La Montagnarde [Brasserie Des Rocs Ambree]
Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs s.a.

Blurry pumpkin bronze with a stained yellow, fattened, lasting cap.
Scented of blood orange, spiced rum, pineapple, lilac, green grapes, watermelon, algae, allspice, ginger, and grilled peaches. Yeah, uh, it smells fucking awesome.
It begins through the mouth with a slathering caramel sweetness. This progresses towards dates, green raisins, honeydew melons, and plantains. A cutting Pinot Gris acidity develops, tempered with a sweet Reisling edge. Yeast adds continuous dough and pepper. Spice brings orange rind. Hops hammer in traces of mint and dried grass.
Medium bodied, fully formed with an everlasting, nonobtrusive carbonation.
This is drinkable is cheek-puffing gulps, and fully lives up to the des Rocs standard. This is possibly their most under rated.

Much love unto Bighuge.

RBESG 2006, shared bottle. Hazy amber colour. Lovely vinous aroma with notes of barnyard. Funky and moderately oaky flavour. A very good beer.

 

 

L- Deep amber, a tiny amount of haze (some accreted sediment left in bottle). Pours with 2mm white head.
S- I don't get any smell, very odd esp. for a 9%! Weirder still neither did my wife who invariably notes things where my nose struggles.
T- Curiously 'blah' for a 9%, an ABV which should be a foundation stone upon which to build a 'beer of splendour'. It comes over as pungent, high ABV, maybe a small liquor-ish% note now and then, but the individual elements to the Taste are hard for to divine.
F- Heavy, pungent, a slow-sipping beer.
O- There isn't anything unpleasant I note, just it doesn't seem to be a shadow of what it could be. I mean come on a 9% Belgian beer (think an old school Tripel) should knock your socks off. This has impact but any unique character seems harder to find.
330ml bottle BB: 19/02/2022 Bought from BelgiumInABox (Antwerp/BE) for home delivery to me in London/UK.
ps. the lable has been updated from that pictured (as most beers from this brewery have) from trad style, to outright urban/gritty/graffiti/stencil-art etc...

De Belgiuminabox. En copa Teku. Jugando a Crimson Lilly. De Belgiuminabox. Perfil belga facilmente discernible con ricas notas a frutos secos que la dotan de bastante personalidad

A whole lot of yeast sheisse in the glass. WTF?
Otherways, nice nutty belgian strong ale.

 

330ml bottle
7.5% ABV (as marked on the bottle)
King/Spadina LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
March 7, 2014
The beer pours a light copper colour, murky, with a very thin white head. Aroma is tart fruit, funk, yeast, and some fruit notes. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation. The flavour is sweet, yeasty, with some tart funky notes in the mix. Not on par with the better Abbaye des Rocs BSAs.

Amber colour, medium head and retention, good lace.
Aroma of hazelnuts, caraml, fruits.
Medium body, creamy palatae. Good carbonation.
Taste of hazelnuts, chocolate, dark fruits. Kong alcoholic finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is, as I recall, the first beer I've enjoyed that I could definitely discern a particular candi sugar character. The beer is a very good example of a balanced Belgian Strong Dark Ale and shows how good this brewery is

 

Amber beer with a taste of chestnut. Good taste but disappointed by the aromas

Nice beer of a dark amber color and a big light beige foam.
Sweet and yeasty smell, possible to feel also the hops, toffee, cristalyzed fruits, caramel and just a little bit of chocolate.
Taste is also sweet, possible to feel a bit of the alcohol (still doesn't seems like a 9% ABV beer). Yeast and hops are evident, there are a lot of fruits in the taste too, specially cherry and grapes.
Carbonation is at high level and body is relatively light. Bitterness could be higher.

Hazy amber color with a thick thin head with short retention and apparent carbonation. Some floating particles.
Sweet aroma with notes of caramels, crystalized fruits, some pine, cloves and other spices.
Flavor is sweet but it is relatively well balanced by its hops and alcohol content. Notes of molasses, crystalized fruits, peppery yeast, grape juice, overripe plums, mild ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, guava, Poir, fig jam and honey. Dry aftertaste with a medium bitterness.
Medium body that feels lighter with appropriate carbonation. One great example how to hide alcohol, the 9% abv feels incredibly lower.
Very good Belgian Dark Strong Ale with great complexity bringing lots of fruits, hops, malts and spices to the table. At some point I had to stop searching for more fruits in my palate. Although sweet, all those components make it pleasant and not cloying. Proof that you do not need to add sugar to make a good BDSA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served slightly chilled in a tulip glass, 330 ml bottle at 7.5%. Colour is a dark amber, fairly opaque with a solid dense white head, shows really solid retention.

S- notes of estery yeast, clove and nutmeg, banana/fig notes, some caramelized dark malts with a deep dark spiciness. Light spiced fruit notes like dark banana bread with dark fig caramel.

T- a smooth balanced start, dark brown sugar, full caramel with a nutmeg and cinnamon spice, transitions to some peppermint toward the end. Bring a some pleasant lemony yeast esters throughout which blend nicely, the caramel thickness and sweetness is rich but balanced quite well by the yeast and spicy hop bitterness. Finish is caramel and nutty, salted pecans.

M - full bodied with a pleasant mouth filling creaminess, a crisp and restrained carbonation that works quite nicely. Finishes off crisp, a good balance between a rich brown sugar body and enough carb to make it a refreshing amber ale.

Overall this hits a good balance, and conforms to its style. There is a bit of a dominance. Of the caramel brown sugar but also a pleasant yeast and bitterness but these could be played up a bit, this is an enjoyable Belgian and really good for the price. Some nice lemon yeast, maybe could use a touch of hops. Worth trying for sure.

 

 

Most Abbaye des Rocs offering I've tried started with a bang! - literally, they gushed all over my counter - but La Montagnarde, thankfully, has a more reserved carbonation; its head is barely thick enough to cover the surface but sticks to it like scotch tape. Be sure to leave the last few ounces out, however, if you want to appreciate the beer's pretty caramel colour.

The acidity of a vineyard's soil or which way its slopes face are rarely obvious except to the most perceptive sommeliers; Belgian yeast, on the other hand, makes for bold, distinct characteristics that can be appreciated by anyone with a nose. This particular example has the air of bruised plum and apple as well as highly aromatic spices (i.e., mace, clove).

Even more noted, however, are the honey, brown sugar, and caramel flavours of the malt. It's not easy to out-muscle Belgian yeast but this grain is not only plentiful but layered with toasty-sweet nuttiness and enough toffee to bake with. The result is a beer that tastes like dried fruits and nuts lathered in honey. Delicious stuff.

What's more, some sips are also tossed with spices. It almost reminds me of a sweet-and-spicy bar mix. The spicy/savory element lends an earthiness that prevents the beer (and all its rich, sticky caramel and chestnut honey notes) from becoming too sweet. Indeed, this is impressively quaffable for such a big flavour profile (not to mention 7.5% alcohol).

Belgian ales like La Montagnarde are so distinctive; they are worthy of the same attention gourmands pay to cheese and offer every bit the satiation. Somewhat like a Rube Goldberg machine in that they perform a very simple task (gratifying refreshment) via such elaborate, complex means, offerings like this are the beers to have on permanent stand-by.