Gavroche

Brewed by St. Sylvestre
Style: Bière de Garde
St. Sylvestre-Cappel, France

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

Bottle 330ml. Delicious beer. Aromas of vanilla, toast, chocolate, and alcohol. Taste is sweet, with bitter notes; long and warm alcoholic finish. Creamy palate, medium-to-full body. Brown, with a creamy white head.

11.2-oz bottle Phillipes, Lafayette, LA - Aroma: sweet, earthy, musty (no cork), fruity, spicy; Appearance: clear, reddish-amber color with a fluffy off-white head, lots of laces; Flavor: caramel sweetness, salty, bitter, smokey, dried fruit, cheery, peppery; Mouthfeel: medium to full bodied, lively carbonation, bitter-dry finish; Overall: a wonderful farmhouse beer with a malty backbone balanced with estery and phenol fermentation complexity with a refreshingly smokey-dry finish.

Tons of creamy head sit atop this beautifully aromatic French Red Ale. Thick lacing. Some warming in the throat from the alcohol, but overall it plays well and doesn’t overwhelm the beer’s amazing flavors. Malty, yeasty, sweet, full bodied.

Really awsome beer. I would say a pure taste beer. No food, no exageration, just degustation. I really liked that one. Fall beer (as in the season not the action lol)

UPDATED: MAY 22, 2009 2,79, I think, for a 33cl bottle. Bought today, the best before date is 07.03.10 but I don’t know when it was bottled... Not 300 ratings yet; I thought it was a more widely available beer since it is pretty easy to find in Quebec imaginary country. I’m not familiar with the "biere de garde" concept as it could just be a belgian strong ale to me, even though it is french. The aroma is discreet, with notes of caramelised malt. The taste is much more to my liking than what I remembered. Dominant sweet notes, caramel alike, bitter, sour and spicy notes, pretty complex, lasting aftertaste. Very carbonated (it made a mess when I opened it; be careful). Very enjoyable. 7-3-8-4-16. Added: Bought one with the date 05/07/09 on it today (I don’t know if it means it has just expired or if it is for july) and this one was really sweeter, smoother, thicker, well really better. It even deserves a higher rating to me... Close to amazing

330mL brown glass pry-top. Back label dated BB 07.03.10. Bought at Super Marché Rahman in Montreal. Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass leading to 2 fingers or off-white creamy head atop a cloudy brown brew. Nose: Rather muted with some slightly sour stone fruit notes, some light caramel and milk chocolate notes. Almost like chocolate covered cherries. Palate: Medium bodied and with crisp/sharp carbonation. Lots going on here. The chocolate covered cherry thing continues and is met with strawberry and light toffee/butteriness. The palate is really sharp at first, but as the carbonation releases the taste buds, they are overwhelmed with fruit and dark candies. Notes: Had no earthly idea what to expect from this beer. I bought it simply because it was from French Flanders. Stunning beer. Wish we could get it here.

341 ml bottle, best before Jan 2008, from Metro Joanette in Verdun, Quebec (May 2006), served at cellar termperature in a Maudite snifter. A big fizzy pop goes the cap, and a huge stream of foam fills, the glass, off-white and frothy/large-bubbled, subsiding slowly and leaving generous snowflake lacing atop the oily whisky-colored liquid.....there is a light whiff of skunk from the bottle, but it’s quickly subdued by a hugely yeast, lightly caramelized-malty aroma with lots of fresh grasses and a bit of orangepeel....the flavor is quite delicious, lightly smoky and thick with caramel, a perfectly realized balancing act between sweet malts, sour yeast, and mineralic undertones that become fairly strong later in the game....strong yet supple mouthfeel also provides plenty of spice as you let the scintillating liquid pleasure your tongue, anise and oregano, orangepeel and coriander and a touch of pepper and seaweed....marvellous and transporting.

very yeasty and good. moderate sourness doesn’t become chunderous. very full in the mouth. hint of garam masala and cinnamon. some olive juice. impressive