Noire De Fleurac
La Brasserie de Fleurac

 

 

I picked up this bottle at La Cave a Bulles in Paris, back in November and cellared it since that time.

Opening the cap was wholly eventful. There was barely an audible hiss which made me a little nervous about the carbonation. Sure enough, with the pour into a pint glass, a stingy head of large bubbles formed and quickly went on its merry way. Disappointing. The fluid pours a slightly translucent dull dark brown color with auburn highlights.

The smell makes up a little ground for the disappointing appearance. I get notes of raisins, yeast, fresh baked bread, plums and licorice root (apparently the beer is brewed with it). It does well as a smell indicative of a Belgian dark beer. I am not really getting any roasty qualities though so it doesn't really hit the mark for export stout.

Taste has a heavy dose of licorice root that dries up on the taste buds. There are also hints of yeast and fermented dark fruits in there. The licorice is strong though. Nice dry finish with a pleasant aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is not good, simply because there is no carbonation. Maybe I got a bad bottle. Maybe this export stout wasn't meant to survive a transatlantic flight....wait.

Drinkability, I think would be very good if it had carbonation. I've seen pictures of this beer poured on other websites and it has a nice light tan head. My bottle just didn't.

Beer bottle (33 cl.), tasted end dec. 2008 (during vacation in Lextrait near Riom-ès-Montagnes).

Appearance : black color, with white foamy head (big bubbles at the beginning ?, but good persistency).
Smell : roasted malt, chocolate and alcohol aromas.
Taste and mouthfeel : sweet, round and sustained liquorice merges gently with hops, long persistence in finish.
Drinkability : a very interesting beer in the style Imperial stout, noted the different tastes as the beer warms in the glass.

a stout in France, how about that? And a real one... Not just a stout for making a stout, but that stout is just great. That stout is dark, sweet and dry, strong and drinkable, tasty and gorgeous. The smell is quite great with it's licorice rememberance, the head is clear, the bitterness is sweet but really present, in any words, it's a great one.