Legal Beer

Prior to purchasing this brew I knew nothing of the makers of St Ambroise, McAuslan Brewery other than the fact that they are from Montreal, Canada which is stated on the bottle. After some quick reading it appears they started brewing in 1989 and have had continued success branching out to their current nine varieties of bottled beer. I decided to pick up a four pack of this intriguing beverage at the recommendation of Alvey of The Four Firkins and after a quick taste it was an easy sell. This interestingly styled Apricot Wheat Ale pours a completely translucent light apricot hue and produces a solid two plus fingers of white head that last for a few minutes. Aroma is of gentle alcohol and rich sweet apricots with just a hint of wheat. Apricot flavors are forward but balanced by plenty of wheat and other grains that add a dash of sweetness but is still grainy enough to provide a somewhat hearty mouthfeel and avoid turning this brew into a sweet mess. Body is relatively light and with a 5% ABV it is certainly an easy to drink beer. Though I detect almost no hops the grains present in this brew seem to add a gentle bitter note to wrap up the flavor of this beer. Not a style of beer I would typically drink a ton of but a good example of how to make a tasty fruit beer that is very palatable. A dandy stepping stone for someone who really likes apricots but may be a bit weary of beer, or better yet the perfect beer for someone who enjoys fruits and beer but doesn’t want to be subjected to a syrupy mess. I am pleased with the way the brewer has managed to accentuate an enjoyable wheat base with some serious fruitiness yet balance it well enough that I would happily drink many of their brews, particularly on a nice warm day such as today. Give it a shot and ride your bike.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Beer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.