Abbaye de St Landelin La Divine

Dull golden-beige. Clear (wtf). Whispy head. Perfumey-caramelly character. Fairly simple. The aroma is mainly light caramel, light mushrooms. Far too boring.

Best by date May 2009; Sampled July 2008
A brisk pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a fat two-finger thick, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a clear, lightly red tinged copper hue as it sits on my desk but shows a brilliantly clear, bright gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is sweet with a mix of light pear and sweet malt notes. Grassy grain aromas produce a touch of dried hay, some saltine cracker notes and a touch of biscuit like grain. Mixed in with the noticeable grassiness is a light herbal character that shows that this has a touch of hop character to it. The aroma is about what I would expect from a Bière de Garde.

Lightly sweet up front, but picks up even more sweetness as it rolls across the tongue. This is definitely malt focused for the most part with sweet grain notes, grassy grain flavors, and crushed malt notes of biscuits and light toffee all noticeable. The light-medium carbonation combines with a light hop note to produce a peppery, bitter bite that is noticeable from beginning to end of each sip. This has a fullness to it that envelopes the palate in its velvety texture. Not overly heavy, but it is not a quaffing brew either. This almost has a mint flavor to it that is very light and really only noticeable as it starts to warm up.

This didn’t start out very impressive, but it has certainly developed into a tasty, enjoyable beer as I have been quaffing this. It hits the style pretty well and while it doesn’t cover any new ground, it is well integrated and works nicely. It manages to become more than the sum of its individual components.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Pours gold w/ a tall lasting head reducing to a thin silky sheet. Aromas of malted tropicals. Medium nectar w/ good carbonation. Rich and malty sweet w/ emphasis on banana, pineapple, and nectarine pulp. The finish lingers w/ mild acidic bittering. Some alcohol is revealed in the flavor. A bit brutish and harsh lacking finesse.

750 ml swing top bottle poured a clear amber with a lasting off white head. Aromas of carmel, pear, apple and spice. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of carmel, fruittiness and spice with a smooth lingering spice finish.

A good beer from the north of France. With the base of st landelin, they made a good job in this brew