Benelux Pollux

Brewed by Benelux Brasserie Artisanale
Style: Smoked
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

[on tap at brewpub] Nice aroma of smoke balanced by mocha. Almost clear light garnet under a lasting, white cover. Smokey flavour that is not overly so, with nice milk chocolate and faint coffee; potent roasted hazelnuts--tasty! Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, moderately sweet finish.

In short: A moderately smoked lager with lots of cereals, nice dryness and a strong hop bitterness. Original and good.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Clear amber body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Nose is moderately smoked with notes of whole-wheat cookies. Taste is very toasted grainy/crunchy malts with a crackers sensation, some caramel and bran cookies. That beer really packs a lot of cereals. A very light note of red fruits. What’s surprising about this one is that it is very hoppy and bitter which is a bit unusual for this style. Long finish with resinous and woody hops bitterness. Also Overall quite tasty. Not a by-the-book beer, this is an uncharacteristic Smoked Lager. Yet another good beer by Benelux. This brewpub comes up with great new beer more easily than Boy George comes up with new hit-songs. A lot more easily.

En fût. Verre de 12 oz dégusté directement à la brasserie. Arôme: Légère odeur de fumée. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée. Présence d’un mince col beige mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel légèrement fruité et de fumée. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de bacon fumé en arrière goût. (Rating #2723)

Une pinte sur place. Belle bière ambrée avec une mince couche de mousse blanche. Elle dégage au nez des arômes fumés agréables, un peu d’iode et surtout l’odeur des moules fumées. J’aime cette odeur. En bouche la bière mince mais présente, bon goût fumée, on est loin du bacon, tout en subtilité. 7/10

Amber pour. The aroma is lightly smoky and a little bit fruity. Sort of toasty and a little bit of smoke and some heavy sweetness. A touch of cherry character. It’s nice.

On tap at the brewpub. Very soft smoke in the nose, and the pour was a fairly thick and lustrous amber, indicating a very good base beer. Thick and a trace oily on the palate, with playful hops, wood, and fairly unassuming malts. The mild smoke was therefore just another component in a solid but unassuming brew.

My Bottom Line:
Firm beechwood smokiness dominates this Rauchbier’s lean body, before prickly effervescence and spicy, wooden hops reach their peak alongside this aforementioned smoke.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the nearly translucid amber.
-The mouthfeel is made for easy drinking, yet I can’t say it has that Franconian softness and fullness that can make this style so endearing to me.
-The smoky and hoppy finish is quite long.
-The base malts can be found under the beechwood smoke, but their contribution to the flavor profile is subtle.
-The smoke character is almost dry and not meat-like. It could make me salivate more.

On tap at the brewpub.

A beautiful reddish with a thin lacing off white head. A light smokey and oily aroma, with light smoked herring. In mouth, a lightly smoked lager, with more wooden notes, smoked beef, light lactic points, light and quaffable. On tap at brewpub Oct. 31 2009.

Cask Days 2011. Serviceable smoked beer. Dark colour. I like this style, and it’s a decent go at it.

Cask at Cask Days 2011. Beer #25 of festival and my last. Pours a really deep ruby-brown with a small lasting bubbly off-white head. Pleasant lightly smoky and fruity aroma. Flavour of light smoke, lightly toasted malt and dark fruit. Average bodied. Pretty good, an easy-drinking version of the style.