Benelux Cigogne

Brewed by Benelux Brasserie Artisanale
Style: Pilsener
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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Tried at Benelux during my visit to Montreal. Crisp, clean, and everything you want a pils to be. Tasty stuff, with grassy hops and a clean finish. Nice brew.

Un verre sur place. Bière dorée avec une superbe couche de mousse blanche et crémeuse. Cette mousse est durable. Le nez est frais avec des notes de grains marqués. La bouche est aussi marquée par le grain, le maïs. Cette bière est facile et rafraichissante, agréable. Une amertume houblonnée en fin de bouche rend cette bière bien digeste. Malheureusement le grain est trop présent et il semble que c’est seulement mon échantillon qui présentait cette caractéristique.

(Un bon verre sur place) Un liquide jaune pas tout à fait translucide. Une tête mousseuse blanche qui résiste. Une présentation soignée. Un nez qui me plait beaucoup avec des herbes parfumées et des fleurs citronnées. Des malts pils qui développent un fin profil granuleux. Dans la deuxième moitié du verre, un aspect malté beaucoup plus arrondi. Des saveurs emballantes. Une indéniable fraîcheur dans cette froide journée d’hiver. Un aspect craquant des céréales. Une présence notable des houblons : des fleurs et des herbes qui secouent les papilles. Une bouche de moyenne densité avec l’agréable sensation des bulles qui chatouillent la langue. Une texture qui me semble crémeuse. Une finale amère et longuement parfumée. Une superbe proposition.

Clear golden colr, with a white head, mild hubba bubba grape bubblegum yeastiness, soft grassy, leafy, herbal saaz hop nose, with a mild fresh cut hay, light honeyed pale, pilsener malt note in the aroma follows through on medium-bodied palate with a nice crisp, mild flowery peppery, leafy, grassy, citrus rind hop character with a light buttery honeyed pale, pilsener malt undertone, and a faint herbal leafiness backbone, leading towards a light honeyish maltiness, good lingering saaz leafy, grassy hop bittering finish.

In short: A way-above-average classic pilsner. That simple, that good.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Clear blonde body topped by a small white head
In long: Nose of freshly cut hay, straw and a good amount of dry grassy hops. I really like the malt bill on this one, gull yet light body mixing freshly cut hay, dry hay and straw. Hopping aims for balance and not in-your-face bitterness like many new generation American pilsner. Lemongrass and dry grass with a tiny bit of spiciness. I also got some boiled eggs but that’s not unusual for me when I drink a real lager. Finish is moderately bitter, moderately dry and moderately tart. This beer is as nourishing as it is refreshing. A very nice session beer that I’ll be drinking over and over again this summer. Ah, going out to my local brewpub to drink a nice beer, one of the rare (if not the only) truly pleasurable thing in life that requires me to have my pants on.

A blonde pils with a thin white head. A nice grassy malt aroma, with faint herbal hops, classic. In mouth, a crisp malt with light grainy character, light German hops, smooth and light verring on a lager. Medium bodied. On tap at brewpub, April 21, 2011.

Drank on tap (20 oz) at the brewpub, on April 10, 2011. Blonde straw, thin head. Aroma of barley dry, light and dry Saaz hops. Mild barley taste, not very hoppy, hints of dry herbs, slightly bitter. Light and pleasant to drink!

Tap at brewpub.
Appearance : Clear pale yellow with a small head. Not much lacing.
Aroma : Awesome malt with great citrusy and herbal hops. Light fruity-ish hints coming from malt and hops. Very crisp and refreshing nose.
Taste : Awesome malt with citrusy and herbal hops. Same light fruity-ish notes. Light bitterness on the finish. Not very bitter actually but I like this... it makes it more drinkable than many other pils I’ve had. Awesome sharp finish.
Overall : Wow this was amazing. Really nice malt with really nice hops. Soft carbonation. Very easy drinking and utterly refreshing. More on the German side of pils than Czech. I like the softer bitterness on the finish. It leaves more room for the malt and I find it more drinkable this way. Hop profile is also amazing. I whish I could get 2 pints of this. I also think it got much better after the second half. I think it was served a bit too cold. Can’t stop thinking how good this beer was... Ben : We want this as a regular ;)

Verre de 20 oz, à la brasserie. Arômes envoûtants de houblon Saaz, herbacé et floral. Robe blonde et limpide, belle petite mousse qui tient bien et effervescence moyenne. En bouche, le houblon n’est pas aussi présent que le nez pouvait le laisser penser, mais apporte tout de même d’agréables notes florales. Le malt pilsner montre de belles touches céréalières et biscuitées. Finale bien sèche et délicatement amère. Une très belle bière de soif!

My Bottom Line:
This perfectly balanced Pilsener is the setting for cuddly pils malts and spicy, herbal Saaz in an ever-so-soft, slender body.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sliver of foam tops the clear golden.
-This is finesse personified. All ingredients have room to express themselves, and do so at delicate levels.
-The spicy hop bitterness is well levelled to the rest of the brew’s polite flavor profile.
-The mouthfeel is halfway between Czech Světlý Ležák chewiness and German Pils dryness. A very pleasant world in between.
-The only thing I would have preferred which wasn’t there was natural carbonation. As is, the prickly bubbling took a little too much room for my tastes.
-The aroma really opened up 20 minutes or so after getting the pint as the beer got closer to 10 degrees or so.
-If every quality brewpub had a brew of the sort always on the menu, I’d always begin the evening with at least a pint of it. Alas, only 3-4 pubs in Montreal can say they’ve got a blond lager of this caliber.

On tap at the brewpub.