Ch'ti Blonde
Brasserie Castelain

 

Got in a trade with Shanex. Partially leaked bottle in shipment. 330 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 5/9/2020. Small puff of carbonation on opening. Pours fairly crystal clear medium golden yellow color with minimal head or lacing. Aromas of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red apple, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, light honey, herbal, floral, wood, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red apple, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, light honey, herbal, floral, wood, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness; and herbal, floral, woody, grassy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, orange, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red apple, peppercorn, clove, light banana/bubblegum, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, herbal, floral, wood, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit;. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance; and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Mild carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately bready/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.4%. Overall this is an excellent Biere de Garde. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth, refreshing, and fairly crisp to drink with the mellowly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Great balance of Belgian yeast complexity and clean bready Munich malts; with solid earthy hop presence/balance. Mild residual sweetness with crisp dryness.Great balance of Belgian yeast complexity and clean bready Munich malts; with solid earthy hop presence/balance. Mild residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive style example. I was really surprised, nails the style perfectly regardless of lack of carbonation.

Pours dark gold with a creamy off white head that leaves thick lacing. Aroma of stone fruit, cracker, grain. Flavour: creamy bread, pear, apple, some alcohol, almost white whine notes. Body not overly heavy given the alcohol content.

 

 

Cerveza dorada con una pequeña cabeza blanca que se disipa en cuestión de segundos. Aroma a cereales y hierbas. En boca destaca nuevamente los cereales con un poco de fruta y miel. Final agridulce.

From Alcampo. In Teku glass. Playing Game of Thrones. Malty, sweet, fairly alcoholic, crisp. Some light honey notes but in general pretty boring. Avg 2.82.

31 Marzo 2019. De Alcampo. En copa Teku. En almuerzo, con macarrones a la bechamel. Dulzor alcoholico bastante presente pero sin molestar

 

 

 

 

 

 

From notes taken 01/04/17:

Honey-amber in appearance but the truly impressive part is the dense suspended chunky haze in an otherwise quite clear medium. Head is a light cream color, thin and fine and delicate but pretty good retenion, forming a film. Honey, not too strong or sweet, a little bit of cracker and grain on the nose, all this dissipates a lot and renders some biscuit and mild soapy suggestions. Reminds me of a specific medical soap I used to use that was easy on the skin, can’t remember the name. I get the sense that this is not from hops but more so phenols, like the medicinal/Band-Aid/Menthol notes in certain Belgian-style beers. Grain, crackers, menthol, tiniest touch of vinegar, dry white wine, some bizarre but mostly subdued light-fruit character I can’t quite figure out, pinch of sugar to taste. Very much like a Belgian with a few minor aspects to distinguish itself. Heavier side of a medium body, packed with fine and soft but tingly suds and containing a decent amount of warmth.

Looks fine, with an pale yellow slightly hazy colour and a decent head of foam. Smell of malt, bread, vanilla, honey and yeast. These flavours return in the taste. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing, but a bit too carby. An okay beer, but the taste also reminds me a bit of the artificial Leffe Blond taste, which is not a good thing. There are better alternatives available.

 

 

Golden color with a thick head with medium retention.
Sweet creamy aroma with notes of bread, sweet perfume and peaches.
Flavor with notes of glucose, French subtle hops, bread, pear and lots of apple juice. Dry aftertaste with a mild bitterness.
Light bordering medium body with appropriate carbonation. Alcohol of 6.4% is just flavoring it.
I felt this to be Alsatian like beer with red apples and pear juices predominating. Glucose bothers a bit.

Reviewed in Roger Protz' " 300 Beers To Try Before You Die!"
Also on the 1001, I will review upon re-tasting.

Quite lagerish look, head goes down fast.

Aroma is quite hoppy and fresh, and malty.

Mmm, nice. Wasn't expecting this taste, from a French beer. Very unique. It tastes of lime somehow, and is quite sweet, yet with good bitterness from the hops. Would be great on a hot day in the sun.

It reminds me of lime skittles.

Bought in a 25CL bottle, wishing it was a bigger one.

 

 

 

 

Clear deep golden color with off-white head. Aroma is mostly malty with bread crust notes and a hint of sugar. Taste leans towards the sweet side with clean malt and bread crust notes, just a bit of yeast character and a light earthy bitterness on the finish. Medium body with crisp carbonation. It's a decent beer tasting like a combination of a german helles and a belgian pale ale.

 

 

Nice looking beer. Ruby-brown with a light tan head and nice lacing.
Aroma is funky and fruity.
Tastes to me a bit like a brown ale. malty and nutty with a slightly bitter middle. Was expecting a bit of yeasty funk that doesn't seem to be there.
Mouthfeel is medium.
Overall, kind of underwhelming and not worth the price. Still, glad i tried it.

Saigon (bottle)

I am neutral on this beer.

A: Golden with a light orange tinge, little haze, fair carbonation and 2 fingers of relatively fast fading head.


S: Some Belgian yeasts, phenols, malt, offal, sort of an AA Lager scent to it. A light peach fruitiness.


T: Light peach snaps taste, AA lager quality, phenols, a bit of Belgian style yeasts.


M: Very foamy, airy, light, slight acrid stickiness.


O: A very light brew. Reminds me of some Belgian Pale ales, like Cuvee de Trolls, but much more foamy in texture. Got it in China, seeing it’s a Biere de Guard, but not overwhelmed. Cool bottle.

 

 

 

 

gold, clear, filtered, lots of bubbles, good white head
Belgium yeast aroma: phenols and esters; if you are accustomed to the toasted malt aroma of darker Biere de Garde you can find it here as well.
phenolic, dry, typical toasted malt flavor, hop bitterness low but clearly there
medium body and refreshing carbonation well integrated
Solid blonde Biere de Garde, clearly different from a Belgian blonde, not great but worth a try.

 

 

 

 

Poured from the stubby 330mL bottle into a pint glass.

S: Slight yeasty character and breadiness over a bed of light fruits.

A: The beer is more subtle than expected, with a slightly vinous backbone but a bready and yeasty character infused with light fruits throughout. Very refreshing.

F: The beer is very very carbonated with lots of bubbles throughout. Very prickly and almost soda like in feeling.

Overal, a good beer. The brew is very refreshing but is somewhat subtle. This is good on a hot summer day but also doesn't make it stand out very much