La Vache Folle Double IPA - Columbus
Microbrasserie Charlevoix

 

 

 

Bottled 8 days ago!

Nice amber/caramel color with a small off-white head with some lacing.

Nice smell coming from the hops, resinous with some fruity undertone. To my surprise there's not much caramel in the nose even though it's amber.

Nice taste, hoppy and bitter. Good balance from the malts, in the mouth there's a slight caramel flavor. There's also some alcohol noticeable in the mouth.

Really like the mouth feel of this one, it's quite light but nice fuzziness that "attacks" the gum.

Not bad at all, but last year I absolutely fell in love with their Simcoe DIPA, sadly I don't love this one as much.

 

 

 

 

Although the bottle was only purchased (without seeing it) last week, it was bottled 11/24/11 and hasn't aged well. That surprised me, given its 9% ABV.

Pours a dusty but bright orange with impressive residual lacing. Mouthfeel is also unexpectedly light, without the heavy oiliness I'd anticipated at this high ABV. Disappointing aroma of sweet, faded hops with a tone of mustiness. Aged hops also in the initial malt sweetness, with little of the tropical fruit elements I expected from a Columbus brew. Pleasantly bitter finish that lingers for an impressive length of time and minimal alcohol burn.

Would certainly be happy to try any future batches, but would keep a close eye on the freshness of the bottle.

 

Bottled Nov 24, 2011 so there's over 6 months age on this one.

a: Copper-bronze with a white head, good retention & lace.

S: Spearmint, dried pine needles and grass with hints of sponge toffee and tropical fruit.

T: Surprising sweetness pushing this towards the blonde barleywine category. Herbal and minty, lots of toffee, candied pineapple and mango, restrained bitterness, alcohol is well-hidden.

M: Moderate to full body has some residual sweetness and hop acidity.

O: Not as hop-forward or bitter as I had anticipated, but a pleasant sipper.

 

 

This one poured a nice copper orange into my Vache Folle pint sized stange glass. Nice big three finger head.

Mmmm hops... Extreme floral, citrusy - tons of grapefruit. Little bit of a caramel smelling malt as well.

Strong floral & citrusy flavor that ends extremely bitter - orange & grapefruit. Nicely balanced with sweet fruity tastes - apple., pear. You definitely get alcohol, but not overpowering given the 9%.

Mouthfeel is chewy, frothy, and very smooth. Goes down easy. The head lasted to the end - impressive carbonation.

bottled on 22 Nov 2011 at 10:35. Cudos for clearly labeling the bottle date (including the time!). Unfortunately I did not notice this when I was shopping. Purchased on 26 Feb 2012 and consumed on 1 March.

Crystal bright medium amber color with a good rocky head. Great head retention and tons of sticky lacing on the glass. Really a remarkable head for the style/abv.

A bit of citrus over a caramel and toast aroma. Aroma is somewhat subdued. The flavor follows suit. Big toasted bread flavor with a cap of citrus and floral hops. I can't help but think the hops may have faded on this one. Alcohol shows toward the mildly bitter finish.

Round juicy mouthcoating feel reminds me that this is a big 9% abv.

I will try this beer again, if I come across a fresher bottle. With a little more hop presence, I think this could stand among the better DIPA's at this strength.

 

Columbus has a very nice light amber colour and lots of creamy head that sticks around for a while. Very nice lacing.

The smell is amazing. I don't know if they only used Columbus, but I have a pretty good idea of what it's supposed to smell like now. Lots of citrus and floral, but no pine. Excellent stuff.

The taste drops significantly for me because the alcohol is overwhelming. It actually takes away from the hop experience, which in my own experience, is not normal for an Imperial IPA. Nevertheless, its still drinkable.

Good carbonation. Medium dryness. Overall - good stuff. But I won't be buying it again - only because it's too damn expensive.