St Feuillien Blonde

Brewed by Brasserie St-Feuillien / Friart
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Le Roeulx, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Pours a somewhat hazy golden color with a small white had. Nice Aromas of tropical fruit, spices and floral hops. Much of the same flavors. Medium-light body with a sweet finish. This is about the lightest Belgian Strong Ale as I’ve had; it’s an easy drinker but not one of the better beers of this style.

The aroma of this beer is, to an old beer head, way over the top. A confusion of bubble-gum, banana, honey and fruits from this and other planets. However, to a beginning craft beer drinker, this could be the perfect intro beer (dare i say ’gateway drug’?) The color is a reassuringly familiar yellow-straw and the head persists. It’s a little thicker on the palate than industrial beer and the finish-a honey/tart sort of thing-persists long enough to impress.

Nice and smooth; a wonderful pear taste, a sweet blonde! Nothing to say. Of curse its great to celebrate the beginning of the evening... I would say that its a sort of "intro beer" I like it because reminds me a fruit juice and you will drink it over and over without getting bored!

Bottle 33 cl @ Karhisma Birroteca (Piedimonte Matese, Caserta - Italy). When people without a specific cognition of craft beer ask me to serve them a "sweet blonde", it’s ever not so easy. How much sweet a beer for a young palate should be? Well, I think that St. Feuillen Blonde resolve much kinda problem. Probably not outstanding, not extraordinary, and surely many belgian blondes are better, but hey... to be unpretentious, and head people to other beers, this achieve the "searchin’ sweetness" goal. Color is perfectly clear, blonde/orange with just a finger for head; aroma is full of pear, candy fruit, candy sugar, spices, apricot and grapes. Alcohol is very well hidden, and carbonation is medium to high. Have a sip, and prepare yourself to make your palate overwhelmed by spices, sugar, star fruit, candy fruit again, orange, floral, jelly, in particular those who fizzle tongue long and long. Finish is moderately bitter, halfway between lemon and bloody orange. I repeat: common, maybe boring, but many people are just in search of that.

Bottle shared in a small tasting at home, thanks to the lovely retired couple we met in Namur who invited us for coffee and gave us the bottle :) Pours cloudy golden with a thin layer of foam. Bread, wheat, warm aroma, and creamy-salty, sour taste. Medium bodied, oily and rather flat. The acquisition was more interesting than the beer.

Had at rattle with Annie. Pour is very light color with frosty head. Smell is slight citrus. Taste of citrus with a little malt.

11.2oz bottle poured into a goblet. Pours a slightly hazy orangey-gold with a rock solid white head. Head retention and lacing are absolutely outstanding. Smell is quite yeasty with some orange and coriander notes. Also a little grassy and flowery. The taste picks up on quite a bit of honey along with orange and coriander. Some apple is present along with banana. The beer finishes quite try with just a light bitterness. Carbonation is very high on this one leading to a prickly mouthfeel that is just a little bit too much. Overall a decent beer although better examples of this style are out there.

Bottle 750ml @ gunnfryd
Pours hazy golden with a white head. Aroma has notes of malt, dried fruits and sugar. Taste is meidum sweet and light bitter. Body is medium, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft.