Coq De La Marche
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse

Canned 06/07/18, #247.

Let’s see how this style holds up canned for 6 months.

The pour is nice, golden yellow with a lot of rising carb and a pretty soft head of white foam that sits comfortably on top. The lacing on this is pretty heavy all around the glass.

Sweet malt and fruit on the nose. Hints of coriander, but overall this is a very clean aroma. No funk or yeasty qualities, very mild hints of corn grits but these qualities together all form into a beer that is nice and subtle.

More of the same in the flavors... coriander, malt, grits, and subtle fruit. There is, however, a metallic quality that almost feigns sourness.. it’s not necessarily unpleasant especially with the Saison style, but it’s clear that it’s a quality unintended when fresh. I’ll remain as unbiased as possible when rating, as this doesn’t ruin the experience.

Light body, sharp carbonation. Crisp, refreshing, soft.

I am now CANtinuing the seCANd phase of Happy New Against the Saugatuck Grain Beer Sunday (Week 699) & I am happy to be adding to The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Saison style Ale"; "Brewer Owned"; "Art & Design by RobbyDavis.com"; "Strut Your Stuff!"; "Vous estes le Coq de rien! Suffice it to say, some beers are meant to be the cocks of walks. This sessionable saison is just that, striding confidently along that most fateful walk. Brewed with a dash of spelt and late hop addition, this frothy delight is bright, rich, and juicy. So, finir son verre!"

Je parle un peu de la Francais, so the name means "Cock of the Walk", but then they go on to tell us that "You are the Cock of nothing!" The last bit means: "Finish your glass!"

I had read that this one tended to be active so once I Crack!ed open the vent, I performed a gentle Glug into the awaiting glass. It initially formed some fizzy, foamy head on its own, but I was so engaged in my own actions that I failed to really take note. An in-glass swirl raised just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, tawny head with very limited retention that quickly fell away to wisps. Color was a very pretty Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, enticing The Gelt Gang of Mammon, Midas & Croesus to drop in for a taste. Nose had a light funkiness and a cracker-y maltiness. The CAN mentioned "spelt", which makes sense. Mouthfeel was medium, but very fizzy with loads of carbonation. The taste was kind of odd, very malty and as @metter98 said, more like a cross between a Kolsch & a Saison. There was a light funk and a light spiciness, but it was very dry and refreshing throughout. Warming, I began to taste apples, pears & white grapes. Finish was dry, almost champagne-like, especially given its carbonation.

 

 

 

Ordered a snifter at Hopcat in Grand Rapids. What I received could only be described as a salt lick, simply awful.

I felt like this was over carbonated.

 

 

 

What a disappointing brew. Tastes more like a kolsch than a farmhouse, it has the underlying sweetness of an adjunct lager, its body is similarly thin and the hops, which you do taste at at the finish, are almost there as an afterthought. Bad offering from an otherwise solid brewery.

A thanks to the founding father of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Despite no agitation, this beer came oozing out, resulting in a golden color with a 2 inch head. Smell is of lemons, some funk. Taste is unusual, green apples, lemon zest, musty, some hops. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a mediocre beer.

 

A: The beer is very clear yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a half finger high white head that died down, leaving a large patch of bubbles on the surface, a narrow collar around the edge, and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of green grapes and bready and crackery malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of bready and grainy (presumably from the spelt) malts along with notes of green grapes and faint hints of spices in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. No dryness is perceptible.
O: This beer seems to taste like a hybrid between a Kölsch and a saison. It's easy to drink.

Serving type: can

 

 

 

Pours golden and crystal clear with a white, frothy head that fades quickly.

A bright fruitiness kicks off the aroma followed by a suggestion of spice and then a bready undertone.

The flavor follows suit, characterized by a balance of juiciness, spice, and bready malt. The classic saison spiciness is more subdued in this beer, balanced but not overtaken by malt and hop flavors. The finish is dry with a lingering, medium bodied mouthfeel.

This is a tasty saison, very balanced and particularly drinkable.

 

 

 

 

Lots of carbonation. This is the champagne of beers. Very light in color light in body. Lots of head that quickly died. Flavor was pretty mellow not the most out spoken saision I have ever had. some spice some fruit not a lot of sweetness to the beer a lot more on the dry side.

