La Vallée de Chevreuse Rotten Skull American IPA

Brewed by Brasserie de La Vallée de Chevreuse
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Bonnelles, France

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Not a particularly exciting beer, nothing distinctive but not a bad american style french IPA. Pours cloudy, honey colour with a big off white frothy head. Reasonably promising nose of butterscotch and caramel, taste not as sweet as feared, but nothing memorable once you’ve swallowed.

Misty brown body with huge pillowy light tan head. Very nice sweet flower aroma, clearly with specific sweet hop mix, alcohol backup without sharpness and lots of caramel malts. Sticky apricots and white grapes. I like it a lot! Taste is of course not sweet at all, luckily, actually quite bitter. Although the mouth feel doesn?t quite justify the alcohol, it?s very still pleasant. Not the most complex of (double) IPA?s but it suits my taste well. Ending is the poorest part of this beer, so I can?t give high marks for palate. But a great start. One if the best French IPA?s I?ve had so far. Keep improving! (33cl bottle from La Moustache Blanche)

Bottle in a hotel room in Paris. Hazy orange-red coloured with a medium sized off-white head. Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel, hops and pine needles. Fruity flavour of caramel, hops and grass with notes of grapefruits and biscuits. Hoppy finish.

Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav’s place. Thanks avrashi. Murky light brown, cream-coloured head. Flowery, honey, honeycomb aroma, tastes sweet, delicate honey and bitter undertones that become dominant while in the mouth.Full body, long and a little skunky finish.

Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav’s place. Thanks avrashi. Murky dark orange-amber. Aroma of stale hops with a bit of floral notes and biscuity malt. Flavor of biscuity and caramelly malt and stale hops bitterness. Medium-bodied. OK but too old.

33cl bottle, BB? can’t read the torn label. Label which by the way is a clear inspiration from Flying Dog’s labels. Orangée toruble, col épais beige. Arôme est extrêmement bien houblonné alternant galaxy et cascade, citronné, pin, résineux, qcq épices le tout étant très épais presque fermenté. Palais est malté avec un houblonné prenant entre citronné/pamplemousse, pin et ce léger côté épicé, sorte de purée de houblon plutôt qu’une infusion ce qui au final rend la bière sympa mais dure à finir. Le tout est épais en bouche, assez sec avec une certaine douceur sucrée qui perdure juste en retrait de l’amertume et houblons. Ok pour moi, mais manque ce petit qcq chose.

Bottle shared. Pours hazy amber orange with an off white head. Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, sweet malts and some booze. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

33cl bottle courtesy of and shared with Kermis. Nice grapefruit aroma. Thick white head. Hazy golden amber pour. Nice zesty taste. A good brew!

4th August 2012
ChrisOs Marvellous Pre GBBF Mega Tasting. Hazy amber beer, little pale tan head. Palate is dry and airy. Good nettley hops with bitter pine. Okay malt base. Dry finish but the hops keep on going.

Bottle at Chriso’s Pre-GBBF Shindig, 2012, London. Pours hazy amber with a strong, white foam head. Sugary malt nose with a bit of caramel. Big sweet flavor, plenty of caramel, some booze, leaves and grass. Medium bodied with fine to average carbonation. Sweet finish with dirt, grass and toast. Meh.