Blog Tracker
20-07-2022, 07:23
Visit The Beer Nut site (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/07/springtime-for-lidl.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG5RdkbXZGrXu8mH9-UMydAG0q_HJ9Che45koQMbuGhLPmDnWV0Ip-bQtFEmyvt6o1p92kmnLpSWtSn0hGNc-9w7qELnNug-gxmo8bPHC9dJq-SZ4PBmr-Ib858p5UOWb4iON3K8JM3iOJ4Qu1wEFBFTvdeL8RnafL3zIRAC eLS64PcCYFqk/s320/abbaye_de_vauclair_de_printemps.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG5RdkbXZGrXu8mH9-UMydAG0q_HJ9Che45koQMbuGhLPmDnWV0Ip-bQtFEmyvt6o1p92kmnLpSWtSn0hGNc-9w7qELnNug-gxmo8bPHC9dJq-SZ4PBmr-Ib858p5UOWb4iON3K8JM3iOJ4Qu1wEFBFTvdeL8RnafL3zIRAC eLS64PcCYFqk/s3735/abbaye_de_vauclair_de_printemps.jpg)Welcome back to the Abbey! I get almost giddy when I see a new Abbaye de Vauclair beer in Lidl, even when it is slightly out of season. This is the Spring edition, de Printemps. It's been around for a couple of years but this the first time I've noticed it.
I expected pale and maybe a bit hazy, like a saison or maybe a Lentebock, so I was surprised when it poured out a clear amber shade. There's a decent though not excessive head, and an aroma of herbs and spices, featuring black pepper, rosemary and oregano: possibly verrging on sickly, but promising a level of dry crispness also. Crispness is where the flavour opens -- very much a dry rasp of roasted grains -- and also where it finishes, with an almost pilsner-like herbal bite. The middle is more of a thumper, showing off the full 6.8% ABV as well as the inclusion of caramel and various syrups to bulk it out. There's gooey brown-banana effect, cut with ginger bread and aniseed.
This is a bit all over the place. Piling in the unfermentable sugars while also trying to make it dry and bitter doesn't really work. It's complex, for sure, but in a busy, unwieldy sort of way. "Interesting" is about the best I can say. I see it's landed in with a new batch of the IPA. Buy two bottles of that (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-la-recherche.html) instead.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/07/springtime-for-lidl.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG5RdkbXZGrXu8mH9-UMydAG0q_HJ9Che45koQMbuGhLPmDnWV0Ip-bQtFEmyvt6o1p92kmnLpSWtSn0hGNc-9w7qELnNug-gxmo8bPHC9dJq-SZ4PBmr-Ib858p5UOWb4iON3K8JM3iOJ4Qu1wEFBFTvdeL8RnafL3zIRAC eLS64PcCYFqk/s320/abbaye_de_vauclair_de_printemps.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG5RdkbXZGrXu8mH9-UMydAG0q_HJ9Che45koQMbuGhLPmDnWV0Ip-bQtFEmyvt6o1p92kmnLpSWtSn0hGNc-9w7qELnNug-gxmo8bPHC9dJq-SZ4PBmr-Ib858p5UOWb4iON3K8JM3iOJ4Qu1wEFBFTvdeL8RnafL3zIRAC eLS64PcCYFqk/s3735/abbaye_de_vauclair_de_printemps.jpg)Welcome back to the Abbey! I get almost giddy when I see a new Abbaye de Vauclair beer in Lidl, even when it is slightly out of season. This is the Spring edition, de Printemps. It's been around for a couple of years but this the first time I've noticed it.
I expected pale and maybe a bit hazy, like a saison or maybe a Lentebock, so I was surprised when it poured out a clear amber shade. There's a decent though not excessive head, and an aroma of herbs and spices, featuring black pepper, rosemary and oregano: possibly verrging on sickly, but promising a level of dry crispness also. Crispness is where the flavour opens -- very much a dry rasp of roasted grains -- and also where it finishes, with an almost pilsner-like herbal bite. The middle is more of a thumper, showing off the full 6.8% ABV as well as the inclusion of caramel and various syrups to bulk it out. There's gooey brown-banana effect, cut with ginger bread and aniseed.
This is a bit all over the place. Piling in the unfermentable sugars while also trying to make it dry and bitter doesn't really work. It's complex, for sure, but in a busy, unwieldy sort of way. "Interesting" is about the best I can say. I see it's landed in with a new batch of the IPA. Buy two bottles of that (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-la-recherche.html) instead.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/07/springtime-for-lidl.html)