Oc'ale Blonde
Brasserie Oc'Ale

 

I tasted this initially poured by the brewer himself, Jack Scourmont, at a food & drink salon in Paris.

This beer pours clear, but it comes with a thick layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle...be careful when pouring. The bright white, billowy head that lingers and forms uneven patches over the beer.

The smell alone is fantastic, with a well-balanced aroma of lightly toasted malt, grassy, fruity hop aromas, and a well-chosen yeast component as well. More beer-y than bread-y.

Tastes sour and bitter up front, which both fade under a coat of light malted barley and other grains (wheat, oats?) and a very slight fruity ester component (pear, maybe banana, but not too much). The mouthfeel is a lingering one, all of your tastebuds are well entertained after a taste of this. There's a bit of alcohol heat on top of it all too, but it's not too imposing.

This is a well built French craft beer very worth trying. Perfect for a before dinner beer, or served along with pub fare like fish and chips or a tasty sandwich.

Beer bottle (50cl), tasted in 2007.

Appearance : golden clear color, with white foamy head, dense, creamy, long persistence, malt (barley and oats a little)
Smell : cereals and grass aromas, but also with notes of honey and fresh fruit.
Taste & Mouthfeel : a generous attack, ample, well lining the palate. The bitterness moves very quickly, a real concert fruity, grassy with honey notes. The structure is impressive, giving a length and a remarkable persistence.
Drinkability : still a very good beer from the brewery Oc'ale.

Sampled from a 750ml corked and caged bottle purchased in Lille, France.

Poured a cloudy, hazy pale yellow color with a big, frothy white head. The lacing was a bit spotty, but clung defiantly in small ridges all around the glass.

Aromas fled from the glass like the prisoners from the Bastille during the revolution. Powerful wafts of citrus, honey, coriander, wheat, white pepper, spicy hops, and grain all dance together and fill the nostrils perfume and send the olfactory lobe spinning in delight. I felt a tingling in my nose as if my cilia where applauding with delight.

The taste was nearly as wonderful and definitely did not disappoint. Flavors of citrus, slightly sweet malt, orange, and honey splash on the front of the tongue. Then hints of of white pepper and spicy hops build as it finishes with a slight bitterness with hops that marry with wheat, yeast, and citrus again. The mouth feel is great as bubbles and flavors run around your tongue and mouth. Finish very smooth with hops and spice still dancing on your tongue.

A wonderful find and well worth the added weight coming home.