L'alsacienne Sans Culotte
L'Alsacienne Sans Culotte

 

 

 

 

.33cl bottle acquired in Strasbourg, France, at le Village de la Biere. The label is different than the picture, but has the same picture of the woman, only with a black background that omits the red text on the upper corners, and says only l'alsacienne, without "sans culotte" in red below it. Instead, in red, it just says the brewery name. The ABV on my bottle is 8%, not 6.5%. Consulting their website, this seemed the closest beer, but I'll submit an update for the ABV nonetheless. User input error is more likely than brewery error.

Poured into a Guinness brewhouse series true imperial pint glass in Belfort, France. Reviewed live.

A: Four finger head of very little cream, fair thickness, and above average retention for the 8% ABV. Colour is a nontransparent solid black.

Sm: Caramel and slight toffee. That's all me broken nose picks up. All apologies, lads.

T: Caramel, slight toffee, maybe some nuts, and cream. Sort of a would-be stout approach to the style. Kudos for the effort, but it's unbalanced and not built well.

Mf: Smooth until the midpoint, whereupon it coarsens, and nicely wet. I quite fancy this aspect of the beer.

Dr: High ABV, drinkable enough, and decent quality. Give her a spin, lads.

I thought this was a decently hopped pale lager that was pretty average. It had a pretty gold color, a decent (but short-lived) head, and a pretty light Saaz-y aroma. Flavor was pretty clean and light, with a discernible hop note. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

I had this on-tap at an Alsatian street festival in Antwerp and drank it from a plastic cup along with some flammen kuchen, which was delicious.

I wouldn't steer you away from this beer; it was light and suited this occasion, but it was nothing to write home about.

A - Dark brown, lots of fluffy bubbly head and some visible carbonation.
S - Not a strong smell, only bits of toasty malts, caramel and toffee.
T - Quite sweet at first with lots of tastes of caramel malts, nuts and the typical yeasty taste of a dark Belgian ale. The yeast makes it a bit sour and even bitter in the aftertaste. Not strong, but not unpleasant.
M - Medium to heavy bodied, a very nice mouthfeel, if a bit overcarbonated.

Medium amber with a hint of orange when backlit. Abundant bubbles of various sizes can be seen rushing up to a putty colored cap that looks to be on the sticky side. While I'm not overly impressed with the amount of lace, a smattering of tiny circles, half moons and curlicues manage to find the glass. A thick band appears at mid-glass once the beer falls with drinking. Not a bad look.

The nose is classic Euro pale lager: stale grain and slightly musky hops. It does nothing to grab the drinker's attention; unlike the label, which was clearly designed to do just that. A lack of overt nastiness keeps the score from falling even lower.

My first mouthful was just about what I expected, although the beer is a good bit hoppier than anticipated. L'Alsacienne Sans Colotte tastes like what it is, a higher than usual ABV pale lager brewed with noble hops. It straddes the line between EPL and Euro strong lager, both in terms of ABV and personality. If it was less bitter and more sweet, I might even call it a French malt liquor.

The grassy, peppery hops give it that extra something that it needs to stand out. They can only do so much however, and can't cover up the basic insipidness of this style. If I'm going to drink insipid beer, I at least like to have some alpha acids to chew on and to cut through the graininess.

I would think that a bigger EPL would have a bigger body, but such is not the case. This one is no more than light-medium. Despite a still vigorous amount of carbonation, the mouthfeel lacks excitement. Hey mouthfeel, get in line behind the smell and the taste.

L'Alsacienne Sans Culotte translates as Alsatian (a woman from Alsace) without panties. While this isn't quite a joke beer, it isn't especially good beer either. Unfortunately, the most exciting part of the entire experience, I guessing, is yet to come. As soon as I locate a dime, I'm going to scatch the gold paint off the label to get a glimpse of Fanny's little cartoon butt.

Pours a hazy pale gold color with a modest head that dissipates quickly. Initial hints of fruitiness disappear from the nose once the hops hit the palate. Taste is smooth and balanced with little carbonation. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Appearance: a bright , light gold , with a medium sized white head.

Smell: light maltiness , hint of fruitiness , and just a bit of a milky/pasturized scent.

Taste: more light and crisp maltiness , some very light fruity flavors , average euro lager qualities.

Mouthfeel: slightly crisp carbonation.

Drinkability: definatly very quaffable , light but interestings flavors. Not a bad brew , just a bit light on all of it's flavors.

Pours a two finger white head that fades to a thin layer leaving a some of lace. Almost clear amber color. Light-medium bodied and light carbonation. Nose is vague maybe bread. Starts balanced but not enough flavor some bitterness at finish but boring, label is better than the beer, not the usual for a Belgian. $1.89 for a 330ml bottle from John's Market Tigard, OR.

