Castelain Blond Biere

Brewed by Brasserie Castelain
Style: Bière de Garde
Benifontaine, France

smells like honey, and color is gold and it is very bubbly. i really really liked this one. way to go frenchies!

Body is a bright gold, with a 1/2 inch white head. Aroma is a bit of honey, grass, pale malts, and like yeasty note. Taste a grass tartness to it, with orange and grapefruit citrus, light hop background which is very subtle and comes across nice.

Light yellow – white head –bubble gum, grass, hay nose- taste yeast, slightly malty- creamy medium body –aftertaste frothy, crisp

Poured golden wheat with a bit more sunshine; plenty of bubbly, tiny, foamy bubbles, but the aroma was small, very light, but refreshing, very much like a belgian but much weaker, sweet and yeast. Mouth is light also with a malt sweet flavor, but mostly wheaty or grassy. A nice summer beer.

For me it seems, that this beer is the ch’ti blonde, slightly cloudy yellow hue, with a frothy white head, fresh cut straw nose, hint of cantaloup fruitiness, wet hay, earty pale malt, and note of oakiness and yeastiness in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a green apple fruitiness, hint of coarkiness, sweet mild hop bitterness, earthy pale malt, grassy note, leading towards a juicy honeyish, faint hop bittering finish.

Bottle from Super Saver. The cork popped with amazing force, showing me a gold, heavily carbonated beer with a 2-finger, fluffy white head. The aroma was hopcitric, with some honey, apricot, and barnyardy notes. The flavor was citric and spicy, with floral, some apricot, honey, and barnyardy cobwebby esters and yeast. Gets a little sweeter as it warms, but retains a refreshing palate and complexity. I used to hate this style, but now I really enjoy it.

7/1/06 From a (fresh) corked, caged bottle, enjoying during the French world cup victory over Brazil.

To date, I haven’t had a wide variety of French beers, but this is by far the best I’ve sampled. It pours a hazy straw color with nice big white head, and the aroma offers lemon, cut grass, orange peel, and rising bread.

The flavor is delicious, dominated by soft grassy hops and gentle lemon. Crisp hops balance out with a nice thirst-quenching bitterness. Plenty of yeast flavor here adds an intriguing complexity to what nonetheless remains a marvellous summer beer.

I’m remarkably impressed here, and will definitely return. I’m probably over-rating the beer, but...wow! 8/5/8/4/16=4.1

7/20/09. Upon revisit, I’m not sure this is quite a 4.1, but it’s a super-nice beer, somewhere in the 3.9 range. I’ll average and drop it to a 4.0.

This bottle has been in the cellar for two years. LIght malt, hay, dough, spruce(a little) and a bit of hops in the aroma. Also some pepper and clove. Off-white, creamy head, with excellent lacing. Body was orange and clear. Light, sweet taste with average finish. Texture was dry. Not nearly as much carbonation as what I had two years ago. This has mellowed quite a bit. As I remember, I didn’t much care for the fresh version.