Charlevoix Vache Folle Bravo Double IPA

Brewed by Microbrasserie Charlevoix / Le Saint Pub
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Baie-St-Paul, Canada

My Bottom Line:
Peppery hop resins increasingly grace this Double IPA, proffering a sizeable bitterness to offset straightforward, silky honeyed malts.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam tops the clear amber-tinged copper.
-Subtle floral hoppiness appears mostly in the nose.
-This hop is obviously not of the aromatic kind, but it does add lots of character to the finish.
-The soft and prickly carbonation teams up with the suave body for a very drinkable pint of Double IPA.
-Most signs of alcohol are hidden by the peppery bitterness.
-This is another enjoyable, super clean product from Charlevoix.

Bottle.

In short: A sweet, soapy and spicy IIPA. A decent beer but a below average Charlevoix IIPA
How: Bottle 500ml. Consumed very fresh a few weeks after its release.
The look: Clear dark golden body topped by a medium off-white head with medium retention
In long: The somewhat light nose (relative to the style) is a bit soapy/perfumy. Taste is rather sweet with a sweetness profile that I’d describe as 1/3 white sugar, 1/3 caramel and 1/3 honey. There seems to be a lot hops in there but the character is very floral/perfumy/soapy with a spicy bite and don’t provide the type of bitterness or dryness required to balance the beer. Probably has to do with this Bravo hop variety. Alcohol not well hidden. Rather disappointing when compared to Charlevoix’s other single hop IIPA. No hurrah for the Bravo.

Bon goût de miel. Peu de mousse. Légère dentelle. Faible odeur. Légé goût d’amertume.

Sweet, maybe a little too much for a IIPA. I never had the chance to sample Bravo before, and I kinda felt like it was like a high AA Simcoe. Not bad overall, but I found it too much on the sticky malt-sugar side. Might have been a great Barleywine base tought....Toujours aussi bon ce qui sort de Charlevoix...bravo ;-) !!

Bouteille brune de 500ml. 4,69$ chez grand duc. Belle bière cuivrée avec une mousse beige, nez houblonnée, bouche avec une bonne amertume et on goute l’alcool.

Bouteille de 500 ml. Arômes de houblon légèrement résineux et boisé et de sucre d’orge. Robe cuivrée et limpide, peu de mousse et effervescence assez faible. Plutôt ronde et sucrée, le malt rappelant le sucre d’orge accompagne un houblon assez distinctif (résineux, boisé, thé noir). Finale sucrée et moyennement amère. L’alcool est peu apparent. Le concept est intéressant, mais une bière présentant un côté aromatique plus intense serait peut-être plus à même de faire découvrir les particularités des différents houblons.

4,99$ for 500 ml. Lasting thin head on an orange-light-copper translucid beer. Hop discreet in the nose, quite present in the taste, in a low-medium intensity. Slightly thick texture but this is not a heavy DIPA. A rather citrusy, piny and salt-pepper hop effect with a pretty long aftertaste make this beer quite enjoyable to me. One of my favorite beers from this apt brewer but far from being overwhelming like other DIPA I had.

500ml bottle from Monde des Bières. Pours clear amber with a medium foamy head. Great lacing. Nose is quite citrusy, a bit sweet, some yeast, earthy and fruity. A bit vegetal maybe. Taste is bitter, alcoholic and a bit spicy. Not so fruity. A bit malty and sweet. Quite hot and warm. Not really my thing. Not bad but not great.