Abbaye de St Landelin La Divine

Brewed by Les Brasseurs De Gayant
Style: Bière de Garde
Douai, France

Bottle, courtesy Tony at Oldsmar Tap House. Pours a golden copper color, with a thin frothy head, lots of thick white lacing. Aroma is fairly hoppy, with a nice smooth caramel counterbalance. Some dry yeast, clove. Sweet flavor, nice fruit presence, earthy yeast, some dry fruit, grape, apricot. Bright, refreshing, alcohol is hidden well. Drinks like a small farm ale.

Dark gold-amber, not much of a tan head. Perfumy Belgian yeast, somewhat soapy, coconut water. Bland, watery, metallic, and thin. Needs to be cut with food so I don’t have to think too much about it. Alcohol is disguised well.

500 ml can(why did the brewery that imbecility?), bought at Auchan. Clear golden body under a frothy white head.Some floral and fruty hop in the nose, minimal aroma of coriander, some caramel, a bit perfume of liqueric alcohol aroma. Smooth mouthfeel, not too complex flavor but it is fine with spices, caramel, coriander and a numbing feel on the gum. Hopy aftertaste on the palate. When the beer warms up it will be better! Wait a little for the room temperature! :)

8% 750ml. clear dark gold under a foamy white head. caramel, grains, a touch of banana in aroma. flavor is sweet with caramel malts and touches of banana. also some yeast and spices. medium bodied. a little too much carbonation like its brother "la goudale".

Bottle courtesy of Tony at OTH. This is another great offering from this French brewery. Not too complex, but it does the job right. Pours blonde. Aroma is fruity, hoppy and earthly. Taste is fruity, perhaps some figues that became more present as the beer warmed up to room temperature. Sweet malt, lightly spicy.

750 mL bottle, swing cap. My first (and only) Biere de Garde. Pours a bright, clear gold with a tall, very thick head that lasts a good while. Leaves a fair amount of lace. Aroma is musty, quite fruity (pears, apples), with some spicy and herbal notes and a bit of a sweet perfume (floral). It’s much better as it warms to nearly room temperature. Flavor is quite sweet, light and fruity, with some malt to it, and the same mustiness as the aroma. The finish is medium, and also sweet. Overall, not bad, but really nothing special.

Dull golden-beige. Clear (wtf). Whispy head. Perfumey-caramelly character. Fairly simple. The aroma is mainly light caramel, light mushrooms. Far too boring.

Best by date May 2009; Sampled July 2008
A brisk pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a fat two-finger thick, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a clear, lightly red tinged copper hue as it sits on my desk but shows a brilliantly clear, bright gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is sweet with a mix of light pear and sweet malt notes. Grassy grain aromas produce a touch of dried hay, some saltine cracker notes and a touch of biscuit like grain. Mixed in with the noticeable grassiness is a light herbal character that shows that this has a touch of hop character to it. The aroma is about what I would expect from a Bière de Garde.

Lightly sweet up front, but picks up even more sweetness as it rolls across the tongue. This is definitely malt focused for the most part with sweet grain notes, grassy grain flavors, and crushed malt notes of biscuits and light toffee all noticeable. The light-medium carbonation combines with a light hop note to produce a peppery, bitter bite that is noticeable from beginning to end of each sip. This has a fullness to it that envelopes the palate in its velvety texture. Not overly heavy, but it is not a quaffing brew either. This almost has a mint flavor to it that is very light and really only noticeable as it starts to warm up.

This didn’t start out very impressive, but it has certainly developed into a tasty, enjoyable beer as I have been quaffing this. It hits the style pretty well and while it doesn’t cover any new ground, it is well integrated and works nicely. It manages to become more than the sum of its individual components.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