3 Monts Flanders Golden Ale - Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre

CrazyDavros

Australia

2.53/5  rDev -36.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5

Pours yellow with a large, lasting head.
Nose shows bready malt, wheat, lemon hints, soft apple and funky notes.
Pretty full-on flavours, loads of booze, metallic notes, grainy notes. Very harsh.
Crazily over-carbonated.
Too boozy and too grainy/metallic.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2011 02:20:23 | More by CrazyDavros

Gmann

New York

2.68/5  rDev -32.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a crystal clear pale straw color with a big pure white head that dissipated into a solid cap.

The aroma is grainy, very much like an American pale lager. There is a floral honey sweetness and a bit of a metallic/sulfur note. Not that impressed with the aroma.

The taste is grainy as well. A light honey sweetness with a metallic note and sulfur. There are some hay and grassy flavors as well. The flavor is quite clean, I was definitely expecting more from the yeast. There is a light floral note that tries to bring this beer to style but it can't.

The feel is light with spritzy carbonation. Sweet on the palate but finishes dry. Drinks clean and is crisp.

Wow, disappointed in this beer. I expected a BSPA or Biere de Garde flavors but all I got was American adjunct lager. The beer is well made, no signs of infection or anything else, the flavor is just not close to what it should be. Curious to see what this tastes like as it warms. I don't think this is a biere de garde as the malt doesn't suggest it. This reminds me of a strong euro lager. The yeast is boring. What happened here?

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2011 06:32:37 | More by Gmann

smitty2717

Connecticut

2.73/5  rDev -31.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Beer was unavailable for a while. Had a distirbution problem? Seems to be somewhat flat and lacking some flavor. I remember there being some floaties, or it being unfermented. Does anybody know if they changed the recipe? If so, I was unimpressed!!!!

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 00:20:03 | More by smitty2717

weeare138

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appears a transparent, light gold with vivacious co2 rising up towards the small, white head that fades into a mild cap. Spotty lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is skunky, earthy weeds, honey, apricot, golden raisins, and sunflowers.
Taste is of the same aromas with some funky skunk and dandelion with sweet honey up front.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sweet, funky, earthy, with a mineral and spice finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2008 02:12:01 | More by weeare138

kojevergas

California

2.9/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

75cl bottle of brown glass with a rather curious cork with a metal swingtop-esque support holding it down as a top. I've never seen a top like it. Reviewed live in Belfort, France. Served into a Westvleteren goblet.

A: One finger head of decent thickness and okay cream. Retention is pretty good considering the high ABV and wide-mouthed goblet. Clear yellow colour.

Sm: Light scent of cream and barley.

T: Cream, lemon of depth and character, and a full barley foundation. Simple but quite refreshing. Well balanced and built, with emphasis mainly on the lemon.

Mf: Sharp, lightly coarse, and wet. Refreshing.

Dr: Price is pretty high for the limited quality, but it's pretty drinkable. I wish it were more complex.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 20:47:56 | More by kojevergas

SeanChouffe

New Mexico

2.93/5  rDev -26%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

750ml bottle.
The appearance is a golden yellow with a quantity of fine effervescence, a nice creamy white head and smooth/sticky lacing. Quite an active initial encounter. The aroma is fruity, bubble gum with undertones of apples (somewhat tart). The flavor is slightly sweet with a tart middle and progresses to a more bitter finish. The MF is smooth (almost watery) with a dry finish. As the beer warms the body and mouthfeel deteriorate.
IMHO: Normally, higher alcohol beers improve with a lowering temperature. This one however, begins to show all of its weaker characteristics. Not a flattering contrast of what are usually a good combination of flavors and textures. It is what some American breweries have done to pale ale—taken away all subtlety.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2003 06:08:05 | More by SeanChouffe

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

2.93/5  rDev -26%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Watery yellow. Attractive, thin lacing clings well.

N: Faint malts, light sweetness, alcohol.

