RJ La Canon

Brewed by Brasseurs RJ
Style: Doppelbock
Montreal, Canada

Bottle: medium to dark copper pour, next to no head. Large aroma of caramel malt, a touch of alcohol, and some grains. Flavour is very malty, butnot sweet. Its more of a grainy malt, with a good caramel note in the finish. NOt a bad beer really, from the ratings i would say its underrated.

Bottle: Poured a clear medium copper color bock with an average size foamy head with average retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt is somewhat interesting but no signs of banana or cloves could be detected as I would have expected from a doppelbock. Taste is also dominated by some sweet malt notes and not much else. Body is a bit thin for the style with some average carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I remember really enjoying this beer years ago but this a pale shadow of its former self.

Red amber color, no head. Strong carbonation. Caramel aroma and soft bitterness. Not bad actualy but there is that distinctive RJ flavor that I can’t stand (probably the yeast).

Brown bottle, 341 ml, purchased at Le Grand Duc on May 18 2008, savoured on May 27 2008; eye: copper with a reddish hue, clear, light effervescence, tan head that falls rapidly, light lacing; nose: malt, light roasting, light caramel, light ash; mouth: malt, caramelized malt, caramel, light hops, brown sugar, finale in caramelized malt with a hint of hops, rather carbonated, mildly sweet, slightly bitter, medium body, slightly oily texture; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 341 ml, achetée chez Le Grand Duc le 18 mai 2008, savourée le 27 mai 2008; œil : cuivrée avec une teinte rougeâtre, claire, légère effervescence, mousse fauve abondante mais qui tombe assez rapidement, légère dentelle; nez : malt, légère torréfaction, léger caramel, léger cendré; bouche : malt, malt caramélisé, caramel, léger houblon, cassonade, finale en malt caramélisé avec une pointe de houblon, plutôt carbonatée, moyennement sucrée, très légèrement amère, corps moyen, texture légèrement huileuse; en résumé : correct

341 ml bottle from Trappe a Fromage, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. AP29/08

App.: Medium-deep copper, clear, remnants of an off-white head. Aroma: Lots of sweet aromas – treacle, caramel, raisins, brown sugar, lots of Welch’s grape jelly, slightly nutty and woody, a bit of alcohol. Palate: Medium-ish body, and soft, but fairly full effervescence. Flav.: Cereal and grains, a lot of grapes and raisins, can’t live up to the nose in any aspect, a little burnt sugar, a touch of leafy hops; off-dry and thin.

Missed the mark. False advertising on the part of the aroma.

Pours a clear copper color. Boring aroma of malt and some caramel sweetness. Boring flavor of malt and caramel sweetness. The body is light with a creamy texture and soft carbonation. There’s nothing really bad in there but the malt’s lack of richness and depth makes this beer uninteresting. Prior to tasting this version, we had the original one, which was quite old and certainly oxydated, but the malt was more interesting, more rich, some chocolate and caramel flavor were found. 7/6/63/13 3.2

Bouteille de 341 ml partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez Cathschlag. Arôme: Odeur de caramel fruité avec une pointe d’épices. Apparence: La couleur est cuivrée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel brulé et de céréales grillées avec une pointe d’épices. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est mince avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de caramel en arrière goût. Cette version est le premier brassin depuis 1996. Nous avons comparé la version 2008 avec une version 1996. (Rating #1659)

Objectively speaking: We compared a bottle from 1996 to the new 2008 version. The parallel is similar to Mcauslan vintage ale. Apparently, this used to be a beefier, richer, more caramelised lager.
I like: In the old version, I suspect the palate was rich and inviting though cardboard character has developed by now.
I dislike: In the new version, the body is frail with biting carbonation which disturbs the malt development. Really grainy profile with no real biscuitiness, more of a sesame grain timid breadiness. Dull and detached alcohol. Overly clean, filtered to the point of feeling stripped.