St. Amand
Brasserie Castelain

 

 

It's a very malty amber beer, tho not much to style. Aroma is malt, toffee, caramel, a bit of fruit. Appearance was great with a huge frothy head. Flavor was just ok,similar to nose, plus metallic. Good body. There are many other Bieres de Garde I'd rather have.

Flashback #339 - Bought this solely because it shares my last name but turned out to be really tasty.

Aroma caramel, hay, malt, butterscotch, grains. Taste caramel malt, floral, spice, herbal, faint hops.

Fruity nose, not much hop, malt and a touch of pepper. Pours dark amber under a 2” pillowy foam cap. The palate starts with light fruit, pineapple, caramel, pepper and a hint of hops on the finish. Some faint light cardboard flavors suggest the beginning of oxidation. bottled 10-10-11, above average carbonation, a touch of cardboard on the finish, some light fruit, pepper and a hint of hops on the finish. Medium to medium full body, with average carbonation. A fresher bottle is less sweet and crisper with the fruit tending more towards peach and less pineapple. Much better – do not age.

 

Pours a clear orange-red, one finger thick cream colored head, few wispy patches of lace.

Smell: apricot, marmalade note, wet grains, mild earthiness.

Taste: caramel apple, sweet plum flesh, red grape, date bread, grain twang, earthy and herbal notes.

Medium-light bodied, active carbonation, drying and slightly sticky finish.

Best by 11/15. Slightly sweeter than Castelain's "blonde," but similarly as delicious.

After popping the cork caught a nice bready yeast aroma out of the bottle. Had a big foamy off-white head that dissipated after a minute. Color was clear amber. Smelled of malts and a bit of yeast but not much hops. Tasted of malts up front - a bit of skunk (not unpleasant) - with a hint of dark fruit and finished with some hop bitterness. Mouthfeel was medium bodied with fine bubbles but not overly effervescent. Overall very good.

 

 

 

 

The beer is light amber colored and transparent with a small off white head. The aroma offers yeast, malt, apples, a splash of white wine. Grape skins and an earthy character. Light in body with fairly low carbonation. A touch of oxidation. Mild hop presence offers a hint of bitterness. Caramel malt and green apples. Pretty easy going.

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is crystal clear deep amber orange in color and has a moderate amount of carbonation. It poured with a finger high beige head that took a long time to die down, consistently leaving a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: Light aromas of caramel malts and raisins are present in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of caramel malts and raisins. Only a bit of sweetness is noticeable because the malts are balanced off by some notes of earthy hops. Not much bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a little smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer seems a little maltier compared to others in the style but wasn't that difficult to drink.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Haven Gastropub in Pasadena, CA.

Pours a clear honey brown with a foamy tan head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy chunks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, and some citrus aromas. Taste is much the same with some slight caramel flavors as well. There is a mild bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer and very easy to drink.

This is certainly at the flabby end of the Garde spectrum. It really tastes just like a cheap sweet Dunkel or low-hop Amber.

Light amber in the heavy chalice with a modest head. Light body. A slight fruitiness with a malt liquor finish. Apparently not much in the way of hops, but a slight soapy dishwater taste with a touch of earthy flavors. Faint metallic aftertaste. If it was sudsier, or had a touch of yeasty bitterness it would go down a lot easier.

It's really not that unpleasant to drink, just so uninteresting as to forget to finish the glass. On tap at Neighborhood in San Diego.

Light bready pils malt aroma, with pear esters, spice, and a tiny bit of funk. No hop aroma. Slight whisp of alcohol as it warms.

Pours brilliant dark copper with a one-finger off white head. Short lasting. No lacing. Thin foam, moderate carbonation.

Fruity pear esters, and strawberries. Toasted sweet malt flavor. No hop bite. Very mild bitterness in the finish. Good balance. Some vinous flavors a bit reminiscent of grapes. Could be slightly oxidized.

Medium body. Smooth, delicate feel. Crisp dry finish and moderate carbonation. No astringency.

Very enjoyable. My first venture in the style. I will try others.

 

This pours a golden amber color with a nice bit of head retention.
There’s a funky aroma to it that's contrasted with a lightness on the palate. Bit of a funky funk finish, but overall not terribly complex and not one I’d try again for the price. Pass.

 

 

750ml into a tulip. Pours a gorgeous crystal clear amber copper, minor dense cream colored head was short lived, minnor lacing

Aroma is of honey candied fruits. No earth, nothing rustic.

