Cerise (2017)
Microbrasserie Le Castor

 

I'm saving myself a trip to Belgium. As good as any sour cherry Brettanomyces ale from Belgium, I've ever had. I get sad as I drink it, since I do not have an unlimited supply. Very hard to not drain it, so drinkable, trying to sip and linger with it. Surprised it is listed as retired, since I bought it in February 2018 and it was delivered to my local retailer a week ago. Reminds me of Liefman's Kreik. Close to Mort Subite Kriek but a little sweet and more tart. Full respect to the brewer at Le Castor.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a semi hazy orange red color with a slightly pink white head. The head is soapy and not foamy, which makes me think the wrong yeast strain has been used for a lambic attempt.

S: The smell is pretty promising. There is quite a bit of cherry tartness and acidity. There is a light sweetness, some light spices (cardamom and mace most).

T: It just feels off honestly. It's not bad but the acidity level is way too low for the genre. The cherry notes mix with the mace/cardamom mix and it's not an ideal combination. It's also sweeter than in the smell. It's ok, but since they said it's two different beers mixed together, I feel both beers might have been better on their own.

M: Very light, lighter carbonation than appropriate.

O: This is an OK beer. But, for the price I expected better. Every time I see a new sour made in Quebec I have my hopes up only to have them crushed once again. One day maybe (hell, if some of our brewers finally got the hang of making solid IPA's, there's hope).

Bottle: Poured a hazy pink color beer with a medium size foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of light tart notes with some cherry and vinegar notes. Taste is a mix of light tart cherry notes with light residual sugar notes and subtle vinegary notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Very nice tart cherry beer with good drinkability.

not sure about which vintage i had, but i will assume this 2017, as i had the beer just recently. a neat cherry brett beer here, my first from castor! pink and hazy in appearance from the tap, a nice head on it at first but it fades fast. smells like a mixed fermentation, a little piquant for brett alone, but quite funky too, but the yeast is somewhat subtle compared to the fruit, and thats true in the flavor too, where the cherry really dominates. its very natural for how intense it is, a little candy sweetness i guess, but more tang and juiciness, they must have used a whole bunch of them for this beer! neat wild funk to it, not that same old brett complexion, and a real clean acidity too. not as complex as some on the yeast side of things, but it works, especially with the fruit. not sure if this spent time in wood or not, they usually do, but i dont really taste or feel it here, cleaner and lighter than a barrel aged beer, maybe a blend of some sort here, but it does not seem woody or mature in that way to me. a little sweetness with the tang to balance through the somewhat long finish, fresh cherries abound, nice carbonation too. a fun a different sort of brew, looks like these guys are doing some really cool stuff. hope to dip into more next time i am up in quebec...