La Moneuse - Brasserie de Blaugies

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours clear orange with a huge rocky foam head. Gobs of sticky lace. Bubbles rising at a fast pace. Nice retention as well.

Nose of some yeast and grain and a little white pepper. Not overly complex, and the head really keeps the aroma at bay.

Smooth even beer with nice malt that dries out fast. Sweetness is nondescript and fleeting, replaced by grain and bread and a wood and cracker-like note. No real funk in this one. Moderate bitterness and the malt is prevalent on the palate at the end. Booze is hidden.

Medium body, strong carbonation.

Highly drinkable and enjoyable. Nice balance and malt forward. A softer, cleaner version of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 00:19:45 | More by OtherShoe2

cburns48

Vermont

4.5/5  rDev +9%

05-18-2013 12:54:55 | More by cburns48

AlexChillton

Arizona

4/5  rDev -3.1%

05-18-2013 02:46:33 | More by AlexChillton

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

4.19/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into a wine glass

A: Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a very active one finger head. Great lacing.

S: Very phenolic. Dried apricot base with a nice nutty, spicy quality. Lemon zest pairs with peppercorn and cardamom to create a complex, yet well integrated and balanced aroma.

T: Equally as phenolic as the aroma. Dried apricot provides a great base with clove and nutmeg to create a very balanced and complex flavor. A bit sweet for the style, but certainly balanced.

M: A bit on the thick side with strong carbonation, even for the style.

O: A very balanced and complex Saison. It's a bit sweet for the style, but definitely not too sweet, like many American versions of the style. The phenols help balanced the sweetness, creating a delicious beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 21:20:03 | More by coreyfmcdonald

MSandahl23

Indiana

4/5  rDev -3.1%

04-26-2013 19:02:02 | More by MSandahl23

George2744

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -21.3%

04-13-2013 13:25:37 | More by George2744

Mebuzzard

Colorado

4.04/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This beer pours a dark golden color with a touch of haziness. Big white head and splotchy lacing. Head settles to a thick collar.

Aroma of grass, earthy spices, apple skin, some coriander and a hint of flowers. Semi-sweet with a touch of cheese

Flavors dance around the underlying biscuit theme. Hops are light and spicy giving a slight lemon taste. Some flowers in the taste, but nothing is really all that dominant. The carbonation cleanses the palate a little too well. The spices on the end are shaken clean. A touch boozy

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 04:29:40 | More by Mebuzzard

DaveBlack

Virginia

4.11/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Light copper colored beer, with a hefty 2 finger foamy white head with a seemingly infinite retention and lots of lacing.

S: Yeast is far and away the strongest aroma in this beer, with tart green apple and some spices. Not too much of an aroma, I think mostly because it has to work its way through the neverending inch of head.

T: Much like the aroma, the taste is somewhat reserved. It's bready, grainy and yeasty, with some peppery spiciness. Not at all sweet, and the end is crisp and tart. Some alcoholic phenols and grassiness. Deceptively simple and tame and first, but the more I drink it and the more it warms and opens up the more flavors come through. Never powerful, but keeps me going back for more.

M: Moderate body, but heavy on the carbonation. Light in the mouth, but somewhat sticky on the back of the throat.

O: Really quite a good beer. Doesn't blow me away, but the flavor is deep and complex. The tartness is satisfying, and the flavors interesting. Works for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 23:04:46 | More by DaveBlack

Braz

Washington

3.05/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Purchased at Tacoma Boys. I had to judge this strictly as a farmhouse ale. May have been off. Pours a clear bronze with a head I don't have the room here to describe. Like champagne on roids. Pure white. Then looking back over to the bottle a few seconds later, it was slowly spewing foam like a volcano. And it did not want to stop no matter what I did. Aromas were dark fruit, very yeasty with a bit of dry apple. Beer itself was quite tasteless. Way too much carbonation. Nothing really stood out from the taste. Like I said this was probably old or discounted for some reason. Not undrinkable, but not a saison anymore either.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 23:10:50 | More by Braz

monitorpop

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

03-19-2013 03:13:00 | More by monitorpop

GeoffreyM

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.1%

03-04-2013 19:54:19 | More by GeoffreyM

coryking

Missouri

3/5  rDev -27.4%

02-27-2013 23:13:42 | More by coryking

Noyt

Quebec (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

02-20-2013 19:23:58 | More by Noyt

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I have to admit, I got an off bottle of this. so let this review reflect what it comes out like when there is something wrong in the bottling. the beer pours a nice cloudy pale golden color, as a saison should, with whoa whoa whoa wait, a huge huge head, rising snow white and overflowing. an inch of beer on the bottom of an ale glass, 7 inches of head, and rising. tons of hectic fizz spouting off from whatever impurities are on the inside of the glass. odd, new, and curious. the nose is fine, well spiced, yeasty, alcoholic, and thicker for the genre, but this look is throwing me off. not that the foam has relaxed, its insanely flat, like, all that carbonation and activity has faded to nothing. this has the gravity and feel of tap water. so different. I decided that a tiny pour from the bottle and a quick chug was the only way to go. it could achieve a nice feel on the sip before it goes flat, as well as the full aroma as it warmed in the bottle. lots of yeast, maybe too much, something is off here, but I still force it to work out of ambition and desperation. id ask for my money back, but I finished it off, and without a receipt, it ain't going to work. the feel is soda when its live, and water when its dead, such a dichotomy. overall, if this was right in feel it would be profound, but in the bottle I got, it was just above average. a good brew, but I need another bottle to really evaluate this fairly. look out for handling.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 04:32:00 | More by StonedTrippin

