Benelux Ardente

Brewed by Benelux Brasserie Artisanale
Style: Saison
Montréal, Canada

Draught. Mondiale 2009 - day 2 - at Benelux brewpub. Cloudy deep gold with an average creamy/frothy off-white head. Sweet, grass/clover aroma, quite boozy, with a hint of sweet perfume bitterness. Dusty-dry taste, very spicy and floral - dried flowers, more like - with some fresh clover and milder alcohol presence. Soft, slightly sticky mouthfeel, dry from the spiciness but smooth-finishing. I found my overall impression significantly greater than the individual aroma/taste impressions - well made beer, very, very good brewpub - colour me jealous of Montréal!

Draught at Benelux, Montréal, QC. Pours a hazy golden-orange with a medium size off-white head. Aroma is musty along with yeast, spices, fruit and more. Flavour is nice, spicy and yeasty and somewhat original for the style. Alcohol’s mostly hidden and not really noticeable. Another great Benelux beer!

A hazy blonde golden ale with a super thickk off white head. A very noice herbal malt aroma with light Brett notes and berries. In mouth, a nice grassy malt with light sweet malt with lactic notes, pleasing berries and herbaceous qualities. A wonderful saison. On tap at Mondial 2009.

From the tap at Benelux. Orange, with a small head. The aroma is all spice and rockets (candy). There are more rockets in the flavour, along with the requisite funkiness, a little citrus and some alcohol and herbal hops at the end. They got this one about right.

Tap at Benelux. Pale gold, slightly darker than the Eponyme, but not much. The aroma is fairly spicy and fruity. Much more assertive noble hop character on the nose. Zesty and lightly citrusy... smells like Sterling or Tettnang, but I could be wrong. Very fruity with an initial bursty of citrus and fruity characteristics. Appropriately dry, in spite of the higher strength compared to the Eponyme. Warming brings up some more spicy notes and it develops into a pretty tasty brew. A nice end to this session.

On tap at the brewpub. Appearance: Hazy brown with a tiny white head, some good visible carbonation. Aroma: Musty, orange and spices with some yeast. Flavour: Peppery with cereal/bread, some acidity and citrus notes, slight champagne like yeastyness in the finish.

En fût. Verre de 12 oz dégusté directement à la brasserie. Arôme: Odeur de céréales avec une pointe d’épices et d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est dorée avec une très faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes et d’épices avec une pointe fruitée. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence d’épices en arrière goût. (Rating #2484)

In short: An fruity Saison with an dusty attic character and too much sweetness. Good, not very good.
How: Tap at brewpub and at Montreal Mondial de la Bière 2009
The look: Cloudy orange-blonde body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Nose is pleasantly dusty/musty, like an opening a door of a room that has been locked for years. Taste is rather fruity, thick citrus juice, some orange. Cushiony doughy cake maltiness. In a small sample at Mondial the sweetness wasn’t an issue but at the brewpub I found the sweetness bothersome and didn’t sit well with what the beer wants to be. Probably my least favourite Saison from a brewpub that creates more Saisons than any other pub/brewery I know. But Saison is my favourite style so “enough is enough” is something I’ll never say to that brewpub. Or to a nymphomaniac.