Saint-Monon Ambrée

Brewed by Brasserie Saint-Monon
Style: Belgian Ale
Ambly, Belgium

Bottle. Hazy amber colour with a decent mostly lasting light brownish head. Moderate hoppy aroma with notes of malt and fruits.

Bottle shared at Delerium Cafe, Brussels. I was trying to concentrate on small brewers from the Belgian countryside - those nice, earthy farmhouse-style beers that seem so hard to come by in the US. This was a lovely example, with pleasant dryness, small-beaded carbonation and a definite floral presence in the aroma and flavor. A somewhat muted barnyard flavor gave way to distinct pepper and cumin, like armpit - but in a good way. The slightly vegetal flower petal and pepper combination reminded me of edible flowers like tulip and nasturtium, but if there are actually flowers in this beer, it’s not jonquille, as I later learned that daffodils are not edible. Thanks, Joris, for helping out on this one.

Bottled. Slightly hazy amber color, weak head. Mellow, sweetish, caramelly and fruity-estery aroma with notes of Goldings dry hops. Sticky sweet flavor with melon and grassy dry hops. Sweet finish with cumin and rough hop flavor. Too much soft drink sweetness.

33 cl bottle, ’bbe’ Apr 08 (?). Hazy amber with a minimal frothy head. Fruty and vinous aroma; very estery, with quince jelly and light earthy notes in the background. The earthy flavours take the principal role in the mouth; round, malty taste underneath. Very timid bitterness in the aftertaste. Nice body.

Bottled 0.7 liter. Cloudy orange/amber coloured, small head. Some fruit (citrus and orange) and yeast. Not a very good brew imho.

Cloudy orange amber color, short head. Aroma is a bit fruity of citrus and orange, some caramel and amber malt, loads of yeast. Quite yeasty taste, bit fruity maybe, not really good balanced. I agree with Joris on this one. Missed chance.
Earlier Rating: 4/27/2004 Total Score: 3.7
Hazy orange color, medium lasting creamy head, some particles. Aroma of amber and caramel malts, some yeast. Caramel malty taste, yeast, oranges. Sweet sticky palate. I like this brewery!

(Bottle at Internationella Pressklubben, Stockholm) Hazy orange color, off white head. Fruity and spicy aroma, some banana and some pineapple. Quite mild flavor, some fruit, maybe some yeast and a quite bitter finish.

Bottled. Orangeish hazy colour with creamy head. Aroma is a bit barnyardish along with hints of citrusfruits. Strong, quite barnyardish and spiced orange in flavour, Sour grassy hayish notes in finish. Mouthdrying as well as a bit sticky.