The French Connection - Noir

Stillwater Artisanal
Brewed at La Brasserie du Pays Flamand
Style: Brown Ale
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Shaker

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33cl bottle. When popped, starts to slowly creep up the neck so a quick - though not rushed - pour is needed. Poured into an oversized (61cl) wine glass. The glass is filled completely with a frothy, fluffy, beige-colored foam. There’s a drop of dark wooden brown liquid on the bottom. The beer left in the bottle still wants to get out so have to keep pouring at intervals if you don’t want a wet counter. Aroma is quite chocolatey. There’s some roast, caramel and yeast there as well. Light tones of piney and somewhat fruity hops. Taste is semisweet. Roasted with some yeast and general spiciness. Toffee, chocolate confectionery. Wooden finish that’s a bit unpleasant. Aftertaste is coffee with wooden notes, not unpleasant. Palate is light and quite carbonated.

4th January 2013
THE stout tasting Pt1. Thanks to Leighton for this one. Clear dark brown beer, good pale tan head. Light airy palate - a bit over carbonated. Mellow malt with a subtle dark chocolate streak. Mild smoke and quite a lot of bitterness. Long bitter aftertaste. Overall a bit harsh.

Bottle at The Stout Tasting Part I, London as a palate refresher - one of my contributions. Pours black-brown with a creamy, tan head. Semi-dark malt nose, some faint dusty roast. Light to medium sweet flavor with dusty cocoa, light earthy bitterness. Medium bodied with average to high carbonation. Moderate earthy bitter finish, dirt, bitter and dusty cocoa, faint burnt wood. A bit too bitter. So so.

(33 cl bottle from Saveur Bière; Lot #402; BBD: November 2013) Pours black, with extremely huge, tan head. Bottle is a serious gusher and the head on this beer is a seemingly untameable beast. Aroma is malty with notes of nuts and caramel. Soft carbonation, medium body, oily texture with a dry, warming finish, which probably comes from the hops and abv. Flavour follows the aroma mostly but is somewhat bitter for a brown ale. I guess this is the American variety. I like the Kama Citra as the fruity hop somehow merges well with the brown sweetness but in this one the hop seems to provide mostly bitterness and perhaps some acidity, which I find somewhat demanding.

Bottle @ THE Stout Tasting. The pour’s deep brown with a MASSIVE head, some gushing. The nose is rotting wood, mild vomit, some chocolate and general roasty aromas. The taste is more bitter chocolate, toasted tobacco leaf, light bilous sourness. Medium body. Overall, not great.

Palate cleanser (of sorts) at THE stouts tasting - part 1. Thanks Leighton. It pours very dark brown with a massive beige head. The nose is varnish, dark fruit (plum, prune and the like), roasted malt and coffee. The taste is wood, light sourness, dark fruit, varnish, roasted malt, toast and wood with a dry finish. Medium body and lively carbonation. Can’t say I love it.. don’t think those sour notes should be there either.

Une belle bière, un goût très prononcé avec de la présence en bouche. Un fort goût de café. L’étiquette est très jolie, on dirait un film de Tarantino.

Bottle 33cl from Saveur-Biere.com// Appearance: Black beer with thick foam. Aroma: Grilled malt/roasted, hoppy. Taste: Very hoppy, well balanced. Concerning the message below. Indeed La Brasserie du Pays Flamand, is from France not from Baltimore but I think, it was a little mistake because it is a collab beer with Brian Stillwater who is from Baltimore.

Bottle 33cl, a dark beer with gushing, so very huge off white head. Nose is fruity and roasted. Aroma is intense on black coffee, ashes and spices. Alcohol is a bit burning, intense bitterness, a bit acrid, finish is very hopy too on the bitter side, very unbalanced and dry, phenolic finish.

Color: dark black beer with expensive brown head. Smell: bread, coffee, caramel and malt. Taste: vanilla, malt, caramel, alcohol. Aftertaste: bitter.