Chronique De Mars
Benelux Brewpub & Café

 

 

Hazed golden blonde colour, 1.5 fingers of white head and some lace. Smell is funky, brett and a light oak, lemony and fruity, hay and wheat, quite complex with vinous points as well. Taste is has brett upfront, funky and musty, yeast and lemon, fruity with a dry funky finish. Medium high carbonation, medium body. Solid, a very impressive offering.

 

650ml bomber poured into tulip 10/6/16 cheers mathieuc for the CANBIF bottle

A murky golden yellow, enough clarity to see bubbles barfing off the bottom and pumps out as much foam as you want, loose but it goes nowhere leaving chunks of random lace and never really falls as there's still foam after the liquids gone

S canned pineapple, stone fruit, and citrus, lots of funky yeast and faint wet wood, I get some spice and more tropical fruit notes, smells amazing

T less tropical hops, more peppery spicy, bretty, yeast, more wood, tastes great but the nose was a hard act to follow

M hard to gauge to weight as its a little explosive, foams up quickly but the style is often lively so I'm a little lenient, fairly dry, woody funk lingers

O drinks a little easy for 7.5%, I'd never guess its that strong other then the the fact its buzzing me, hoppy, great yeast profile, some wood, plenty going on

Other then being a little explosive upon entry this ones a winner, just give it a few swirls to calm it down and your laughing, terrific stuff going on here

 

An aged saison, thanks to Brian. Carbonation right there. Decent enough, but not crushable. Moderately tart. Complex though not outstanding wild.

 

A fantastic brew for my 2000th beer review. Pale hazy golden orange, two thumbs of soapy head, solid retention and sheeting lacing. Nose is loaded with musty funk, sweet yeast esters and hints of wooden oak. Flavor profile is complex with the sweet saison with grassy hop notes alongside sour citrus and musty grains. Oak aging is subtle and could be a bit more prominent, but still plays well. Dry hopping offers a nice fruity hop presence on the finish. Loads of carbonation lifts it up and amplifies the experience. A fantastic brew and well worth the price tag.

Bottle: Poured a cloudy dark orangey color ale with a super large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of rustic malt notes with some light dry Bretty notes with strong peppery yeast notes. Taste is a superb mix of rustic malt notes with some strong peppery yeast note and a dry Bretty finish with light oak notes. Body is full with great carbonation. Superb mix of complexity and drinkability.

 

Barrel aged blend of a classic saison, Brett (Bruxellensis) 10-month barrel aged saison, and a sour saison, dry-hopped with Galaxy.

Served from a bottle on the day of release and drank from a Spiegelau tulip.

A: Hazy light copper with a thick foamy white head. Retention is solid, if a bit less than expected and no real lacing to speak of oddly enough.

S: Wafts a dank dustiness that brings reminiscent thoughts of Brasserie Dunham's Saison Réserve. Though some wood notes are present, they are buried underneath the bold Brett-dominated aromatics. As it opens up, the Galaxy qualities of pineapple and mango come through a bit more complementing the Bretty cobwebs, but this smells marvelous indeed! It is obvious that this is massively Bretted.

T: Complex and highly drinkable. It is ever so faintly sour, with just a notch below standard saison ph levels. It begins with a bit of that tartness and some mild fruitiness, mixed with a grape must and highly funky, slightly leathery finish.

M: The carbonation is quite aggressive, which works well with the style in general and with the notes of this beer specifically. The sharp and spritzy effervescence spreads the flavours, cleans them off the palate, and allows the dryness to complete each sip, thereby inviting the next.

O: Very solid. Perhaps the dry-hop could be a touch more aggressive to compete with the Brett dominance, but that's getting nit-picky since it clearly works. Perhaps the best Benelux beer I have had.