St-Ambroise Érable
McAuslan Brewing

Bought in a local beer store

Labeled as a « maple beer » from Quebec, Canada.

Poured the bottle into my Chimay chalice leaving a very thin white head fading fast.

On the nose, maple and caramel notes

On the palate, syrupy and maple - no warmth of alcohol and fairly refreshing.

Overall: an interesting take on the genre and I liked it, a bit pricey considering the shipping here but worth it for a change.

 

De Hopt.es. En copa Teku. Jugando a Los Pilares de la Tierra. Muy conseguido el sabor a jarabe de arce, otorgádole un perfil original sin saturar. Muy buena sensación en boca, invitando a trago largo.

 

 

Bought a 4-pack for 9$ +tax. Poured into a flute-like glass at 5 Celsius.

Appearance: Pours a maple colored liquid which turns ruby-amber-cola when glass is filled. Not really any head, Noticeable bubbly carbonation.

Aroma: Sweet, syrupy, maple, malts, coffee-like, butterscotch. Smells like I'm drinking weak coffee.

Taste: Yum! Notes of maple and butterscotch immediately pervade the mouth. Which subsides to leave a bit of hop backbone noticeable. Almost coffee-like at times.

Mouthfeel: Lots of carbonation at first. More on the thin side. Not sticky or syrupy. Carbonation subsides quick enough.

Overall: It's an amber ale with mild hop backbone with strong and sweet notes of maple and butterscotch. Easy drinking, low IBU.

A real tasty treat. It's less on strength and complexity, but more focused on the maple notes, which is the highlight of the drink. Fairly well put together with no downside beside feeling a bit lighter than I like. I definitely recommend if you'd like to try something new. or need something easy to session. I finished a glass in 10 minutes it's so easy to drink.

I would definitely try again, but wouldn't put this on the top for the best beer, but good for those who like something sweeter and lighter.

Unfortunately they sell only in 4-packs in Montreal and at the same price or higher than 6-packs of other beers, but definitely worth trying.

 

 

Pours same color as maple syrup!
Smells like maple taffy!
Tastes like a red ale, lots of malty toasty flavors, maple syrup on snow, Nicely balanced English hops. This not a sweet belgian beer but a real maple tasting ale. The maple flavor comes back as a dry maple aftertaste.
A well balanced special maple brew from St-Ambroise. Well worth a try if you find it.

Bought at Loblaws (Provigo ) here in Montreal. $12 canadian fora 4 pack.
P.S Bought again, the 2018 version is excellent also!

 

 

A- This pours a crystal clear copper color with perhaps maple undertones and has hints of orange/red when put up against the light. The carbonation is easy to see and rises to the top in an aggressive fashion....there seems to be plenty of it too! The head is relatively thin, but the dense looking layer retains well! The lacing is soapy looking and softly clings to the side of my glass!

S- There is a medley of dessert like aromas happening with this one....there are hints of delicious smelling Quebec maple syrup that has just been freshly tapped initially, with underlying tones of brown sugar, toffee/caramel, milky chocolate, nuts and yeasty toasted biscuits!!

T- The flavors follow the aromas rather well, with maple sugar or syrup being a very nice initial flavor to be detected....what I like about it is that is isn't super sweet or overpowering on the palate....it's rather clean in fact! There are lesser flavors of caramel, toffee, brown sugar and what I do notice is that the flavors all taste very natural and right on the end near the swallow, there is an Earthy woodiness about everything that cleanses the palate and rounds everything out! The finish could perhaps have mellow hop bitterness, but again, doesn't overpower any of the other things going on....wonderful!!

M/O- Overall this is a very nice Ale that blends sweet and savory characteristics together well! The maple added is just the right amount and I feel that this would pair up with a creme brule or with a chocolate caramel truffle dessert. The body leans towards the medium side of things and the carbonation is mellow overall. This is highly drinkable and I feel like it would appease most palates! Another job well done by this Montreal brewery!!

Way better than expected. Well balanced; perfect to pair with a sugar shack meal or a brunch

 

 

 

The maple flavour masks most of the other flavours. I found it rather fake-tasting and one-dimensional, although at least it's not too sweet.

One of the best maple beers you can get.

