Le Chaudron Cobra

Bouteille brune de 341 ml. Arômes de houblon floral. Robe ambrée, belle mousse blanche. En bouche, le houblon est présent, ainsi qu’une touche de malt caramélisé. Belle amertume de houblon en arrière-goût.

En fût. Verre de 4 oz dégustée chez Le Saint-Bock (Montréal, QC). Arôme: Odeur de malt et d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’houblons avec une pointe de caramel. Courte durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’houblon en arrière goût. (Rating #1393)

Bottle: Bright amber-orange color...decent cap...good glass- lacing qualities. Aroma: classic IPA: carmelized malts with musty-grassy golding tones and some nice fruitiness (over-ripe peaches). A big chew of sweet caramel and fruits in the front...hops show mid way more bittering than anything...don’t really add to the complexity...wet finish, musty, slow bittering. Tad sweet and not enough hops for my liking...but a good crafted ale....more like a strong American pale than an IPA.

Bouteille. Arome de malt caramel, de houblon et d’alcool. Couleur orangée avec mousse mince qui reste longtemps.Goût caramélisé, très malté, pas trop atténuée, beaucoup d’amertume. Finale en alcool et amertume. Pas trop ronde, effervesence correct. Très bon équilibre amertume-malt.

Paradisiac Cuivrée batch, 14 month old bottle, from Rastacouere, finally drunk on 2/26/07
Well, the background is that I had a bottle when fresh and then stashed this bottle away in my fridge. So it sat for about 13 months in a fridge and then I took it out for the last month and here it is.
Shockingly great appearance for its age (remember, this is a 14 month-old, non-bottle-conditioned, moderately filtered, mid-gravity, copper IPA). Sparkingly clear body is a bright, luminous copper with deep ruby suggestions. Light beige/off-white head is full, dense and shows very strong retention, with plentiful lacing.
Not surprising then, the aroma is fresh and vibrant. Obviously more malt-centered at its age, but with probably the most aroma hops I’ve smelled in a beer of this age. Still light European hop notes of fresh herbs, thick, wet, green grass and round, moderately sweet fruitiness (pears, nectarines, cherries). What it does lack is any real citrus apparency. There is some soft lemon/orange-zest which adds a bit of bitterness, but seems close to completely faded and mostly just adds a vague spiciness that further complements the herbal/grass aromas. Malts produce caramel and plentiful honey, without any hardness and/or crystal-maltiness. Doughy, but still clean finish seems to add fullness and the beer finishes with a very strong malt and hop presence. Medium-high strength, no alcohol or flaws.
Sweet buttercream and honey malts are rich and deep at the start, but a brisk, shockingly tight carbonation helps lighten the palate somewhat, as hop bitterness, very tastefully done, continues to dry things out. Fruitiness from the nose is still present, with a bit of melon and peachiness settling out on the finish. Toasted malt sourness is very apparent after warming, as well, and though I’m not a huge fan of that malt in an IPA, it isnt overbearing. Light minerals and dough on the finish, with some yeast and hop crispness. I think this beer’s main strength is that it’s full, round and malty but yet goes down as if it’s a lighter golden ale. The malts never get too intense and the hops are all bliss.
I’ve had the regular batch, just called Cobra, on draught, fresh, and the Paradisiac Cuivree fresh in bottle and I greatly prefer this aged sample. The wonderful fruitiness and English pale ale-like nature that it attains is much more to my liking than the fresh, simple bitterness of the fresh versions.