La Choulette Ambrée - Brasserie La Choulette

bonbright7

Florida

3.9/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I found this at Shoreline in Huntington, NY and served with it with surf 'n' turf
wraps as we were settling in for a comfortable Friday night. I poured the amber ale into my 50cl glass and was quietly amazed by the oatmeal head that formed as I backed off on pouring more.

The reddish amber flavor was just right with elements of sweetness and floral impressions to make it known I had found something extra special.
I continued without much hestitation until the bottle was empty.

Maybe my choice of shrimp and beef wraps were not the best with this great ale, but I loved the ale anyway.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2006 00:58:20 | More by bonbright7

codewarrior

New York

2.95/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 750mL bomber into a Snifter

Beer is bearing a Best Before End on the bottle, which I find odd for a Biere de Garde.

A: Mahogany with rich creamy head, dissipating quickly.

S: Caramel sweetness with hints of fruit and tobacco.

T: Sweet in the extreme, sweeter as it opens up. Light and too thin in its flavor. Aftertaste is hollowy sweet, like diet soda.

F: Thin, almost limp. Maybe this bottle is off?

D: On re-consideration, probably not as bad as I initially reacted, but still couldn't drink the whole glass. This beer was served at the recommended temperature, but I found it only to be drinkable at temperatures signifigantly below and above the recommended serving, and then, not in large quantities.

I have a suspicion my bottle was off. Look forward to retrying at a future date if I come across this again.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2010 14:59:58 | More by codewarrior

Braudog

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Caged and corked 75cl bottle; poured with an immense head of tight foam and a beautiful tornadic swirl of yeast-inspired carbonation. When an aroma can finally escape, it is slightly spicy and tart, not unlike a freshly peeled blood orange. The flavor, however, is much more full-bodied. This is very earthy with a brown-sugary base, and a viscuous flowery aspect. I enjoyed it quite much. (#2798, 4/15/2007)

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2007 19:07:18 | More by Braudog

NClifestyle

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

This was a great beer to have with the turkey today.
Poured from a wine sized bottle, slightly hazy ruby orange color, with thick bubbly head on top. Nice layer stays around, no lace, at least not in the wine glass I was drinking from today.
Smells of gentle peach/orange with hints of wheat, mostly light malt aroma.
Taste is a touch sweet and slightly spicy. Similar to a wheat beer, some caramel sweetness at first, then a spicy rush that yields a quick hot bite in the back of the mouth.
A light to medium mouth feel, some carbonation and tingle, somewhat dry mouthfeel.
This beer goes great with Thanksgiving food, and probably with other varied meals as well. I wouldn't choose this beer at the bar, but would find it again for drinking at home and with dinner.

cheers...

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2005 19:16:39 | More by NClifestyle

Hornet2003

British Columbia (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Nice amber, clear with a half finger head on the pour. No lacing as I drink.

Smell: Musty, with a hint of cherries. Yeasty like sourdough bread

Taste: Sour and tart with a slight hint if cherries.

Mouthfeel: Pretty bubbly, but the flavours linger over all parts of the tongue for a long time.

Drinkability: A little too much alcohol to be really drinkable. 8% is strong in anyone's book and unfortunately, precludes this from drinking smooth past one bottle.

Overall: My first bière de garde. I like it, but I wish it didn't have so much ABV.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2008 01:05:07 | More by Hornet2003

gonzo138

Arizona

3.88/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- pours a dark reddish brown, with a thin white head that did not really retain at all, and left a thin white lace around the edge of the glass that stayed around for a while

S- at first a sweet malt aroma, a little bit a raisin fruit smell is present as well, alcohol presence is noticable too

T- malt sweet taste coats mouth, raisin and alcohol flavors are also present in taste, slight hoppy bite at the finsh

M- nice carbonation good tingley feeling on tounge, medium body, sticky mouthfeel

D- goes down fairly easy for a beer with an ABV of 8%, a very interesting style, I look forward to trying more vareties

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2006 06:52:51 | More by gonzo138

Umbra

Maryland

3.9/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled in Paris, bottle was all in French, not sure of dating.

Only downside was the weak head and lacing. Brown, slightly clear.
Bready, clove nose
Full of bready flavors, mingled with clove and brown sugar. Peppery finish with hidden ETOH. Smooth and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2007 18:42:44 | More by Umbra

amicar

Missouri

4.75/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours from a corked 750mL green bottle opened with a satisfying "pop"
This smell hits me before my nose gets near the glass- nice. It's a true amber color with sticky off- white foam that I swear is climbing up the glass. A more intense whiff gives me a biscuity bread smell with some nice sharp undertones. A little ester under there; slight spice as well. First taste is dramatically full of bread and fresh grain- and then in a sip or two something wonderful happens and the solvent- esque fruit esters kick in. A hint of toated malt, but no acridity here. This feels wonderful in the mouth, with a smooth slickness that gives way to a tingling sensation followed by the perfect amount of warmth. The rough edges on this bad boy have been really nicely smoothed out. I'll have no problems finishing this one off by myself.

