La Moneuse

Brewed by Brasserie de Blaugies
Style: Saison
Dour-Blaugies, Belgium

Serve in Tulip

Copper pour with clarity and beautiful white head with lacing. Yeast, dry body, baked bread, apricot and pear. Peppery hops. Great balance. Very nice.

A hazy orange pour with a lively white froth. Lots of cereal grains in the aroma, but they soon give way to banana esters, clove notes, and a nice yeasty dough profile. Lemon and orange zest follow in the background. The flavor is far better than the aroma would suggest- lemon, orange, fruity dough, and crisp acidity make this a really nice summer quaff. The palate is highly effervescent, making for a pillowy mouthfeel and a semi dry finish.

A: Dark orange-amber body with tons of floaties and sediment. Large eggshell colored head which stood for quite some time before settling to a skim. Spotty lacing. S: Pungent farmhouse funk, horse blanket, yeast, raisins, pepper and freshly cut grass. Overall, the nose caries a decidedly earthy feel. T: Like the nose there is quite a bit of horse blanket-like musty character. Not quite as dynamic in terms of the spice and hops as found in the nose. I’d prefer some more fruitiness here like lemon or green apples. M: Smooth, with lively carbonation throughout. Could use a little more crispness in the finish, nut otherwise quite nice. D: A solid saison with lots of nice earthy/musty character, but by the end it kind of slowed down on me... perhaps the crispness which was lacking lead to the beer not being refreshing at the end of the day.

Aroma of ripe apple, banana bread and sweet cherry. Appearance is caramel colored with light tan head. Flavor matched the nose, with some red grape as well. Palate was bubbly. I thought this beer was good, but not dry or funky enough for a Saison, IMHO.

750 mL bottle, pours hazy orange with a huge white head. Fruity esters dominate the nose, with yeast and citrus. Flavour of spices, light fruity esters, and yeast. Highly carbonated and a crisp finish.

(750ml bottle 2002 vintage thanks to Walt) clear yellow with lasting bubbles. Nose of dust, moldy, musty, florals. Taste of honey, dry florals, sweet cracker, papery oxidation, with a dry pleasant finish. Would love to try this a little fresher. Not sure age did it too many favors but it was still decent.

Bottle from Knightly Spirits. This was sitting in my stash-box from an excursion to Orlando months ago. Pours a massive off-white head over a hazy, effervescent orange body. The nose is sweet and musky with honey and dusty yeast. Flavors are sweet upfront with more notes of honey, starfruit, biscuit, and an alcoholic burn in the back. Medium body and lively carbonation. This is generic for the style, but very well done.

750 corked bottle poured into tulip. To my disappointment, I realize I have bought a green-bottled beer. I didn’t even notice until I poured my first glass. What the hell is wrong with these supposedly world-class brewers? Do they not know any better? Green/clear glass = skunk! Come on now! I know this as an amateur homebrewer. How is it that these breweries with centuries-old brewing traditions don’t? A definite skunk odor is apparent as soon as I pop the cork. I’m hoping this will go away after it sits a bit, so wait.........okay it’s mostly gone after about 5 minutes or so, but still lingering in the background. What remains is a dusty, fruity, old-smelling beer, with a faint Brett tang. Pours a hazy golden amber with a large retaining head with some sediment floating around in the glass. Lace is alright. The taste is very average, as well. It’s kind of bland. It’s a moderately sweet beer with no bitterness and just a faint tang. Carbonation is pretty high. Body is full. A somewhat interesting barnyard-like aftertaste is apparent. Overall, it’s hard to see why this beer gets such a higher ranking than the clearly superior beer I had before this, Avery’s Fifteen. I think if I had this at the brewery from a tap rather than from a green bottle it would probably impress me. Instead, what I have here is a bland beer in which the bottler’s choice in glass clearly marred my experience in enjoying this. One other final note: this bottle was like a slow-moving geyser. From the time I popped the cork until about 20 minutes into drinking the damn thing, foam was spilling over the lip of the bottle constantly. I had to set the bottle on a dish towel.