Saint-Germain Page 24 Réserve Hildegarde Blonde

Bottled, thanks oh6gdx! Clear golden with lasting flugffy head. Aroma of mustard, grass and vanilla. Dry and grassy with bready malt notes of fruit and phenols. Low bitterness. An interesting beer with rich and concentrated flavours.

Bottled. Golden colour, no head. Aroma is apple, spices and some earthy notes. Flavour is very much the same along with slightly more fruityness and also wood. Gets better when warming up a bit.

Bottled 75 cl (BB 12/2008)
Golden color, no head. Apple cidery aroma with light spices. Sweetish pear cider -like flavors mixed with harsh maltyness. Actually not very beer -like, more like drinking bitterish cider. Very similar to ambree-version. Flat mouthfeel, no carbonation. Weird.

Objectively speaking: An honest golden ale that hesitates between English and Belgian inspirations.
I like: Appealing citrusy hops. Soft cerealic pale malts, rather fresh, bready, clean. No acidity. Easy-drinking for 7%. Firm-bodied.
I dislike: Limited yeast character, no fruitiness.

courtesy of Laurent Mousson - clear blond colour with a firm white head; slightly buttery and spicy, fair aromatic hoppiness; good malt body, some initial sweetness and a robust bitterness, very lively palate; long hoppy and slightly spicy finish; quite dry - lot of character and very pleasant

My Bottom Line:
This amenable Bière de Garde proposes honeyed biscuits and herbal, peppery hops in a refreshing show of balance and quaffability.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam covers the clear dark golden.
-The body is quite round for its size, but it’s never too sweet, which is appreciated.
-The finish is rather subtle; I would have preferred a slightly firmer hop grip.
-This is very easy to drink and it is quite hard to say it’s near 7% abv.

Bottle.

Bottle, 75cl. It pours a hazy, pale golden-orange body under a decent white head leaving lacings. Quite lovely spice touch in the aroma, citrusy with a pleasant grainy imprint. Yeast notes and a suiting barnyard hint. Really refreshing and quenching with a nice blend of pale malts and citrusy hops. Quite sweet, but that just suits the beer, and the finish is as dry as it should be. Some yeast and a fine bitterness also find it’s way down the throat. Medium to full body, slightly warming and pleasantly carbonated. This was a nice surprise after too many mediocre French beers. 090919

Bottled. Aroma of citrus, mainly lemon but also hints of grapefruit. Sweet, pretty bitter, citrus, well hopped, salty in the finish. Light sticky start but dryish finish. Very well balanced. Is this a Belgian Ale, a Blond Ale or a Biere de Garde. I couldn’t tell but certainly a very good beer.