Court Avenue La Fou

Brewed by Court Avenue Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Des Moines, Iowa USA

Serve in Tulip

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Fobab VI. Pours a hazy gold, nose is quite funky, nice use of the Orval yeast. Has a nice oakiness to it, but the body is far too thin for my liking. Not super sweet, found it quite dry, actually. Some spicy hops and grain, though quite clean. Pleasant.

Tap @ the brewpub. I am surprised how poorly this is scoring with others. I thought that it worked well. Its a hazy slick looking golden color. The medium sized head fades slowly. Aroma had lots of dry oak coming through and a light alcoholic red grape in it. Taste is a dry oak infused, lightly Belgian sweet, and again an alcoholic wine ting to it. I enjoyed drinking it, I thought the disparate aspects were all well represented.

Man, the description of this has had me excited about this for months. I got to try it and I have to say that while it’s an all-right beer, it was a mild letdown. I’d really dig a fully fermented bottle conditioned version of this because I would think it has maturation left to go. Pours a light blonde with almost no head and not much in the way of carbonation. The aroma is sweet and mildly spicy, some floral notes but in a kind of perfume sweet floweriness.. Flavor seemed a little one dimensional, a little sweeter than I prefer with immediate notes of pineapple and some vanilla like oakiness, some hop spiciness for balance and a little wine like flavor rubs off, but largely the sugary sweetness gets in the way of the complexities. Like I said I’d love to see this at its full potential, because I feel like there is plenty.

FoBAB 2008, Chicago: Saison? According to the description, "as it was fermented with the Orval yeast strain, and that’s generally what Orval is considered." Since when? Anywhat - This brew poured a slightly hazed gold body with a thin white head. The aroma was like spicy cotton candy. The flavor was sugary sweet, grainy, and fruity. Very light touch of grassy hops. In all fairness to this beer, I should state that I had an Orval with my breakfast before the festival, and that’s a real tough one to match up to.

UPDATED: JUN 23, 2011 Rerate in 2011, this is much better than I recall. Nice and sweet with some hay. Original rate follows ans close, but I like more now. A hazy dark gold body with a lightly off white head. The aroma was rich with apples and some musky perfume. There was also some hay. The taste was apple core with some leather and hay. Apricot hides in the finish. The finish has very apparent alcohol. Overall, this is too sweet and boozy for my tastes. This smooths out as you drink more. More like a half done tripel with a little bit of saison mixed in.

Draft at the brewpub. Poured a slightly hazy golden-light orange color with a limp white head. Served in a tulip glass. Nice enough aroma of subdued banana, cereal grain, grass, and a whiff of caramel. Light bodied and slightly sweet. There was also a refreshing touch of acidity. The flavor was profile was complex and fruity with a decent malt backbone. I tasted banana, unripe apricot, lemon, and tart orange peel. There was also a hint of clove and a splash of white wine. A fresh malty cereal grain flavor supported the fruits throughout and strengthened at the end. As far as ABV goes, I would guess it was all of 6.2% (and probably then some). All in all I liked this beer.

Pours golden with a thin white head. Slight green apple flavor is sweet and a little tart. Nice beer to eat with. Aroma is sweet fruity with some hints of yeast character. Foamy mouthfilling feel with a nice dry tart lingering feel. Solid.

GABF ’07. Pours clear yellow with a small, frothy, white head, lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (hay, straw, meal), average hops (herbs, grass), average yeast (sweat, horse blanket) with notes of pear. Light bodied, thin texture, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, light acidity and bitterness.