Maibock (Lager Rousse)
L'Amère à Boire

Nice ruby body with a off-white head that popped in to say hello before hurriedly leaving. Sweet, bready aroma with spice. Sweet, malty taste with a restrained caramel aspect. The hops lent the affair a moderate, but welcome, bitterness.Medium body and carbonation, with good drinkability. A solid offering, but not their best.

Inspired by the German bock, though not quite as potent, this maibock begins with a spongy head that quickly dissipates into a moderate lacing and settles into copper-colored clarity.

Brewed with Munich malts, it spreads evenly on the palate and leaves a subtle aftertaste. Thought difficult to detect, the nose did seem to contain a slight caramel whiff.

In any case, it was an enjoyable quaff obtained at one of the best brewpubs in Montreal.

2009:

A3.5: Copper-bronze with an off-white head, slight retention & lacing.

S4.5: Herbal, floral & grassy spicing, caramel sweetness, slight bread & nut.

T3.5: Nice breadyness; herbal & slightly minty spicing with hints of floral, grass & pepper; light bitterness; warming alcohol.

M4: Moderate body has a hint of residual sweetness, with a drying alcohol finish.

D:3.5

6.4% for 2007.

A3: Red-amber, off-white head, no retention (where's the protein in this bock?), very little lace.

S3.5: Caramel, spice, light bread.

T3: Light caramel sweetness & fruit bread, hints of spicy hops, modest bitterness, some alcohol warmth. I like how the hop flavour is in the background, but they need some higher quality malt to shine through.

M3: Moderate to full body, slight acidity. Lacking the silky creamyness of a German malt.

D3: Decent, but there's a cheap crystal malt flavour I just can't love.

Not bad, but not great either. Especially @ $7 a glass! This brew was a nice enough dark red colour with a nice off-white head that lasted a bit than died a quick death. The aromas were sweet, malty, and a tad metallic. The taste was sweet and malty up front with some nice hops in the middle and a bad metallic after-taste in the finish. The mouthfeel was standard as was the drinkability. This drank more like a malty/metallic red or amber than a true German maibock...

Brewed with pale malts, munich, and caramunich, w/hallertau and mittelfruh. Pour when served was irish setter red in color. Head dissipated rather quickly. Clean aroma. Taste was a bit sweet, with medium body, and some astringency in the finish. Not bad, not astounding either.

A very nice looking amber pour with a thick head. Served in a standard pint glass. The nose is nicely hopped and some sweet malty/fruitiness creeps in as well. For the most part a slightly sweet caramel beer with a nice malty body. Medium creaminess but a full mouthfeel. Alcohol kick & warming/dry finish. Overall the beer was a little better then average, but not by much. The flavours were too dull and faded too quickly.