superspak

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours lightly hazy golden orange color with a nice 3 finger fluffy white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice thick foamy lacing clings to the glass, with plenty of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of lemon zest, pear, apple, orange zest, herbal, floral, earth, bread, pepper, and yeast spiciness. Fantastic aromas with great complexity and balance. Taste of lemon, orange, pear, pepper, bread, earth, apple, herbal, floral, and yeast spiciness. Lingering notes of citrus, light fruit, pepper, herbal, floral, grass, earth, and yeast spices on the finish for a good bit. Fantastic flavor balance and complexity; with minimal cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a fairly creamy, crisp, and prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a highly excellent saison. Great flavor balance and complexity; quite smooth and very crisp to sip on. Highly enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 04:24:06 | More by superspak

SupremePie

Vermont

3.75/5  rDev -9.2%

10-19-2012 01:44:58 | More by SupremePie

yemenmocha

Arizona

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance and nose were amazing, but I couldn't savor the rest of the experience to the same extent.

Pours a gorgeous honeyed color with haze, and one of the most creamy and meringue-like heads I've seen in awhile. Such sponginess, jiggle-ability, creamy texture. Delight.

Nose was very assertive with an almost intoxicating yeastyness that sweeps you off your feet, or out of your chair perhaps. I also get some grassy aromas, and funky cheeses in the nose.

Palate has some melon rind, fruity malt, light hops, and more of the funky cheese. Carbonation seems a little low. Finish is bland in flavors... I tried, I really did.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 02:39:23 | More by yemenmocha

yossarian14

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +9%

09-12-2012 16:44:18 | More by yossarian14

theminutemen

Missouri

3.25/5  rDev -21.3%

09-05-2012 19:08:34 | More by theminutemen

spoony

Colorado

4.23/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From a 750ml bottle into a La Moneuse glass.

A-Poured a golden honey, dark yellow with a creamy (mostly) white, tall head. The head stuck around, too.

S-Orange and candy. Some honey...a little spice. Other citrus flavors were there, also a touch of malt and caramel. Not a strong smell, but pleasant.

T-Orange and honey at first, followed by some caramel and darker fruit like fig and raisin. Slight spice...is that pepper on the finish? You pick up a touch of alcohol as the brew warms, but it's never boozy.

M-Medium body with prickly carbonation. Nice balance between sweet and dry.

O-I liked this beer quite a bit. I found the orange taste and smell unique and pleasing. It was well balanced and complex without going overboard on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 06:07:15 | More by spoony

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -3.1%

08-29-2012 03:08:44 | More by t0rin0

Agent1

Alberta (Canada)

4.6/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - Pours a vivid yellow/ orange. Excellent head retention. Bright, white, creamy head with small bubbles around the edges of the glass. I cannot stress enough just how amazing the head on this beer really is. Looks wonderful!

Smell - Surprisingly, quite sour. The aroma almost reminds me of a Kriek lambic. Plenty of lemon, yeast, sourdough bread, orange, mango and pine. Very complex and bright. Almost clears the sinuses. Also, floral notes are present as well.

Taste - Lots of bread all throughout, lasting until the final aftertaste. Chewy and full, yet still reasonably light, tangy and acidic. Light caramel notes. Nice and dry. Lemon peel, green grape skin and green apple. A beautiful use of sugars and hops. Quite bitter, but it creates a crisp, edginess that coincides with the carbonation. Nice use of Saaz and possibly East Kent Goldings.

Mouthfeel - Heavily carbonated, but this works very well with this ale. Literally zaps the palate. Smooth, rounded, with plenty of feel all throughout -- tongue and roof of the mouth. Wow.

Overall - One of the best Saisons I have ever had. This may be better than Ommegang's Hennepin. I truly admire the Hennepin, and therefore, this is hard for me to admit: but damn, La Moneuse impresses me even more. I just hope I can one day get my hands on another bottle of this because it was by chance that I somehow obtained this bottle! I haven't seen it anywhere else since.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 06:32:55 | More by Agent1

4ster

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -3.1%

08-17-2012 16:23:09 | More by 4ster

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

07-13-2012 03:25:04 | More by rolltide8425

GreenMountainBoy

Vermont

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%

06-17-2012 22:17:25 | More by GreenMountainBoy