T: Not very exciting. Sweet malts, hints of citrus. I want more.

MF: Watery. Extremely light body. Good carbonation.

D: One bottle pretty well made me drunk in a dirty way. I wasn’t much interested in any more after that.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2006 18:12:15 | More by DaPeculierDane

DawnL

New York

2.95/5  rDev -25.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Golden hue with lovely head that disspiates to fine lace.

Lactic acid, milky-sake like nose - some wheat characters

Graphite on the palate. Almost German Pilsner-like. It's drinkable, but not the favorite of the night. Hacker-Schorr-esque - a bit of a urea thing going on as it warms. More banana and clove character evident - German Lager now. Not sour. Not sweet. very dry beer.

This would pair well with chicken shwarma.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2009 00:13:47 | More by DawnL

Gaisgeil

Michigan

3/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I really expected a lot more from this one, seriously.

Pours a light gold in color with a fluffy and thick white head. Nose is a bit sweet with a slight yeast character. Taste is quite astringent with alcohol quite present. There is a varied herbal quality present, slightly spicy. There is a slight hop character present as well with a decent amount of carbonation. Finish is quite dry and underwhelming.

Overall I was not impressed by this brew at all really. I doubt I'll be seeking this one out again.

Slàinte!

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2005 06:00:10 | More by Gaisgeil

dgallina

Georgia

3/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750ml bottle, no freshness date.

Pours a deep yellow-gold with very minimal head and nearly no retention or lacing. Lots of carbonation, however. Smells extremely sweet and vinous; sugary white wine with lots of fruit. Tastes approximately like it smells. Sugary, wine-like and fairly strong, with very little hop presence or dryness. Syrupy in the mouth, but fairly light due to carbonation.

Easy to drink, but not especially compelling. It's possible that this bottle was old considering the lack of head and overly-developed sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2005 21:23:39 | More by dgallina

beerluvr

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

An old favorite revisited, pours with a pure white head leaving lace on the sides of the glass even before the first sip. Clear gold brilliance, tightly collared & finely carbonated and evidenced by the small bubbles.

Smell is not to much to talk about...a light malt/lager-like aroma, not really as I remember it. Taste is a thinnish mouthfeel and slightly tart then some hoppiness. Finishes quickly..I remember this being much better years back. The bottle is fresh and in good condition, dunno..maybe it's the trained palate I've attained in the years since last sampling.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 00:34:17 | More by beerluvr

mjc410

Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -23%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I think I've had two of this type before this, and this rare style has always drawn me since it comes from France and it's beer. Any ale from the land of wine has extra appeal...

The pour into my La Moneuse glass a fizzy off-white head, two fingers high. It falls gracefully to surface lacing, with a bit of cling on the glass. Swirling the glass leaves some slow-moving but slick lacing. The body is translucent gold.

The nose smells a bit like a saison, but less spiced - grass, apple, sweet malt like cereal. A bit of berry too. Nice.

The taste is a bit acidic and definitely grassy. Much drier than the nose would have you believe. As it warms, it opens up, and the acidity seems to mellow. Perhaps a white wine thing, too. Alright, but I'd like more maltiness. Kind of plain.

Mouthfeel is fairly thin, but with too much carbonation for my taste.

Oh well, I've had better, but this isn't terrible in any way, just not my taste.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2007 01:40:31 | More by mjc410

rjimlad

Australia

3.05/5  rDev -23%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I've read reviews which claimed this was up there with the best beers in the world so I was thrilled when me mate Dave pulled a bottle of this out his fridge. On pouring we got a huge white head that was fine and delicate. There was very active carbonation like champagne however, for all this activity there was no aroma off the head other than a faint citrus whiff. On tasting I found some estery citrus and mild maltiness. It was quite tart like a blend of citrus fruits and not much bitterness except for balance. It was a bit of an anti-climax actually so I'm a bit let down. I'm not even a huge Belgian fan so this number from Flanders is probably a once-off for me. I's not that I thought it was bad but it was a bit boring.

