La Vache Folle Double IPA - Herkules
Microbrasserie Charlevoix

 

 

deep cloudy orange with a small creamy head that quickly faded but left a bit of lace. Smell was hoppy heaven! Pine and strong citrus overtones are really all you can smell. The taste was right behind, just up in your face hops! Truly a DIPA if I have ever had one. Not as strong on the alcohol as some others which made this much more drinkable, which could be a problem with the high ABV. Could drink this everyday, truly a great bee

Appearance. Pours a light amber with two fingers of light yellow, sticky, bubbly head.

Smell. Tangerine and lemon. Some light malt. Smells good.

Taste. Sweet, caramel malt, citrus, tropical fruits, some grass and a nice bitter, fruity sweet finish.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with medium carbonation. Some warm alcohol.

Overall. Normally, I don't go for the more ballanced IPAs as much as the hop bombs but this is ballanced in a great way. Fruit component enhances the strong, sweet malt presence with enough hops to not leave any doubt that this is an IIPA.

500ml Bottle
Picked up a bottle of this stuff from Depaneur Poluso in Montreal. I was looking for the Amarillo but they were out of it and he said that this was Charlevoix's real hop bomb. Quebec is known more for its malty belgian ales than their hoppy counterparts so I figured I'd give it a shot. I always find it interesting when a region known for producing a certain style tries something different.

Pours a hazy amber color, no lack of head here it's enormous, comprised of bubbles of many different sizes.

Hop heavy nose. I can also detect spices and pine, citrus also comes to mind as well as toffee.

Far more balanced than I was expecting. The dominant flavor is certainly citrus and caramel with a fairly pronounced hop finish but there is also a malty smoothness throughout which I was not expecting.

On the high end of medium for carbonation with a medium body, a pleasant buttery feel is also present.

This brew is highly drinkable for a DIPA. I was expecting to have my taste buds beaten into submission by hops but this beer goes down remarkably smoothly.

Overall a very pleasant experience but I don't think I will be going back to this one until I have sampled the rest of Charlevoix's DIPA offerings.

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a yellow-amber color with a white head. The aroma is heavy on the hops with a lot of pine and orange notes. There is also some bready malt in the aroma.

The flavor is more of the same. The dominant flavor is orange citrus hops, which are balanced out by the bready malt to keep the bitterness fairly low for a double IPA.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

500ml Bottle

Appearance - The beer pours a slightly hazy amber colour with a gigantic frothy and foamy off-white head. There is lots carbonation showing, unlike any beer I've ever seen before. There are thousands of little bubbles rising to the top. There is also some really nice lacing all the way down the glass. The head stuck around for a long time before it dissipated.

Smell - caramel, hops, malts

Taste & Mouth - The beer doesn't feel as carbonated as it looks, but it's still got a lot of bubbles on the tongue. The most noticeable flavour is a buttery caramel taste mixed with hops. The beer almost has a milky creaminess to it. It finishes with a slightly bitter and sweet aftertaste.

Drink - I can see how this beer may appeal to some, but there's something about the taste that doesn't do it for me. It's a good beer, but there's others I'd rather be drinking.

This beer pours a slightly hazy golden amber hue, with one finger of foamy ecru head, which leaves some nice webbed lace around the glass as it falls away. It smells lightly of grapefruit, orange rind, pine needles, and biscuity caramel malt. The taste is strong, bitter citrus rind, kind of an indistinct blend of grapefruit, orange, and lemon, followed by a strong caramel/toffee malt, and a strangely floral and herbal booziness. The carbonation is moderate, the body medium weight, smooth and somewhat creamy. It finishes clean and sweet, the caramel malt moving to the forefront, but still kept in check by a decent fruity hoppiness.

Another very enjoyable big single-hop IPA from Charlevoix. This one imparts some interesting flavours beyond the expected citrus bomb.

Looks pretty good, deep amber body with a slight haze, capped by a tight one finger head. Modest retention, but no real persistence. Thins sheets of lace dissipate into a fine web.

A little lackluster on the aroma, but also should have done this a couple months ago. Floral, and richer hints of caramel.

