Castelain St. Amand French Country Ale

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

I’m not sure why this is named "Blonde," since this Bière de Garde is a clear amber color. Comes with an impressively large head, too. Other than that, it’s a fairly subdued ale, a mild caramel aroma with a touch of floral scents. There’s a light spiciness added to the flavor, but nothing to write home about. Drinkable, but there are better examples of the style readily available.

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Pours with an orange-amber body topped by a medium thick head with some lacing. It’s sweet and floral with a slight maltiness and a little fruit. Light to medium bodied and smooth.

Honey, sour, floral and herbal. Light garnet colored with a thick, but quickly receding head. Malty sweet fore followed by a medium spiciness. It is very floral again as well. Light and wet which makes it very sippable.

Dark amber color with fleeting beige head. Aroma is some hops, honey, spice, moss. Gentle carbonation and thin texture. Some sweetness in the flavor but a touch of peppery spice also. Not my cup of tea.

A well aged bottle with a best before date of 11/12/03, it is labeled French County Ale and is the Ambree not the Blonde, ABV 5.9%. (There are more than a few Ambree ratings under the Blonde, because of the alternate name link which is often incorrect)

A murky copper hue with a fading fizzy off-white head and okay lacing. The nose detected notes of ripened apple, currant, floral and grassy hops, bready and carmelized malt, light earthy esters, and a hint of pepper. The taste starts with a level dose of sweet malts and some sugar notes followed by tones of light fruit and saffron. A minor pepper character and just a faint bit of yeast developed sourness on the finish (but hardly a distraction). The feel is sort of wierd because while there is plenty of carbonation, it still taste a bit bland after drinking most of bottle, maybe a bit too yeasty? Overall this isn’t too bad and I think a lot depends on which batch/year you get. The newer ones don’t seem to match up. Go back and read the reviews from 2003 to understand the beer I just drank.

I can’t believe this is only in Florida? Anyway, a clear amber looking ale with minimal head except for the last pour which produced a nice thick head. Floral hops, grassy, honey and sugar compose the aroma. Body is absolutely dull which is it’s downfall. Flavor is sweet with nice honey and pepper notes but overall the body lacks so much that nothing can make it work.

Bouteille achetée en tant que; Castelain St. Amand French Country Ale . Couleur ambrée, faible mousse blanche concassée. Toffee et beurre sous une faible présence de malt atypique du style. Texture allant vers aqueuse, corps mince, faible carbonatation. Unidimensionnelle et totalement inintéressante à mon goût. Bouteille, Spirit Haus, Amherst, juin 2005.

Bottle (St. Amand). Wet mown grass and pepper aroma. Dark amber color - slightly cloudy with moderate but quickly collapsing head. Smooth hay and wheat flavor - little carbonation and acidity. Nice beer but would like it better with more flavor and body.