This is more sophisticated than I would have expected. Really a subtle, beautiful, well- balanced beer. Just tops.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2005 01:59:16 | More by amicar

fartingdog

California

3.68/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750 bottle.

Poured a nice amber color- good head.

Smells of caramel, sweet, floral. Tastes slightly sweet, mild hop or floral characteritics. Good body, an easy drinker.

This was one of the sweeter Biere de Garde's I've had. Not much in the way of earthy flavors, unfortunately, it seems less of a 'rustic' beer than other BdG's (i.e Jenlain.) A good beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2006 22:20:52 | More by fartingdog

SPThirtyThree

Colorado

4.3/5  rDev +8%
look: 1.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Corked and caged. The beer peers out from the bottle slightly reddish in color, which is somewhat surprising. After popping the cork, the beer overflowed and foamed (with no end in sight!) until I was able to get some of it into a glass.*

I'm not all that familiar with French culture - maybe this is the Brasserie La Choulette's idea of a gift.

This bière de garde is a brownish amber, contrary to how it looked in the bottle. Low clarity, and a huge, three-finger, rocky, sandstone head. After the head finally subsides, a thick layer of cream persists atop the beer.

S: Spicy and estery notes dominate, especially at warmer temperatures. The nose has a faint sweetness, that, when combined with the spiciness, give a distinct wildflower honey impression. There is also a funkiness emanating from the beer, a slight barnyard character. The esters are reminiscent of peaches and grapes.

T: La Choulette made a very well-balanced beer here. It's much lighter and fruitier than the nose suggested, but slightly tart. It is just bitter enough to have an astringent "dryness," but that counters the strong, sweet, caramel flavors from the crystal malts. There is also a saltiness and distinct earthiness/spiciness from the wild yeast. There is also a metallic, coppery taste like that found in Chimay Grand Reserve. Acetaldehyde also lingers, giving the apple-like tartness, and a character that resembles wine. High carbonation helps to offset some of the stronger and provides balance. I can't praise the effervescence too much, however, since the overcarbonation punished me upon uncorking.

The flavor and degree of sourness remind me a bit of the Duchesse, although I doubt they would be very similar if compared side-by-side, as the Duchesse is a Flanders Red.

M: Creamy upfront, then slightly astringent, and a bit sticky like apple juice.

D: High.

If you're in the mood for a slightly sour beer, this one is great. It's extremely complex, and although it may be a bit heavy on the sweet malts, it delivers surprises with every sip. This farmhouse amber would be a low-mid A were it not for it's rendition of Mt. Vesuvius on my countertop. However, because of a rough start, I docked the appearance to give this it's B+ rating.

* I should point out that I opened this one around 55° F, and that further chilling would have reduced, and possible prevented, the foaming.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 07:49:19 | More by SPThirtyThree

oldhippie247

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a great coppery-amber with an off-white head that appears more fluffy than creamy.

A nutty aroma dominates the nose, with caramel, bready maltiness playing back-up.

The sweet caramel and hazelnut aromas follow through on the palate, slowly giving way to a mild caramelized malt and hop bitterness. Wisps of apple brandy and walnuts also appear, conjuring up pairings with camembert or delice de bourgogne.

A great artisanal French biere de garde.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2009 20:31:30 | More by oldhippie247

nathi

Colorado

3.78/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Light orangish amber color, nice thick head, lots of lace.

Very floral aroma with slight strawberry and pear complexity Very woody/musky. A lot going on in the aroma for this style. Good caramel malt aroma

Flavor has nice malt at start, very sweet, but finishes very dry with a like acidicness that keeps it from being cloying. More body then other bier de gardes samples, also more alcohol in the finish. A nice spicy hop finish. Malt is still very simple, but great complexity with nice muskyness working well with floral and estery character. Well balanced. This was the best of 5 bier de gardes sampled in one night. Still though, I dont really care for the style.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2002 23:48:32 | More by nathi

yinzer

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750 ML Bottle. Has some age, I'll guess a year in my cellar.

appearance: eay pour w/a one finger head that left me quickly. Some lacing with bubbles in suspension. Orange/yellow.

smell: Fruity esters and malt tones.

taste: Surprising rich and malty. Figs and honey.

mouthfeel: I'd say thick for the style, hope that it had more carbonation when younger.

drinkability: Goes down smooth but no cravings for another sip.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2007 03:03:58 | More by yinzer