Blonde – Perle

Site: http://www.biereperle.com/nos-bieres

Blonde, 5.4%

Comments: A very good alsatian blonde beer. Initial flavours are mainly driven by the hop (apparently the local Strisselspalt variety), with a coppery and metallic finish. Sweetness is well controlled, providing enough balance, but still a very clean beer. Golden in colour, fine white head but no retention.  This would be outstanding on a slightly warm afternoon, and is something I’d be happy to return to next time I’m in Alsace.

Overall score: 7.0/10

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Mondiale – Perle

Site: http://www.biereperle.com/nos-bieres

Strong amber ale, 11%

Comments: You know, when you see a beer coming in at 11%, that this is going to be unusual (particularly coming from an English perspective). According to the bottle, this is a 5-continent beer, with european malt, US and NZ hops, Cote d’ivoire Guinea pepper and chinese ginger. Together, this leads to a surprisingly fresh and fruity beer, opaque and amber in colour, with a coarse white head but little retention. Initial flavours are intense, with the heavy sweetness of the malt coming through in force. This is balanced out by the various aromatics, but not by a significant level of bitterness. The aftertaste is somewhat bitter, with the spices still lingering, but not overpowering the beer. I don’t think I could drink this every day, and you certainly wouldn’t want to serve it with fish, but as a dessert beer, it’s brilliant.

Overall score: 8/10

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Noël – Perle

Site: http://www.biereperle.com/nos-bieres

Brune, 9%

Comments: A Belgian inspired christmas beer, very pleasant, surprisingly easy to drink, and quite mad. Tan colour, opaque due to the yeast in the bottle, pale brown head, fairly coarse and little retention. Initial aromas are mainly from the alcohol and the caramel malts. Initial flavour surprisingly not particularly sweet, but quite sour and grassy. This beer is spiced, but I can’t quite pick out the components of the blend. Sweetness kicks in towards the end, with some vague hop bitterness, but only enough to balance. The finish is sweet and quite mild. Overall, I quite like this, and would be very happy to have it next Christmas.

Overall score: 7.5/10

Thanks to Philippe Artzner (the grandfather of the brewer) for passing this on to me!

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Uberach Blonde – Brasserie Uberach

Site unknown.

Blonde, 4.8%

Comments: A beer from the wheaty end of what can pass as blonde, with mainly wheat driven flavours. Slightly hazy golden yellow colour, fine white head. Not much in the way of hop, or of any non-wheat flavours. An inoffensive beer, but not one which stands out from the crowd.

Overall score: 5.5/10

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La Brune du Quai – Au Brasseur

Site: http://www.aubrasseur.fr/nos-varietes-de-bieres.html#la-brune-du-quai

Brown ale, 4.8%

Comments: A brown ale with white head, a wheaty aroma, and served cold. This is a classic ‘brewpub’ beer, and I don’t think that it would make it if sold without the surrounds. Chocolate malt flavours dominate the initial flavour, with some sour notes, and weird fermentation aromas, which are hidden by the fact it is served cold. It seemed like they used quite a bit of wheat in the mash, as the classic wheaty aroma was present, which surprised me. Enough hop to keep a dry aftertaste, but nothing lingering. My key problem with this beer is that I think it probably has quite a bit of methanol in the final product, not enough to send you blind, but enough that one pint gave me a splitting headache the next morning.

Overall score: 4.5/10 (5.5/10, minus 1 for the headache)

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