French ale Bellerose talks up its hoppiness early, promising citrus and lychee on the label, though it also lists "spices" in the ingredients, and the "innovative cocktail of three hops" is the sort of marketing nonsense that usually precedes bad beer. It looks OK though: clear gold with just a very light suspended sediment. There's a very Belgian sort of aroma, sweet and honeyish, and the flavour is quite typical for a Belgian blonde too: concentrated nectarine and a dusting of nutmeg.I'd be confident that the vaunted hops really are making a difference here, adding a depth to the fruitiness, but I can't help wondering if that's a Belgian yeast strain introducing the spiciness or if it's an added flavouring. I suppose it doesn't really matter. The end result is a smooth, subtle, mildly warming Belgian-style blonde. It all could have been much worse.
I agree it was very middle of the road. Do you reckon people buy beer because they won awards? You see like above beer has some award, do people actually buy based on this?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I reckon they do. Brewers tend to take awards very seriously and are quite happy to pay substantial sums to enter their beer in the big ones. They wouldn't take that risk if there wasn't the possibility of a return benefit.
DeleteThis is my favorite beer at the moment.
ReplyDeleteBtw did you know that Russian citizen Gerard Depardieu is a part owner of the brewery!
maybe that's the reason he has difficulty "holding his waters"