Licorne Elsass
Brasserie Licorne

Brasserie Licorne “Elsass”
€2,9/25cl à la pression @ Aux Douze Apôtres, Srasbourg, FR

Look: Clear deep gold beneath a short head of white foam. Better than average head retention and lacing.
Smell: Limited aroma of lightly sweetish and grainy malt with non-descript background hops.
Taste: Lightly sweetish and grainy malt tempered by a touch of herbal and lightly grassy hops and a stiff bitterness that pulls it together to deliver a dry finish.
Feel: Medium to medium-light in body and gently crisp with a standard carbonation.
Overall: A basic but well brewed and balanced Euro-Pils.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a one finger white head with good retention and nice lacing; looks promising. Aroma of light biscuit malt, a hint of honey and light grassy hops. Flavor is slightly sour pale malt, grassy hops, old apple juice; tartness and astringent grassy hop bitterness develop into a tart starkly bitter finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess. Well, I knew I was in for a treat when I saw the green bottle, but hadn't tasted a new French brewery in ages. The French aren't really known for beer, except for some interesting saison/farmhouse styles in certain areas, and there is a reason. Promising at first, this looked quite nice, deeply colored and a good head for a Euro lager and the aroma seemed on target. But the flavor was not great, seemly thin at first, then developing bitterness without interesting herbal hop flavors and with an odd light tartness not expected for the style. Drinkable, but it's not clear why it was imported. Don't know the age of the bottle, but arrived in our market very recently. Oh well, Licorne ticked and that will be that.

 

 

 

 

Mommsen-Eck (Haus der 100 Biere) has been a watering hole of mine since before the Berlin Wall came down back in 1989: every trip back to the city sees me re-visit the place for food and beers. BA however has changed what I drink in here, I’m always looking for something on the menu I’ve not had before instead of having something I know, hence the 0.330 ml bottle of Licorne Elsass was ordered during one of my evenings in here during Jan 2012.

Poured a slightly hazy pale blond colour; tight white head that gave some impressive lacing for a Lager.

Mini floral hop aroma; gets my regular score of 3 for an almost odourless Lager/Pilsner/Helles.

The taste was refreshing and this blend of hops and malts gave it a better character than most French Lagers I’ve had over the years, this had an actual taste. Mild rather than tangy or sharp, malts lead initially in the flavours, the hops coming to give the beer a gentle bitterness towards the end of each sip.

Worth giving this a try.