Purchased at the LCBO as a single. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass

A- Opens well and pours a nice 1" head that lasts for a couple of minutes before film out. Dark gold/light brown color and filtered clear

N- Hints of maple syrup is there. Not overpowering

T- Nice maple sugar flavor. Very nice memory of a sugar shack came back LOL. Some nutmeg and very slight cinnamon. Bubble gum aftertaste

M- Creamy good. Very refreshing for a heavier beer

O- Nice brew. Will buy again if I see it.

Food Pairing

This very good blend went well with........ Bacon and eggs with you guessed it! Maple syrup!

Enjoy

341 mL bottle from a 4-pack picked up at the LCBO; best before Nov 30 2015 and served slightly chilled.

Pours an intensely deep copper-crimson colour, clear in complexion and topped off with one finger of loose, soapy off-white froth. It wilts fairly rapidly over the next couple of minutes, leaving behind a thin, frothy collar; no lace or cap. I've had a handful of maple beers over the years, but none of them managed to capture the aroma of pure syrup as effectively as this one does. Beneath that layer of maple-y goodness, notes of demerara sugar, maraschino cherry, Medjool dates and toasted, biscuity malts come through, with some leafy, lightly floral English hoppage off in the background. Very enticing.

Yep, this one's a winner. It's quite malt-forward, particularly initially - with bready malt, toasted biscuits and some nutty notes interacting beautifully with the maple syrup flavour. Sponge toffee sweetness and mild hints of wood are next in line, finishing with some leafy, floral hop notes - similar to what I found on the nose, but not as pronounced here, as the maple and malt bill tends to steamroll the hops. Lingering maple flavour in the aftertaste, along with some nuances of toasted nut. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation levels that result in a crisp, exceptionally smooth mouthfeel. This is a flat-out delicious beer that I find extremely quaffable, despite its relative lack of balance.

Final Grade: 4.07, a solid A-. St-Ambroise Érable is almost definitely the best maple-themed beer I've yet had the pleasure to try. If you're curious about this one because you're a syrup fanatic, then rest assured - the maple has more than enough oomph to satisfy you - but not so much that it is liable to become cloying to those outside of that camp. This is a superbly sessionable amber ale; one that deserves to be brought into this province every spring. Absolutely worth a try - McAuslan rarely disappoints, and this brew is no exception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice amber in color with a small white head that quickly leaves only a thin layer on top. Smell of maple syrup, caramel, sugar, definitely smells like a maple shack. Nice caramel taste in the beginning that quickly transforms into a maple syrup flavor. It's really smooth in the mouth and the maple taste stays for a while on the tongue and even in the throat. I've tasted a few maple beers and I'd say this one is the best. It has a nice maple flavor while not being too sweet like most other maple beers are.

 

Appearance: It has a nice deep copper/amber color to it. It has a nice creamy beige head that dies down moderately and leaves little lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of maple syrup, caramel, slight toffee and biscuity/nutty malts.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has some sweet maple syrup, caramel/toffee, biscuity malts and a slight breadiness.

Mouthfeel: It has a med/high carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel although it is somewhat light.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with decent flavors and aromas.

341ml bottle, sold in 4-packs in Alberta.

This beer pours a crystal clear, medium copper amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, shiny, and creamy beige head, which leaves a few instances of remote coral islet lace around the glass as things slowly abate.

It smells of semi-sweet biscuity caramel malt, woody maple syrup, a bit of fig and date dark fruitiness, and musty, earthy hops. The taste is pretty much in line with the aroma - sweet, kind of bready caramel malt, a touch of toffee pudding, a fairly dry-seeming maple sap character, more fig-like black fruit, and weakening earthy, somewhat leafy hops.

The bubbles are moderate in strength, and a bit tight beyond their basic frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and generally smooth, with a suggestion of an echo of creaminess. It finishes off-dry, the caramel malt more culpable for the lingering sweetness than any loitering maple tree notes.

A pleasant enough maple beer, the guest ingredient let free to be its more or less natural self, on top of a pretty solid amber ale. The combined sugary essences might limit me to just the one for now, but I'm pretty sure I'll return to this soon enough.

 

Draft: Poured an amber color ale with a small foamy head with light retention and no lacing. Aroma consists of woody notes with maple notes with light dry caramel notes. Taste is also a very nice mix of dry caramel malt with some woody notes and some clear maple notes. Body is light with medium carbonation. I am usually not a fan of maple beer but I must admit that this one is quite good.