A second pour gave me residual yeast but no extra flavour. A lively mouthfeel but the same citrus and grass. In wine you'd say it was herbaceous. You say this when you can't pinpoint the flavour. This is too delicate a beer to really dissect so I'll say it's herbaceous with a twist of lime.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2007 14:03:17 | More by rjimlad

ThaCreep

Belgium

3.05/5  rDev -23%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pale gold color. Fort effervescent. Nose a little arbitrary, almost devoid of flavor. Taste nearly as great as claimed. No dominant flavor, just a little spice in the mouth but not really persistent and really does not taste the hops.

Of course, this is a nice product to drink but far from great beer and far from deserving all the praise it receives on French territory.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2011 20:00:25 | More by ThaCreep

BeerBelcher

Ohio

3.1/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

While I know Biere de Garde is a mile wide style-wise, I found this to be a very unusual Bier de Garde compared to othes I've had...in appearance, aroma, and flavor it was light and lemon-y, which really struck me as characteristics that would be more suited to say a witbier than to this style. It was a very light yellow and highly effervescent. Aroma was very faint and smelled like lemon zest with a bit of maltiness. Flavor was a bit sour (that lemon zest again) with a lot of maltiness for such a light smelling and tasting beer. I would recommend this beer as I found it very interesting. However, I didn't find drinking it to be particulary pleasant. This is a curiousity, not a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2007 17:33:29 | More by BeerBelcher

Cresant

Kentucky

3.1/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured this 750 mL brown bottle into a Bordeaux glass. No date visible, but there was an "order #3038". The body was cloudy and yellow gold in color. The crisp white head did not hold up for long.

Smell was faint. There was a yeasty musty smell but not much else (even as it warmed further).

Taste was Belgian yeast-like. Not as sweet as I had expected. There was a powdery bitterness and the flavor of damp concrete. Light fruitiness. Not as complex as I would have guessed. Not bad, but not especially flavorful.

Mouthfeel was zesty with a medium to light body.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2007 02:12:31 | More by Cresant

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.13/5  rDev -21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Beautiful clear rich golden colour, with a great big head of frosty solid foam. Fine carbonation around the edges. A beautiful looking beer, very regal and aristocratic.

Rather musty, almost metallic coppery nose. Light bread yeast overtones, but the mustiness, which takes on nuances of organic or grainy characters, wins out.

Malt and yeast on the palate, almost overpowering, before there's more grainy characters. Earthy malt and a noticeable wash of alcohol heat. There's a slightly metallic, solvent-like quality coming from the alcohol, and a tingle of hops bitterness, but not a lot.

Weird one this. I don't know if it's a stylistic difference that I find so challenging, but there's bits to this that make it rather difficult to drink. Whether it's the intensity of the yeast character, the heat of the alcohol which isn't quite covered up, or something else - something rankles with me here. When I've tried more Bières de garde, I'll probably know more, but for now I'll say good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2007 23:23:26 | More by lacqueredmouse

jahred

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Wow. It took me way too long to get this beer open - there's an odd metal staple-like object inserted into the cork. Not sure why it's needed.

In any case, pours an incredibly clear, pale yellow color with a nice white head and plenty of lace to go around. The scent is incredibly yeasty, with perhaps a slight bitter hoppy scent.

The taste is spicy and phenolic, and largely focused on the yeast. As it warms, I taste more yeast, and then alcohol, but little else. I don't even get much of a fruit, malt or hoppy taste. Just alcohol and yeast (which I normally love to detect in my beers, but only in conjuction with other flavors). Of course, yeast and alcohol and little else made for what I consider to be a rather unbalanced beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2004 03:20:07 | More by jahred

taez555

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured a crystal clear yellow body with a thick bright white head.

Nose had a touch of biscuit, some alcohol. Mild hints of yeast and an array of very subtle spices.

