Benelux Moisson

Brewed by Benelux Brasserie Artisanale
Style: Bitter
Montréal, Canada

In short: A uber-hoppy grassy/herbal/floral very sharp and very bitter beer of some kind. Intense, different and pretty damn good.
How: Tap at brewpub, very fresh the first day it was tapped
The look: Cloudy golden orange body topped by a small off-white head
In long: First, the concept of the beer is “freshness”. Made using local hops on the same day they were harvested. On to the beer: Nose is very grassy hoppy, like smelling hops and grass from very very close, to the point of having some stuck in your nostrils. Taste was very intense. With the concept of the beer I expected a soft juicy grassy bitter. Not the case. I don’t know how this happened but this turned out as a very sharp bitter beer commanding respect. Huge grass juice flavour. Sucking on a hop pelett. Very grassy, herbal, floral. Bitter grapefruit with grapefruit acidicty. Bitter orange peels. Some kind of dryness that felt like yellow grass burnt by the sun. Some kiwis. Very sharp grassy and grapefruity astringency while the bitterness builds up like a crescendo. Every sips seem more bitter than the previous one. Very long finish. First half of my pint went down very quickly but I had to slow down for the second half to give my palette a little break. Too intense for a session beer. I know of people who had it with a few days of age and it was described to as very different than what I experienced mega-fresh the day of its release. This is not a traditional Bitter. We are in America. When the British call a beer a Bitter, it is really not that bitter. When they talk about a hot British, she is really not that hot. When they talk about nice British weather, it is really not that nice. Only when they talk about a bad British meal you can be certain it is really bad. Really really bad.

My Bottom Line:
This Harvest Ale’s engaging orangey, spicy and resinous hop perfume attracts the taster into a quenching flavor profile balanced by judiciously caramelized cereals. A lenient hop bitterness then concludes each sip, offering citrusy, earthy and leafy melodies.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A creamy head of foam paints captivating circles of lacing atop the glowing golden amber as the pint is downed.
-Carbonation is smooth and the body is very supple, making for optimal drinkability.
-If more Amber Ales were of this ilk, this colour/style would be more enticing to craft beer lovers.
-This is not unlike Swan Lake’s Amber Ale...
-The 30 IBUs are perfect in this case. I just love the idea of a very aromatic brew becoming levelled and diplomatic once tasted. Who says a nicely dry-hopped beer has to be intense in the flavor profile?
-I don’t see this as an English Bitter per say, but that’s what’s written on the menu. That being said, it is not to any specific style that I know of.

On tap at the brewpub.