Le Chapeau
Copper Kettle Brewing Company

22 oz. Bomber
Brewed 2018
Release No. 4
150 Cases Produced
ABV: 8.2%

Poured into a tulip a pretty nice translucent dark copper color, pretty nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy/fizzy off-white head, which also leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, with some nice wine notes, vanilla, tart, nice funkyness, oaky, with some grapes/green apple. The taste is pretty nice, malty, yeasty, with some pretty nice grapes/green apple, pretty nice wine notes, oaky, vanilla, tart, funky. Medium body, ABV is hidden very nicely, Overall, this one surprised me, pretty tasty. Nice to see it around here.

 

This is really an exemplary sour-ish beer that has the zing of wild yeast while preserving some malty richness. Distinct tart aroma, but malty and tangy in the mouth. Color is light amber with a big foam in the narrow Saxo tulip. Warm malty taste with some sweetness followed by the classic Belgian drying character.

Thoroughly drinkable, full of complex flavors, but very sippable and friendly. Label says "aged in wine barrels," but it's the most delicately flavored version of that sort of thing I've had. It's just so appropriate to the beer. This is the 2016 batch, Release No. 3. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Grapevine Liquors on South Monaco.

 

 

Apple, red wine, wheat. Not for me. Cloying, not obviously "wild" and the apple is not very good.

 

2013 vintage bottle. Bottle #41/1600. Red wax covers the crown cap.

7.10% ABV. French-style saison ale aged in red wine barrels.


APPEARANCE: Vibrant copper body. Not hazy or cloudy, instead clean, translucent, and transparent (hardly a traditional saison appearance). Head is white, frothy, and boasts an 8+ minute retention. Some minor lacing is left as the head recedes.

AROMA: Reticent as the aroma may be, barrel character is evident - grape juice, faint vanilla. Juicy orchard apple, pale malts, apple cidre, maybe flaked wheat.

Suggests an acidic yet soft brew with a pleasant taste, though it does lack the Belgian yeast characteristics and funkiness many have come to expect from the style ("French" though Copper Kettle may market it). Still, that it evokes the fine still cidres of Brittany is testament to its quality and uniqueness, even if it doesn't adhere to convention.

Aromatic intensity is average.

TASTE & TEXTURE: More vanilla-emphatic than anticipated, with the more acidic cidery flavour taking a backseat to the barrel. No evocative oak here, but there are barrel sugars, which play well with the pale malt sweetness.

Not as soft as I'd have hoped for, and a bit overcarbonated, but the subtle acidity works well for the mouthfeel, accentuating the soft orchard apple note. Lacks the Belgian spice the label promised (and the style is known for) as well as any brettanomyces funkiness whatsoever.

Any way you approach it, it's simple for a saison, lacking the yeasty complexity and intricate spice profile the best expressions of the style are renowned for. I'd be more charmed by its apple cidre-emphatic flavour profile were it more vivid and expressive; the depth of flavour just isn't there for this to work as well as it should (to say nothing of the reticence of the red wine aspect of the barrel flavour).

I do like it in spite of its overcarbonation and simplicity, but it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its intended style.

OVERALL: Brewed in Copper Kettle's nascence, Le Chapeau is barely a saison proper, but is nevertheless an enjoyable brew. I'll enjoy finishing the bottle, but it can't hold a candle to the finest (Belgian) expressions of the saison style. Its cidre emphasis is nice, but not enough to really elevate it to the level of a fine Fantome or a Dupont. I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't be eager to purchase another. Not this brewery's strongest work, but competent.

C+ (3.19) / ABOVE AVERAGE

Look:
Pours a slightly hazy copper color and displays only a minimal head formation. There is nice lacing that continues after the head depletes.

Smell:
Smells of sour cherry, pear, and apple. Slight hints of vinegar. There is definitely a wine presence.

Taste:
Instant bitterness that fades into a tart medley of fruits. A slight malt sweetness makes itself known. The sweetness quickly fades and the slight sourness hangs on for a bit just before fading into a medium dry finish. Barely any hop flavor to speak of.

Feel:
Medium+ body on this brew. It feels slick and bubbly on the tongue. When it finishes, it is only medium dry.

Overall:
Very nice and complex. It is quite fruity and a bit sour, but it is not overpowering. There are plenty of other flavors to keep this one interesting. Tart and fruity wine flavors are apparent all throughout the drinking of this one.

 

 

 

you know, i love the idea, and this whole barrel series from these guys is pretty splendid, but this is the weak link, if we have to call one out. the saison yeast is generic, the red wine character is only moderate, and the mouthfeel is lacking heavily for the style, minimal carbonation and not a significant body. tannic wine essence is weak, and the base saison isnt all that impressive, unlike the other barrel waxed beers from these guys. generic wheat malt and yeast make this forgettable, if still real tasty, like, its great, but ive had it before, show me something new ya know? brett might pop this off, or more time in the wine barrel, or something, but it seems thin and lacking to me on the whole, as much as i do like the beer. overall something pretty solid, but in this market it takes a little more to move me, especially in this style. the least impressive of their barrel series beers i have had, but still easily worth what they ask for a bottle, no doubt about that, im just being critical...