Taste was medium bodied and very smooth. Large bubbled carbonation with a distinct hop bitterness. Touches of spice and yeast flow throughout. Malt base had a very mild almost biscuit taste, but leaned more towards just a very clear classic Belgian malt. Ended very clean and rather forgettable. Very subtle tastes.

I don’t know, I wasn’t really crazy about this beer. It seemed like a mellow saison mixed with Bud. A decent beer to pair with certain foods, but I’d probably take something with a little more bite next time.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2005 17:35:25 | More by taez555

mulder1010

Australia

3.18/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

a 750 bottle and poured into my Belle-Vue Kriek glass.

A--very clean pouring, excellent golden yellow (straw). Head was thick and lasted a minute until dying off slowly, good carbonation.
S-- a little sweet, and get a straw smell as well. Smells on the dry side.
T-- Clean, very little bitterness, on the dry side as well, very little alchohol taste for the ABV. 8.5%
M-- lively in the mouth but dissipates quickly after swallowing. Get that dry feeling in my mouth and on the back of my tongue. Not as complex as Belgian beers.
D-- one is enough. I like it but not something I would want a lot of. This 750 is more than enough. The ABV does not catch up on you quickly. A total savory beer. I had hoped this would be more complex than what it is. I get a lot of straw taste and the dryness from it.
Just is missing something that keeps me from going I want more. Have always read good things about it but will have to give this another chance eventually.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2009 15:27:08 | More by mulder1010

laituegonflable

Australia

3.23/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Very standard lagery appearance, only with a huge foamy head that thins out, creating a bit of lacing. Mostly just plain amber colour with light carbonation.

Somewhat underwhelming nose too. Light floral hoppiness with fair amber malt characters, standard but not boring nose. It's got character, just no really unique features leaping at me.

Thick, syrupy malt flavour on the tongue progresses to a long hoppy palate with a lot of flavour. It's rich and strong with hints of coriander, soil and citrus characters. Slightly stinging mouthfeel and intense flavour makes it respectable but it's not all that complex, just strong and long, like my penis.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2008 04:05:32 | More by laituegonflable

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.25/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Cork and clipped 0.75 litre brown bottle, best before 29th Oct 2010, drank early Jan 2010.

Very pale blonde/lager colour with a snow white close small bubbled head. Good lacing was left as the beer sank down the glass.

The aroma was a mix of dirty dish cloths, hops, yeast, leather satchels and stale lager.

The beer was refreshing and palate cleansing, mildly hoppy at first and then turning a little bitter.

It appeared to be like a round bodied lager based beer, which isn't what it should. Having said that I quite enjoyed the beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2010 19:24:10 | More by BlackHaddock

IchLiebeBier

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Appearance: Clear; gold; small head; effervescent

Aroma: Fruity; spicy; wine-like

Taste: Peppery; well-balanced; this beer is pilsner-like, which isn't my favorite style

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; so please disregard those scores

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 01:08:39 | More by IchLiebeBier

ipogios

Cyprus

3.28/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I asked a friend of mine to bring me a couple of bottles of this beer when he went on vacation to France. 3 Monts pours gold colour topped by a nice white head. The aroma consists of yeast and fruity hints. Taste was not what i expected. I don't know if the taste has been deteriorated dew to my friend bringing it from France. Good carbonation and feels really good when in mouth.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2002 13:28:09 | More by ipogios

muttyd

Massachusetts

3.28/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Clear golden yellow. Crystal clear with a thin white head.

S - Almost like a hard cider - green apples, pears, some citrus, grassy hops.

T - Grainy, citrusy and bitter in the finish. Yeast / spicyness is minimal and the grainy malts pretty much dominate the flavor palate. Nothing too exciting, but still enjoyable.

M - Light body. Bubbly on the tongue. Leaves a grassy after taste.

D - Drinks like a 4% abv pilsner, not a 8.5% abv strong ale. Not something I would seek out again, but still drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2010 02:33:20 | More by muttyd