La Gauloise Blonde
Brasserie Du Bocq

 

 

330 ml stubby bottle, as Bocq Gauloise Blonde, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.3%, Ext.Sec .Prim. 14,0%. Hazy pale yellow colour, huge white head. Nice fruity and mildly spicy aroma of Belgian ale yeast, some grassy and herbal hops too. Mild and slightly spicy flavour, some light fruit too, high level of carbonation, refreshing.

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Dark gold/pale amber, poured with a minute amout of haze and 3mm white head. Looking at the bottle it seems this had been rested long enough that pouring 'like a non bottle-conditioned beer' I was lucky to leave most of the sediment behind. Holds up pretty well and leaves some lacing on the way down.
S- I get a glimpse of 'somewhat bright, Belgium-y' then nothing else.
T- Tastes how it smells but now somewhat clearer. Seems like 'Belgan notes', but rather than bringing any fruit notes it seems to be notably quite hoppy-dry instead.
F- Pretty hoppy-dry but almost compensated by having some meat (malts) on it's bones for body. CO2 in the mouth is good.
O- It's different in that you can tell it has a decent ABV%, a quite solid feel bringing richness, and yet it has quite prominent hops. For me it doesn't quite work, the hops are a bit too prominent for me, and I don't get any of the Belgian ester-y (fruit/etc) notes. I can certainly finish it, but it's not what I was expecting nor would buy again.
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed!
330ml bottle £2.95 BB: 13/02/2022 Bought from BeautifulBeers/BurySt.Edmunds as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.

 

330ml bottle from Beers of Europe (£2.59):
Clear golden with plenty visible carbonation & a 2cm, foamy white head that had good retention. It's a lively nose with some yeast, spices & pepper initially along with background fruits & grassy hops. It's definitely floral on the nose whilst the taste is similar, lots of fresh fruits & herbal flavours with a bit of spice on top of a lively & strongly carbonated body that has an effervescent feel. I got a few hints of citrus & more of the Belgian yeast from the nose, but overall the balance is too & it's crisp but relatively easy to drink.

Bright golden solid color with a thick thin head with short retention.
Sugary and herbaceous aroma with notes of Belgian yeast, candied sugar, a bit of medicine, apple puree, banana, cloves and herbaceous.
Flavor with notes of candied fruits, orange marmalade, banana, cloves, herbal hops, medicine, lemon drops and bubblegum. Dry aftertaste with a mild bitterness.
Light to medium body with appropriate carbonation.
Decent Belgian Blonde Ale with all the expected range of flavors for the style.

 

 

 

Meh.

A Lidle store just opened in our community. It's pronounced like "needle". It's a German grocery store, and it's claim to fame is that it has its own store brands that are as good as the real thing. I like Monster Energy, and they have a knock off, Mega Energy, that is better tasting than Monster. They have knock off Budweiser and Heineken if you like sewage. And they import a variety of German beers. This is one of them.

It's ok. It's cheap. It has 6.3S% alcohol in 11 oz. bottles so you can get stoned if you drink enough. I'm not going to sit here and sing alabanzas about it, but it stands up there with any craft ale but at a much, much lower price, if that means anything to you.

From Alcampo. In Grimbergen glass. Watching MacFarland. Typical notes of a belgian pale ale well balanced, smooth and with the alcohol well hidden. However, ends a bit drier than Id like. Miss sweetness

 

Looks great, although a touch tart on the old nasal passages, once in the trap, this blonde is a real goer! A foaming head which sticks, and slightly sweet with a hint of caramel about it, a real thirst quencher at 6.3%. It is definitely a Leffe blonde beater for a lowly priced beverage.

My advice is to stock up on this when you see it, and save for a summers day beer session.......that said I seldom stock up on anything before it gets quaffed!

 

From the bottle, it pours a hazy amber with a moderately large head that remains awhile. A bit of yeasty bread in the nose. The flavor is light and bready. Easy drinking Belgian with a bit of a kick.