfect, but it is worth a try.

As far south of Paris as is the Belgian line north of Paris (and France's traditional biere de garde territory), Brasserie De La Pigeonnelle is pushing the French culinary envelope south. This should be encouraged as the French are far too traditional and stuck on their wines as the one-and-only complement to their food. However, I wish Pigeonellle's website was more revealing (and had an English button.). But given what I got to go on, I'd guess Pigeon is a French countryside nano.

That encouragement said, this beer could use some help from north of the border.
As a saison (or a Blonde as it is on UnTappd), Loirette's Looks offer an active and recognizable foam... although there could be more lace. Smells got the right stuff as far as the yeast working the malt into fruit... a full nose, sweet, malty... and just enough yeasty funk to pique interest and another snort.

Sipping recognizes similar Tastes; but then I get this prickly coating on my tongue. Can't describe this Feel. Won't blame it on anything. But without it, this saison gets as soft as it should to complement food.

OA: Even with that funny Feel (that fortunately recedes), I enjoyed my meal. Good yeast does good things for even average food. Will I have Loirette again? Yes, but I have to find it.

12/26/21 Eureka! I found it at The Beer Temple. And I'm glad I did because I didn't write a good review and took this moment to edit and revise it upwards. The "Funny Feel" I note above is barely present in the bottle. So this is another example of why we review again. But, I'm still keeping count @ UnTappd.