Les Trois Mousquetaires Oktoberfest 2006

Formerly brewed at Les Trois Mousquetaires
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Brossard, Canada

Bottle: Poured a beautiful dark orange-copper with a fluffy mocha colored meringue cap...wonderful lacing of the glass, moderate carbonation. Great Munich marzen aromas: sweet bready, herbal-woody...on the money here. Solid malt spine, toasty-bready character with a silky mouth feel and medium-full body. A big gob full of rich bready sweet Munich malts at the start then the herbal-medicial hops rush the palate to give total balance...herbal-bitter tones...this continues into the wet finish were the hops turn a tad more bitter than is needed in a proper Oktoberfest but it still leaves a pleasant bready-sweet after taste that is in balance with a lingering metallic taste. A great improvement from their old Fest marzen and very close to style....enjoyable, satisfying and drinkable. One more reason this is becomming my favorite Quebec Micro brewer.

A red copper beer with a thin lacing light moka head. Pleasant fruity aroma of apples and caramel, lightly nutty. In mouth, a rich nutty malt, with grainy rye character, with nice earthy hops, very good, but more akin to a brown ale. Rich bodied. On tap at Bieres et Découvertes, Mascouche, Sept. 9 2006.

Bottle drunk on 8/27/06.
Medium-high clarity in this deeply cherry-brown-tinged amber beer. Foamy head is initially small in size and fades rapidly to partial-cover with a bit of lacing.
At first spicy in the nose, German hops and a bit of yeast activity adding crispness, but soon a heavy toasted malt astringency picks up and dries the nose out. Following, unfortunately are some vegetal qualities, damp and soily, plant-like. Not overbearing, but it certainly isnt anything pleasant. Quite fruity otherwise.
In the flavor, the dark malts seem to be too dry and without enough base malt sweetness for support. Perhaps more pale malts would soften things, as it is, this seems a little too lean. Before yeast can pick up, a strong beany flavor comes about. Nutty, dry, vegetal again, and rather ruinous to the presentation. Some hop bitterness comes in late, but rather futiley. No alcohol noted. Not sure where the vegetal nature came from as it looks like most other bottles were great.

Brown color, with a tan-colored head, with a grainy toasted malt nose, nice caramelized malt accent, with a toffeeish note, hint of date and raisin fruitiness, brown sugar, with a sweet malted aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a crisp sweet toasted and caramelized malt character, with a toffee, and dark fruits fruitiness accent, brown sugar, hint of graininess, leading towards a toasted malt, a mild dry hops bitterness finish.

Aroma:Caramel,molasses,light cooked vegtable nose.... Appearance:Clear reddish,good head... Flavor:Full of cooked vegetable,beans,light bitterness,light nutty....

Robe auburn très claire surmontée d’une mousse jaunâtre qui s’estompe. Arômes légers de malt. Saveurs de malt, d’amandes et de caramel.

Bouteille de 341 ml. Belle couleur ambrée assé foncée. Petit collet qui dure. Arome doux de malte avec un soupson de noisette. Un sertain goût de fruit sûrette avec un arrière goût d’houblon un peu amère.

12oz fom Grand Duc (who received only 2 cases, so be swift). A clear reddish copper coat is quickly topped by a creamy, lasting medium-thick cover that slowly diminishes. Immediately greeting and almost pungent munich malts show vibrant hazelnut skin and toasted pumpernickel bread flavors. Restrained apparent sweetness thanks to a rather dark and clean malt profile that is completed by an honest attenuation level. Mild underlying fruitiness does not really let me pick up any individual fruit varietals, but nevertheless procures some depth. Mellow german hops accentuate the soft earthy qualities, bringing little aromas, but a clean and growingly punchy almondy bitterness. Firm bodied, cleansing, yet not exagerated carbonation. Crafty stuff, perfectly executed, though not a malt type I dig so much on its own yet.