Taste has a mellow citrus tang curled around its sweetness. Short lived aftertaste evaporates quickly. No flavor asserts, would pair well with delicate food. Near zero bitter nor dry. Pleasantly bland. Light bodied mouthfeel.
cheers
jd

Source/Serving: 750mL bottle, Expires 12/21/11

S: Sweet malt character with heavy toasted biscuit, prune caramel, tart stale red wine, red wine cork and a little hay around the edges. Definitely a nice amount of musty/earthiness balanced against some marzipan and even alcohol (@5.9%, wow). Once you get past the sweetness it has a lot of depth.

T: Quite sweet up front with predominant grape syrup/caramel for almost the entirety of the sip. Slight sour/tart character along with some butter/ almond nuttiness, and lightly floral noble-esque hops which briefly show off some bitterness on the way to the finish to stave off the unrestrained heavy malt forward character. Syrupy body with medium carbonation. More warming than expected and alcohol comes through once its warmed just a pinch. Finish is semi-dry but sticky with butter, almond, and some hay/cork with an earthy washed-rind cheese sort of funk that’s not over the top and pleasant.

Notes: Nice sweet-funk flavors, but not dynamic. The beer does get much better and more balanced as it warms, however, and I had to give this some time to start to appreciate it. I'm fairly new to this style and this is a classic so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

A-pours a transparent dark caramel color with a light tan fluffy and bubbly thin head that lingers for a little.

S-the nose is plain and simple of caramel and cooked brown sugar with hints of an herbal hop underneath but hard to detect.

T-flavor pretty much the same, notes of toasted malts with roasted brown sugar and slightly burnt caramel. herbal hay like hops faint in the back.

M-syrupy medium body, chewy with big carbonation in the back.

D-malt foward and simple, nothing wrong with it but nothing at all that makes me want to come back.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a massive capp that draps lace down the sides of the chalice

Smell: Fruity, with apple and plum tones backed up by caramel

Taste: Opens with the apple and plum fruit flavors, but by mid-palate the caramel arrives, bringing along an herbacious element, as well, that adds a slightly tart dimension; after the swallow, the flavors are nicely balanced and linger well into the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Sways a bit to the sweet side for a beer of this style, but still has a nice balanced character; a rather unusual flavor profile and a beer well worth seeking out

Medium copper or light amber in hue, St. Amand carries a glowing haze with an off-white creamy head that retains well but laces little.

Toasty-sweet aromas seem very pilsner-like (think German Dunkels), except with a spicy herbal noble hop pungent scent. Both Earthy and woodsy, the beer has a light musty quality reminescent of cork or sagebrush combined with simple caramels.

Sweeter and spicier flavors prevail. Toasty caramel malts take precidence over the ample hop counterparts (lemongrass, tea-like nutmegs and basil scents). Fruity esters give rise to the plumby, approciot, apple taste that rises after mid-palate and just before the finish. Though spicy and light alcohol dryness in the end, the beer still finishes rather sweet, woodsy, and pleasantly dusty (perhaps from the cork).

The body is medium through and through. Impressions of malt and butter early on seem to linger well into the finish, keeping the beer from the complete dryness that it deserves. Regardless, the beer is quite quaffable and easty to drink.

Delicious and strong, this aged Belgian Amber Ale is often misunderstoon and unfortunately so- Though a Saison-like brightness and dryness is prefered, this on falls just on the sweeter side of the dominant beers of its style.

Poured this 750 mL brown bottle into a Tripel Karmeliet glass. Bottled 4/2/10. Clear but deep copper in color. The head was cream, rich and appealing. A cap remained throughout.

Smell was sweet malts and citrus. Bread and faint yeast.

Taste was peppery. Faintly chalky, dusty. There seemed to be a light metallic twang. Very fruity - maybe fresh plums and apples. Bread crusts. Fairly drying. Subtle bitterness. Well balanced. Seems mellow and well constructed.

Mouthfeel was medium in body. there was plenty of zip but finished smooth.

St.Amand French Country Ale (review #700)

Appearance: Clear and copper in color, good head retention.

Smell. Bready, sweet, chocolate. Malty.

Taste: Malty, with toffee and caramel flavor. Hops are leafy and tobacco like in nature. Nutty and lightly roasted malt profile. Overall light and crisp, muted fruit with a small porportion of noble hops. Very faint sour note. On par for style.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, smooth, ample carbonation and some chewey malt lingering. Finish is dry.

Drinkability: Excellent. Could be classified as an amber ale, but its much more full. A great beer.

a: light ring of whote foam around the top of a dull amber-brown body

s: sweet malts; popcorn; a sour note; light grape; dry wheat

t: very mild but sweet; still that sour note; sweet syrupy malts; warms up with each sip; light saltiness;

m: i feel that this is a little aggressive but is good; light-medium body; limited cloy

d: ok; very mild; could be good with some good foods; worth a try and could make a good pairing