Le Cheval Blanc Abt

Brewed by Le Cheval Blanc
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Trappist glass

Bottle at brewpub, 7$. Reddish amber ale with a thick creamy off-white head. Sweet caramel aroma with nice fruity notes, green apples and pears, and light strawberries. Nice sweet candi sugar, tingling spices, with prunes and caramel, and nice alcohol warmth. Rich and smooth. Very good for the CB!

Bubblegum and dark pit fruit battle with thick, toffee-like malts in the alluring, yeasty aroma. Clear mahogany brown body is topped with a low, dense, off-white head that lasts nicely and leaves some light lacing. Raisins, plums, dark brown sugar and caramelized wort in the flavour with only the slightest hints of alcohol. Full body is rich and thick with moderate carbonation that awakens the taste buds. Definitely one of the best beers I have yet tried from the Cheval! Bottle at the brewpub.

The Lure:
A slowly receding ample head tops the signature Cheval Blanc yeasty, fruity esters. Banana whispers and orange peel emanate from the faint sweetness.

The Festivities:
A spritzy carbonation and an approachable fruitiness reminiscent of figs and sweetened black grapes conjure up an easy drinking, cleanly brewed quad. Alcohol is expertly hidden under the apparent peppery yeast which coats the back of the upper palate after a few sips. Roastiness emerges as well in the long run, but all fades into a feeble, medium-dry aftertaste. Right on style, but in a world of greatness this one would need more sweet caramel and chocolate malt heaviness to attempt competition with the monastic masters.

Transcendence:
A new disciple eagerly seeking wisdom. Alas, only patience and practice will yield sagacity.

Garnet hue is immediately covered by a sheet of beige foam that slowly dissipates. 12oz bottle. Immediately sweet and malty nose bringing out the hazelnut and dark fruits topping (cherry, grape, prune, apple) over the toffee and chocolate dessert sweetness. Soft alcohol undertones warm the belly without any burn. A vast dose of residual sweetness, despite the strenght, seems to shield us from the dryness that tries to kick in. Not the most refined example, but perhaps a bit of age could round the edges and let their pleasant yeast turn that racy sweetness into a more vinous and complex specimen.

Cuivrée allant vers le rouge. Faible mousse beige et diminuante n’adhérant pas à la paroi du verre. À la température de service, la première évidence aromatique rappelle la vieille glace d’un tout aussi vieux congélateur. En se réchauffant, on y retrouve un peu de curaçao, une honnête dose d’alcool et une signature de levure s’accentuant rapidement. Flaveurs de raisins bleus, plus tard de raisins secs, de dattes et d’alcool. Finale métallique de type cuivre oxydé, sans être trop provoquant. En bouteille, 341 ml, au pub, le 7 Juin 2005.