La Dragonne
BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)

 

 

Served warm as adviced.

A-Pours a very dark color with no head nor lacing
A-Aroma has spice hints
T-The taste follows the nose with various spice flavors
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A decent Herb & Spice beer

Served hot!

Look: Like red wine. Extremely dark brown with a thin ring of large bubbles.

Smell: Mint, alcohol, spices, and dried fruits all hit you at once.

Taste: Gentle but very sweet. Almost like treacle, with a much lower key spice note than the nose. Minty and alcohol-tinged coolness on the throat. Could easily be mistaken for mulled wine.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly thin, but with no carbonation.

Overall: This is a very hard beer to judge. It’s beer that doesn’t taste or look like beer, especially served warm as intended. But is it tasty? It fits its purpose. It’s a sweet winter drink to take the chill off.

 

 

Reviewed from notes. Heated the bottle as instructed, though in a makeshift double boiler on the stove. Served at a toasty 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Poured from the 750 mL bottle into a mug.

A: Dark - almost like coffee. No head formation to speak of. I can't evaluate clarity well in the mug, but this looks opaque.

S: Spices - nutmeg, cinnamon, light anise, and a touch of cloves. Some roasted malt sweetness.

T: Follows the nose. It's spice-forward (nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cinnamon), with raisins and dark fruits. Some ethanol sweetness – almost bourbon-like. Roasted malt body. A touch of anise again in the mid-palate. It finishes with more sticky sweetness with hints of toffee and chocolate.

M: Medium heft to the body with a sticky mouthfeel. Almost no carbonation sensation. The alcohol seems quite prominent, although I wonder if that may be due to the unusual serving temperature suggested.

O: This was certainly interesting. I actually liked this better than most other spiced/Christmas beers. While different, and not offensive, it's nothing I'd be in a hurry to repeat.

 

 

What a disappointment. I like mulled wine and was intrigued by the idea of a hot beer on a cold night (it was actually 70 degrees outside but I have a good imagination). I served the beer per the instructions on the bottle and was rewarded with a shot of cough syrup. I tasted honey and anise for the most part but the effect was medicinal rather than flavorful. Mouth feel was almost oily. I could only manage a few sips before passing it around the table.

However, the neophyte beer drinkers at the table liked it. They generally prefer red wine to beer and when they do drink beer it tends toward the sweet side. To each his own.

I was very disappointed in the flavor and the experience of La Dragonne but at least I can say that I've had an apres ski Swedish beer. I'll stick to Swedish heavy metal in the future.

 

I'd recommend heating it up past 150. It's what it is, a mulled beer. Just like traditional hotwein, it's brewed with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, etc. It tastes very good, but I'd score it a lot higher for the experience. The first hot beer I've ever had (and only $5 for a 750)

Smooth and tasty warmed up.

A: The beer is black when viewed from afar; when held up to the light the edges are clear dark red in color. It poured with a short off white head that died down rather quickly, leaving a collar consisting of large bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of holiday spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg are present in the nose.
T: As in the smell, the taste has flavors of holiday spices along with bits of dark fruits and subtle hints of sweetness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The finish of this beer is a disappearing act and quickly fades away. This would be a good beer to warm up and drink on a cold winter night.

Serving type: bottle

 

 

Per the instructions, I heated this one to 110 degrees - I'd recommend this. Pours two shades shy of black with no head. Nose is pretty much all mulled wine - cinnamon, booze and cardamon. Characteristics present in the nose are also present in the flavor profile; however, there's also a figgy/bready character, as well as notes of black licorice. Mouthfeel is light in body and slightly acidic with an almost still carbonation. All and all, this beer is not really in my wheelhouse but I respect it for what it is. If you like mulled wine, this beer is well worth a try. Share amongst several friends - a little goes a long way.