Agent Provocateur - Brasserie Craig Allan

chugalug06

Colorado

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Bottle cap is dated: 16/08/14, meaning 8/16/14...silly Europeans.

Nice two-finger, thin white foamy head, lots of champagne bubbles too. Lacing is missing?? Brew is decently clear and orange with tints of ruby reds. Yum.

Nutty, bread-y, red apple, apricot, saucy, and wet aroma... No off flavors, but is missing a slight something; belgian.

Taste is great! Not at all like the aroma.. Also, not a typical US IPA, you can tell there's much different flavors, but they're strong, robust, well blended, complex, and most of all, enjoyable. Wet, nice medium carbonation, no bitterness and no sweetness; perfectly in the middle. At the very tail end of the flavor, there's just a bit of bitterness, nice. Apple, pine, pear, apricot, wood, leather, and charcoal all stand out in the flavor

A great surprise and should go sought after if you're in the area.ha. Refreshing and perfect for an afternoon with football. Thanks for the awesome present, Marcus.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 22:39:05 | More by chugalug06

Fux

France

3.58/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Hazy orange in color. Creamy off-white head with a medium retention.

S: Spices, floral and citruses hops. Distinctive toasted notes from the wheat also.

T: Light floral, herbal bitterness. Blended flavors from the wheat and Belgian yeasts. A bit metallic. Bitterness fades quite quickly.

M: Not as light bodied as expected for the style, but with high carbonation. Refreshing beer.

O: Quite a surprising beer. This is not really an IPA. The floral bitterness is noticeable but not really extreme nor long lasting. This is not really a Belgian pale ale either. The wheat also adds its very particular touch. Overall, well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 23:08:38 | More by Fux

atlason

New York

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Tap into large wine glass.

A: Deep gold, large head dissipates slowly. Thick lacing.

S: Dried fruit, hoppy hay, ripe banana.

T: Full round fruity beer. Apricots and peach. FLoral hops quite present. Aftertaste is mostly hops.

M: Medium to low attenuation. Low carbonation. Slow sipping beer, one per session.

Reviews from notes, tasted on 4/30

Serving type: on-tap

12-07-2011 05:04:07 | More by atlason

BMoldy

New York

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Tasted on 09/02/11. From notes:

Appearance: Pretty significant white foamy head that struggles to stay around but fades within a minute or so. Small layer sits on top as it goes down. Medium-gold, with the slightest haziness. Moderate amount of lacing.

Smell: Mainly hops, with lots of spiciness and some fruity notes. Malt and wheat are both present and add a toasted, biscuit-like aroma. Light lemony-citrus aroma as well.

Taste: Opens with a rather mild bitterness and spicy hop flavor, followed by some sweet pale malts and wheat. The wheat is relatively faint but its inherent characteristics are unmistakable. Fruity notes really take over the finish. Sweet in the middle, but overall well balanced.

Mouthfeel: Full, almost creamy body with a very soft but active carbonation. Alcohol is not present at all. A bit of a wet and lingering, slightly bitter, and almost sticky finish.

Overall: I had a hard time deciphering this beer, though I'm not really sure why. Probably warrants a second taste. I guess I’d call it more of an English IPA with a twist, or even just a rather hoppy pale ale. The hops are there, the grain bill is great, but as a whole this beer is lacking “oomph”. Not displeasing in the least, but not really fantastic at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 14:35:31 | More by BMoldy

rvdoorn

Netherlands

4.33/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bought this beer in the struise beershop

Look: Clear amber-golden color, with a medium-small white head.
Smell: Very flowery hops, malts, some spices, fresh grass, some citrus and apple.
Taste: Malts, apple, grass, fresh hop bitterness and some honey. spicy and smooth. Aftertaste is sweet malts with some spicy bitter hop
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation and medium body
Overall: a very nice beer for a hot summer day

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2011 15:35:04 | More by rvdoorn

illidurit

California

3.6/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours golden pumpkin in color with a fluffy crew cut of white foam. Copper/pennies on the aroma at first. Hopefully this dies down with a little breathing. I'm also detecting some sharp pine needle notes, a subdued apple ester note, and a touch of green banana. This beer is meant to be a hybrid of IPA and Belgian blonde, and it shows, albeit with subtlety. The blonde aspect comes through with some soft fruit salad flavors (apple, banana) and an unmistakeable Belgian yeast character, while the IPA part manifests mainly as a mild bitterness and herbal edge on the finish. The palate is very nice in a hedonistic sense here. Surprisingly creamy and fulfilling, which combines with wheat-derived esters to give the impression of a rich hefe or a light weizenbock on the tongue. Not really the ideal presentation for a blend of two styles that are best when dry, but there's no denying that this tastes and feels good, so to hell with style. This is way on the modest side of the Belgian IPA spectrum, but it achieves what it wants to and it's tasty. Only downside is the aroma, which after several minutes is still dusty and metallic.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 19:41:28 | More by illidurit

Boozecamel

British Columbia (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33cl bottle into a snifter.