 

 

 

A slight tilt of spice over fruit, of earth over cleanliness, of dryness over sweet; it's the aura of white wine that nudges Against the Grain's farmhouse ale into the proper fields of saison.

Coq de la Marche pours with a soft golden glow, lightly hazed and crowned with an arid creamy froth. Bright with white grape, citrus, pear and melon, the beer soon counters with a tingle of peppery spice and vinous white wine. Malty-sweet with pilsneresque charm, the taste is bready, confection-like and with a kiss of honey.

Swaying from the floral upstart of honeysuckle, the ale soon relies on the balance of spice over fruit to sell the show. Drying apple, orange, lemon and pear begin to trail off just as the winey spice shares a tangy acidity that brights white pepper, clove, coriander and vanilla to the foreground. Moderately biter, a taste of grapefruit and grassiness rounds out the middle palate ahead of a semi-dry finish.

Medium-bodied for saison, the beer's creaminess overshadows the traditional racy carbonation and the beer's softness takes command over earthy dryness. Sharp, spicy and grassy, the beer trends more saison-like than of Belgian-style pale ale with the aid of wine acidity and light oak nuttiness.

Big, bubbly white head with good retention and patchy lacing. Nice, pale straw gold color, slightly hazy. Flavor has lemon zest, yeast, and some very moderate mustiness and funk. Tastes pretty good with the mustiness adding abit of the complexity needed to make a Saison interesting. Mouthfeel is crisp and tart and refreshing. Overall a fairly good Saison.

Poured into a tulip. A very beautiful hazy almost copper color with a very full dense head with decent retention and left good lacing. The aroma was of light citrus and an earthiness that I can only assume to be the yeast, but a very pleasant aroma. The taste was citrus with some slight peppery notes particularly on the back end. It had a wonderful mouthfeel and the level of carbonation was very lively and pleasant. Very drinkable.

 

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass; no can dating, but is a recent release. Pours slightly hazy golden yellow color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, white grape, apricot, melon, peppercorn, light banana, wheat, spelt, biscuit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, white grape, apricot, melon, peppercorn, light banana, wheat, spelt, biscuit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Moderate yeast spiciness and herbal bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, orange, pear, apple, white grape, apricot, melon, peppercorn, wheat, spelt, biscuit, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from bitter/spiciness; lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and lightly creamy/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol as expected of 5.8%. Overall this is a very nice saison. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/earthy hops, and bready malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and easy to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

 

The pour is sultry yellow with a big head of white foam that dwindles. The color has a little golden edge to it. A stream of bubbles, soft haze. Fruity with melon husks sweet grasses and light lemon. It's fragrant with a soft flower petal and the nutty perfume from the spelt malt is like the musk on this citrusy fruity beer. Sharp little bit of pepper. Drinks softly and very elegant. The malt sinks into a bit of crackery softness with a touch more flavor than you were expecting. the citrus becomes prominent in the drink but it's heady with dry lemon. Sweet grasses and alight touch of sugar finish this one dry and with a subtle cheek from bitterness. It's put together very well and has the perfect bubble. You don't notice any bite and the malt is very lush to the palate. I think there is a little dry funk on this beer too but I can't prove it.

This is a lovely, malty saison with a bit of nutty flavor from the spelt malt and a vivacious late hop addition gives it presence on the nose. What I like about this style of beer is that it has a hearty character. The fruit is not easy to name and has a quality that sometimes I think you can only define by a color. Cool green like melon, mixed with a peppery herbal , lemon, a touch of tartness - its' all compliments and that's balanced. The bittering hop is strong and could take you to the aspirin like bitterness in a DIPA like heady topper, but in this one it's softer than that. It does have a sharpness. This is not a big IPA with lots of slick feeling to the body so a crisp sharp bitterness accents dryness. It lingers but not longer than the faintly nutty malt and with the light lemon in the aftertaste. Your palate is not all the way reset because of the spelt and the sugar. You want to pair this beer with aged or soft cheeses and a variety of artisan breads and sandwich boards, smoked turkey with melted cheddar and apples.

 

 

 

 

16 oz can w/o freshness info

Pours lighter, near clear amber, ligting an initially huge off white cap, quickly going to a tin splattered film and leaving just a few splotches of lace..

Cilantro, lemon and grassyness are what I get here on the nose and on the palate...meh..not the greatest saison out there...lacking in style, taste and intrigue