Hi there! “What the heck is this?” you may be asking… well, I decided that in addition to book reviews, I’d start posting reviews of various craft beers I’ve had the opportunity to sample! I am passionate about good, local craft beer and as a Montrealer, I am extremely fortunate in that regard. The province of Quebec in Canada is chock full of incredible breweries; in fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say our province has the highest number of top-notch breweries in the entire country. I’ll still post reviews/pics of stuff I get from elsewhere, but you’ll definitely be seeing more Quebec products. These reviews will also be posted on a separate Instagram page, The Beer Bard, if you’d like to follow me there.
“Acidula framboise vanille” from MonsRegius is a sour wheat ale with vanilla, raspberries, and lactose. I remember drinking the strawberry version of this (which comes in bottle-only format so far… dear god please put that one in cans too!) and it was delicious. This one is also excellent!
If you like raspberries, you won’t be disappointed: the fruit character of the beer is on point, with just a hint of wheat and a pleasant lactic acid bite.
This isn’t the kind of sour that blows your mouth out; it is very balanced and refreshing, perfect for hot Summer porch weather. The vanilla isn’t at the forefront of this beer, but instead seems to smooth out the sharpness of the lactic acid and raspberry puree; the lingering aftertaste is the wheat, followed by the raspberries, then a teeny bit of that vanilla. The mouthfeel is good, not too thick, but not super watery either. It’s one of the better-balanced beers of this type I’ve had, and the fact that it comes in cans is a plus. I also picked up the lemon version, so I’ll be trying that soon!
Let me know your thoughts below: do you like sours? How about fruit beers? What’s your take on adjuncts in beer?
Bonne degustation!
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