La Gueule de Bois La Clandestine

La Gueule De Bois
Brewed at Au Maître Brasseur
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Chicoutimi, Canada

Murky dark brown pour topped by a rapidly fading light beige foam. Phenolic yeastiness procures strong clovey notes while subtler star anise is less exuberant. Rather muddy flavor profile, earthy, chocolatey and never really all that well integrated. The promised fruitiness does not amount to much; there is but a tart lemon juice impression and chewy dates like feel, but they’re mostly dominated by earthy/leafy/bready yeastiness. A truckload of yeast in a bottle. The initially fit carbonation quickly dulls down, enhancing the heavyness and sweetness feeling.

My Bottom Line:
This yeast-driven Belgian-style Strong Ale focuses on its bready and earthy components, living in a rich body with caramel notes and unnecessary tart edges.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam slowly retreats into the opaque brown (there is lots of yeast in this bottle).
-The caramel and chocolate nose is more attractive than the less cohesive flavor profile.
-The yeast attack upfront is too much for the attempted finesse of the second half of the sip.
-Alcohol is not really apparent.
-The fruitiness is redolent of prunes.
-The soft carbonation makes the beer appear heavier than it is.
-Some fining would help the yeast situation, but this still remains a decent beginning for this new brewery hirer.

Bottle.

Bouteille 500 ml, bière brune passablement foncée, peu de mousse qui ne dure pas, nez fruité, bouche sucrée, quelque note d’iode, sucre, manque de définition, trop de levure, peut-être contaminé ?