Best before on cap of 26/01/13.

Picked this up on recommendation from the helpful guys at La Cave a Bulles in Paris.

Appearance: 1.5 fingers of pure white head. Well carbonated, golden amber, no cloudiness. Very nice looking beer.

Smell: Mildly hoppy-citrusy.

Taste: Crisp, hoppy slightly bitter. Lemony notes, well balanced easy drinking beer.

Mouthfeel: Smooth light mouthfeel

Overall: Great, well balanced beer that made me want another. Definitely would look to have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 21:24:46 | More by Boozecamel

Jeffo

Netherlands

3.45/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle included in a recent trade with pixieskid. Thanks for the hookup mate.

From a bottle into a snifter.
Best Before 14 July 2012

APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium thinner looking, off-white head with good retention. Head slowly fades to a good foam cap and leaves some chunky lacing down the glass. Cloudy, opaque gamboge orange in color with medium carbonation evident. Decent foam cap remains until the end and leaves some foamy lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Decent nose on this one. Pale malts, toasted malts, and quite a bit of green fruity notes. Some pear and apple, light spicy notes, and a fair amount of floral hop presence in there. Nice for the style.

TASTE: Follows the nose well. Pale and toasted malts, with some nice spicy notes and green fruits. Light flavors of green apples and some floral hop notes as well. Finishes with some toasted, malty sweetness and a touch of hop bitterness as well. Aftertaste is mild but lingers nicely on the palate.

PALATE: Medium body and higher levels of carbonation. Light on the palate and mildly creamy, goes down fine and finishes slightly dry. Fine.

OVERALL: Kind of like a hoppy triple, but that’s what a lot of these Belgian IPAs are all about. An enjoyable beer, especially on a warm spring afternoon, with plenty of nice flavor and nuances to enjoy. Something I’m glad to have tried, but wouldn’t necessarily need to track down again. Thanks again for including this one in the trade pixieskid.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2011 15:05:37 | More by Jeffo

Beerenauslese

California

4.05/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Obtained at the Alvinne Craft Beer Festival bottle shop, March 4-5, Belgium.

Poured to produce a half inch head. Body is hazy gold. The foamy head dissipates to a fine ring, leaving some clouds on the glass.

Smells like a pilsner beer when cold, as it warms, get more tropical fruit notes, and hops.

There is a fairly substantial malt backbone, on which the tropical fruit and aged hop flavors build, with some brown or candi sugar and spice. Hops are there in the dry finish.

Mouthfeel is light and carbonation is as well. Tends to go flat quickly.

This is a different sort of BIPA. It is somewhat concealed at first, but is a good example for the style once it warms up a little. The ABV is low enough to be sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2011 02:17:08 | More by Beerenauslese

Brabander

Netherlands

3.43/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is actual the first bottle where i can't smell a thing. That's strange!

I got this bottle from my Paris buddy Pixieskid (Brandon) and i saw thius beer was also reviewed by my Belgium buddy Beerpirates (Wim). I am in good company.

Poured in my Dutch beerglass the beer looks ok, Small parts float in the beer, rests of the bottom? Should be because this beer is unfiltered. No carbonation at all. The head is firm but disappears after a while, leaving some rings of foam in the glass,

The taste (and that's what it's all about) is good. Very nice smooth and round. Thanks for this beer Brandon! Say hi to Emily.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2010 22:18:56 | More by Brabander

beerpirates

Belgium

4.22/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Shared this bottel with urbain at t'schooltje in oostvleteren

A : Clear amber/golden colour with a small head.

A : Lots of malt, resinous and piny with notes of mangos.

T : Malty with passion fruits. Nice citrusy hops. Finish is a bit woody, resinous and bitter.

M: very smooth , good carbonation

D : could drink this every day , Interesting beer.

Thx urbain !

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 07:29:22 | More by beerpirates

pixieskid

France

4.03/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Medium full bodied, crisp and clean with a slightly oily mouth feel, good carbonation.
Nice grassy hop presence throughout with a fair wheat and crystal malt back.
Finishes with a strong candied orange note, nice Belgian yeast presence and a mild bitterness.
Overall; great example of the style, nice hop notes with Belgian undertones, very delicate and easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2010 06:35:46 | More by pixieskid