Wow, quite surprising in the taste, im not sure where that big blast of pine was hiding. Some graininess and hints at caramel, but the malts are obliterated by a big assault of pine with some white grapefruit.

A nice feel. A substantial and slightly sugary malt body is subdued by a big resinous and bitter pine blast. Pretty much what one expects from the style.

Some fine tuniing and this would be first class. A touch less diacetyl and a more multidimensional hop presence could do it. A tasty double IPA, and certainly brash, would recommend it to fans of the style.

500 ml bottle, thanks to grub for sharing!

Pours a clear dark amber/orange, nice and bright, very thick white head forms and settles down to a thick ring around the glass, good chunks of lace, great retention, looks nice.

Smell is nice, some citrus hoppiness, big and malty middle, caramel, some biscuit/toast, wafer, floral, light pine, alcohol, tons of fruitiness, lightly herbal, neat.

Taste is nice too, biscuity up front, some caramel maltiness, a touch on the sweet side, very malty, light floral, some fruitiness, a bit of citrus and some herbal bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, a bit of warmth but very drinkable for the ABV. Thanks Russ!

Thanks to Patrick for sharing this one!

A - Pours a golden orange color with a one fingered creamy white head, mild carbonation.

S - Weak aroma for a D-IPA. Biscuit and caramel malt, pineapple, orange, citrus, mildly floral and piney.

T - First impression is a perfect balance. Resinous pine, sweet caramel malt, and some citric notes. Perfect, but delicate balance. Pepper, mild citrus rind, lemon rind, sweet honey. If not for the indication of some burn in the throat, the 9% is nicely masked. Hopping is resinous and sweet - I dig this beer!

M - Velvet on the tongue, is on the heavier side of medium body, and there's alcohol warming on the way down.

D - Very, very nice balance. I really enjoyed this and would purchase an entire case for my personal enjoyment!

Pours mostly orange with some amber. Nice carbonation and lacing. The smell is quite sweet of malt, but certainly there are some hops in there. I get pine hops with sweet caramel and honey. If this was labeled a barleywine or american strong ale, I would have believed it as well. I'm not going to hold it against the beer too much though, maybe this style of hops demands this? Still, a pleasant drinking beer that is quite delicious, even if it isn't quite what I expected.

Last of a 3 beer, 4 bottle taster pack.

Bright copper color. Very thick head, 2 fingers deep. Impressive staying power and lot's of Sweet toasted malts and lots of floral pine hop. Booze not noticable.

Swrrt malts followed by a wave of pine-citric bitterness. I'm knocking it down a notch because the alcohol burn ( yes burn) interfered with the hop bitterness if only for a few seconds. Finishes quite sweet with a nice citrus peel ( grapefruit) bitterness.

Slick, full, almost chewy mouthfeel.

It's quite nice. But there are better examples out there.

another from my recent trade with papat444. thanks pat!

500ml bottle. sampled july 17/2010.

pours crystal clear deep orange with a big fine off-white head. the head drops fairly fast with lots of fine lace.

aroma is good. orange and tangerine. bit of grapefruit. caramel and honey. more earthy bitter citrus than the amarillo dipa. whole wheat bread. bit of cracker and biscuit.

taste is good. light grapefruit. orange and tangerine. caramel and honey. bit of toffee. whole wheat bread. cracker. a bit earthy. light alcohol. just under medium bitterness level.

mouthfeel is good. medium-large body. just under medium carbonation level.

drinkability is good. nice balance. good hop profile.

Bar Volo tasting. Pours a slight reddish colour, a faint head. Funky aroma, and that's the story here. The aroma gets in the way of the taste, getting an interaction with the bitterness. Dry finish. More of an American strong? Unlike the rest of the series I laterally tasted. Appropriate carbonation. But the bitterness needs some onion and cheese soup, or something strong.

This is an interesting beer but I'm surprised to see it rated so well as there are some flaws in my opinion.

It starts off well with a clear orange bronze color and a very attractive silky cream white head. The smell is lighter than you might expect though.. simple honey and caramel malts with a hint of pine underneath.

