Charlevoix Brune

Brewed by Microbrasserie Charlevoix / Le Saint Pub
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Baie-St-Paul, Canada

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Bu en fut (12oz) le 8/11/08 à Brouhaha. Brune acajoux très foncée, peu de collet. Arome de petit fruit épicé, orge malté doux. Goût comme l’arome mais plus fort, sensation d’alcool réchaufant plaisant. Une délicieuse création de MBC!

ON tap at Brouhaha. The color is a dark brown with a thick beige head. The aroma and taste are of spicies malt and sweet caramel, with someberries added. The alcool % gives it a nice warming finish that makes you feel goooood.

On tap at Brouhaha, cloudy dark brown hue, with some reddish highlights, and a frothy tan-colored head, yeasty, fruity, spicy nose of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, with some black cherry, pruney, raisiny esters, with a chocolatey, toasted, caramelized malt aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, fruity, spicy character of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, with some black cherry, pruney chocolatey accents, with a toasted malt, brown sugar sweetness, leading towards a fruity, raisiny, warming finish.

On tap, Saint Bock. Admittedly not the Charlevoix that I had hoped to try while here in Montreal. Nevertheless, poured dark brown with a small head, with an aroma full of malt, roasts, and vanilla. Flavor featured a variation on the aroma, but included one crucial ingredient that was different from the aroma: fruity hops. In fact I was struck by how much of a hoppy presence this beer maintained while being unquestionably brown by nature. As such, I managed to make out ripe fruit all while noting the roasted character of this brew. Pretty good, but alas, a bit confusing.

Verre de 6 oz, d’un fût au Pub Brouhaha. Arômes de réglisse et de chocolat. Robe brune foncée, peu de mousse, effervescence moyenne. Assez ronde en bouche, la réglisse est très présente mais s’intègre bien au malt chocolaté et au côté sucré et liquoreux de la bière. On note également des touches de noix et l’alcool crée une finale vaporeuse et réchauffante. Une bière à siroter un soir d’hiver.

Note: I’m entering this as Spice/Herb/Vegetable but really I don’t have a clue what this is.
In short: An overly sweet, overly liquorice candy and overly spicy beer of some kind
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Very dark ruby body (almost black) topped by a small beige head
In long: The advertise liquorice and vanilla are both very apparent, especially the liquorice that is omnipresent. The beer is also sweet, too much so for my taste. Toasted cake malts swimming in molasses. I don’t know if the beer is spiced or if it is a derivative effect but it has a very strong spicy flavour somewhat reminiscent of so-called Christmas beers (nutmeg, cloves, etc.). The overly-active carbonation is actually fitting here as I found it helpful in hiding the beer’s abrasive personality. To rank the flavours in order of intensity I’d say liquorice (both red and black liquorice candy), sweetness, spices, molasses, vanilla. All that makes for a very spicy candy-like beer. Ok the first few sips but I had to sip in girlfriend’s pint of Dominus Blanche to clean my palate so I could finish my own pint. People around me seemed to enjoy it quite a bit but I thought if was just too much. This was the seasonal beer during summer 2008 and ironically a successful representation if the big disappointment that the quebec 2008 summer was.