Appearance—in the glass, not off the bottle—throws a very dirty yellow, ringy and well retaining white head. Chunky sediments of various sizes (yeasty substances) move throughout the glass, reminiscent of fish food tossed into an empty fish tank. Active carbonation, there is some good entertainment so far. The nose is great – some hops and day old bread. Yeasty body, just a tinge on the sour side, medium bodied. Notes of grains and wheat bread. The body reveals fresh lemon peel and zesty hops; kisses of black pepper and coriander. The palate is left in good condition, with a feel of apple pie! This is great stuff, under-rated in my books!

This beer that's almost as hard to pronounce as read the name of on the label pours a clear light yellow color in the glass. A thin fizzy white head forms on top dissolving quickly to a ring around the surface. A fair amount of lace is left behind on the side of the glass.

An aroma of dry malt and corn greets you before each sip. This thin bodied beer is very light on the palate and easy to drink. The flavor is mainly toasted malt and corn with a hint of hops at the end. A mild bitterness remains behind after each sip.

I did not recognize this beer when I bought it so I thought I'd give it a try. It's basically a light lager that's very easy to drink and not packed with flavor. However, unlike the macro lagers this one does not have any "chemical" flavors and is quite refreshing.

Don't be tempted by the tease on the label, she is by far the best thing about this beer. Unless you're collecting bottles, there is nothing good about this beer. Thin, watery, kind of sour. Like Duvel's weak, anemic (step) cousin. If it weren't for the cutesy label, I bet they wouldn't sell any of this!

The bottle reads: "Fannie Says, Bottoms Up". Funny pun for a beer bottle featuring a barmaid with scratch off panties that cover her rump. As fun as this might seem, what's on the outside of the bottle, doesn't improve what's inside. A very un-Belgian tasting Belgian beer. If I had to describe the flavor in one made up word, it would be: "Stella-esque". The appearance is similar to a Pilsener, very yellow, with a white, soapy head that hung around for most of the beer and left a little lace. The smell is faintly malty, with a hint of pocket change, or a bucket of nails. The taste is reminiscent of Heineken I guess, with very light malt and hop flavors. Very little aftertaste. The mouthfeel of the beer is probably the best part of the brew. Very smooth and refreshing, not overly carbonated like it looks. Overall, this beer is a good beer to drink while doing yardwork, or on a very hot day or just for the fun of seeing a cartoon woman's naked ass on your beer bottle.

11 oz bottle purchased at Kappy's on Route 114, Peabody, Massachusetts.

Ok so I bought this bottle soley because of the woman with the raised skirt on the label. Something has always appealed to me about naked women. The bottle was almost free at $1.39.

Looks almost like champagne in the glass, large white head disappeared quickly. Smells of spices. Light, pale taste that leaves the palate clean. Smooth taste. Not a bad brew. Not a great brew, but it does contain nudity, which I strongly encourage.

Purchased single bottle from Martignetti's

Appearance = Clear golden straw colored, head that dissipates quickly

Smell = a sweet malty yeast smell..not much fruit or spice. It is rather pleasant though.

Taste = Disappointing. Light but sour and acidic, not much body or flavor. Almost tastes watered down.

Overall = Not recommended. Very little of interest here although nothing about it that really turns you off. I can't really think of a situation when one would particularly enjoy it.

Is this the lawnmower beer of Belgium or France? The bottle says brewed in Belgium but I've had some French offerings before. This tastes French. Those lads should just stick to the wine. Pale, not much in the nose, tastes almost like a mass produced American brew. Had one that was a tad warm and the gag reflexes kicked in. This one has to be pretty cold to enjoy. The only thing it's got going is the 6.5 abv. At least that's what the BA site says. (There's nothing on the bottle. Very un - Belgian like.) 6.5 is nothing to a Belgian strong ale guy like me and I paid almost $30 for a case. If I had found out that this was a 5 abv or less, I'd have motored on back to the clown that sold me it and thrown it through his window. Not impressed at all.

Very cloudy straw gold color. Slight head. Nose is mainly sweet grainy malt with a touch of spicy, pepper hops.

Taste: Oily, clove-like flavors with some nice vanilla-honey notes. Malt is clean and light. Somewhat fruity, with an apple-like tartness. Creamy texture, with light carbonation.

Is this really a lager? It tastes like an ale to me, with yeast character similar to a wit. Not a bad beer, in my opinion, though I admit I mistakenly thought I was ordering a La Choulette (bought this mail order, site unseen).

For such a cute bottle one could only hope that something good would come out of it.. We will see..

Pours a super pale, crystal clear blonde color with a light white head which leaves a slight lace. Aromas are a mix of limey citrus hops with bready and biscuity tones. Flavors start off bready and citrusy with a yeasty fruity estery flavor in the mix. There is a bunch of lime like flavor throughout with a decently creamy mouthfeel. The finish is super dry with an almost metallic taste to go along with with a slight bitterness. Overall not a bad beer, but nothing to jump out after, even with the woman on the bottle showing off her butt to you..