The taste is hop dominated with bitterness and pine but there's a big malt base present as well. It's sweet, almost processed sugary sweet but I think it's required given the high amount of bitterness involved. Unfortunately it's just doesn't seem to work.

Mouthfeel is smooth albeit quite sugary sticky. Drinkability is average but this would be a pass for me in the future.

Thanks to papat444 for this one. "Bottled on:" field is blank. Served in a tulip.

A - Pours with a finger of eggshell foam that dissipates to a chunky ring and big-bubbled haze. Slightly hazed golden apricot color. Lots of lacing.

S - Unusual hop choice - I don't get a ton of aromatic hop character even though this beer is at most 6-8 weeks old. There's some honey and caramel malt character, along with a tiny bit of that cotton candy scotch ale smell. There's some pine, spice, and citrus zest, but it's understated. Interesting, but not what I expect from a DIPA.

T - Taste is pretty similar - slight scotch ale malt profile with a bit of tropical fruit and pine character imparted by the Herkules hops. Bitterness is present, but less than I expected from a hop so high in alpha acids. More American Barleywine than DIPA.

M - Lower carbonation, slightly syrupy with a touch of grain character. Not much over hop oil or resin. Alcohol is well-hidden.

D - This was OK, but is probably my least favorite in the series. I would suggest lowering the malt bill a touch, and using something more aggressive like Columbus or Centennial.

Thanks to Freud for bringing this down!

500mL brown glass pry-top bottle. No date.

Appearance: A really clear orange amber body with some off-white head that fades quickly leaving some spotting.

Nose: Perhaps the STRANGEST nose I've encountered that I didn't think was off or infected with wild yeast. Wow. Ok, hold on a second. Something like maple cotton candy plus an empty charred white oak barrel plus wet hay, plus clay and mud. It's very earthy yet somehow bright and fruity at the same time. Oh and something like Parmesan or Asiago cheese. Truly strange.

Palate: Medium-bodied and spicy with green peppercorn, eucalyptus, toffee, that same maple cotton candy thing, candied pecans and some sort of hard candy. Can't pin it down. There's mild bitterness on the finish and a faint suggestion of astringency. Really a clean beer, but that pungent mystery flavor is very loud.

Notes: Wow, what to say. This is an odd brew. Herkules must be some strange shit. Tasty and highly recommended for the educational purpose of finding out what Herkules tastes/smells like. I'd probably drink another if I had the opportunity, but this is no "casual" beer. This beer demands your attention and some will probably hate it. I dig it though.

Thanks eat! Well worth the Black Scrapper I gave up.

Poured stiffly into a tulip. At first I was worried the beer was uncarbonated as it took forever for a 1 cm white head to form and float atop a lighter than expected orange-brown hued beer. Some lacing.

The aroma of this beer is exceptionally interesting. At first I thought it to be very earthy, and then spiciness comes through with cloves and coriander dominating. For a moment I honestly thought this was brewed with Unibroue yeast, as the hops were giving off an aroma almost identical to Trois Pistoles. Wonderful, and once I read up on the hop, an excellent introduction to the character it can provide.

The beer itself has an obviously malty body with a slight alcoholic character to it. Enjoyable, but for a DIPA the bitterness comes across as quite low. Of course this could be because it is exceedingly well balanced or due to the Red Racer IPA I had a few hours back... Sweetness is evident with a bit of spiciness that cannot be nailed down is there too. Very nice, but a little too alcoholic for a 4.5

Carbonation is low and the alcoholic character affect the mouthfeel & drinkability. A good DIPA, just not a favorite.

Thanks to Hoser for this bottle. The rear label has a space for a "Bottled On" date which is blank. The brewer advises on serving this beer between 6-10*C, it was poured cold from the fridge.

A rigorous pour produced a good frothy head on a clear golden brew. A nice pine smell with a few malt notes in the background. Taste brings a nice fruity blast and some citrus with a great bitter finish. The bitterness lingers in the mouth and on the tongue. A great, light syrupy mouthfeel. The alcohol is hidden fairly well for a brew that is 9% ABV.

Fairly drinkable for a DIPA and not a heavy tongue scrapper. Right now this bottle is only available as a part of a four variety pack. If I could buy this singly I would.