McAuslan St Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale

Darkish pour for a 5% beer, and no real head to speak of. Both easily enough explained by the way this is, well, an apricot wheat ale of all things.

For me at least buying a beer like this is an interesting experience, as expectations are set kind of low for the most part, but matched against a thin ray of hope it may be a flavour sensation. In this case, you first encounter a nose reminiscent an alcoholic apricot marmalade, thick, heavy, syrupy and sweet. Taste is definitely apricot, with a welcome spicy citrus finish. Sort of like a liquid apricot danish in places.

I'm not sure if this is brewed with fruit - or more correctly, how the fruit is used to achieve this effect, but it's reasonably heavy to me particularly for the 5%.

Overall, not my favourite beer but hey - I didn't really expect it to be. This does exactly what it says it would, and there's no point getting upset about that. Nice work, interesting idea well executed. 7.0

McAuslan Brewing St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Had trialled this once before as part of a tasting but it now deserves its own article.

It seems this beer is rather well received in the community, and I can see why. It's an oatmeal stout through and through, and pours beautifully with a thick mocha head that bubbles pudding-like atop a dark brown / black body. There's an aroma of grain and coffee, with roasty notes throughout.

The heavy, smooth mouthfeel fits the style nicely and brings smooth malt coupled with long lasting dark chocolate and coffee bitterness. It's not a very sweet beer on the whole - instead you get the impression of significant hopping - but it exudes quality if not perfect balance. Good stuff. 8.0

French Canadian tasting notes

More detail on each beer here but some thoughts below.

Les Trois Mousquetaires

Signature Series Kellerbier:   a very cloudy unfiltered pilsner. Ashen and bitter, grainy, asparagus in there somewhere, lingering powdery nature. I enjoyed this though many others didn't. 7.0

Signature Series Americaine:   pretty heavy, bit of sediment (late in the bottle?), opaque. Pale ale flavours, quite sweet on the whole. Caramel dominant .. hops are obscured. 4.0

Signature Series Maibock:   Light and transparent for a winter beer. Venomous aroma on the head. Can smell every bit of the 8% booze. Foreboding. But it's actually hidden really well in taste; sticky down the throat, quite impressive on the whole but I don't love it. Let down by head / nose. 6.0

Signature Series Sticke Ale:   Opaque as a heavy ale. Head frothy but dissipates. Aroma malts only. Nutty pepper on the taste, toast, sweet malt driver. Kind of a one-note beer, but at least it's a good note. 7.0

McAuslan Brewing

St-Ambroise Scotch Ale:   swirly vanilla head, ruby red body, malty sweet aroma. 7.5% alcohol is warming. Delicious full mouth. Earthy organic peat whiskey flavours. To be consumed in front of a northern wintertime yuletide hearth. But maybe not in Aus summer. Well crafted and disguised alcohol. 7.5

Vintage Ale:   9.8% - wow. Heavy in the glass, opaque as you'd expect. Sweet malt dominated aroma. It's a punch in the mouth from the flavour fairy, christmas fruits cake, caramel, alcohol, cherries. Bloody well hidden though nevertheless, an excellent beer, possibly even to cellar? 8.5

Oatmeal Stout:   Coffee headed, black body, nice lacing. Dark choc and alcohol head. Maybe it was just the first stout of the day but taste was superb. Oatmeal evident with coffee, dark choc developing. Smooth development through these flavours. 9.0

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel

Blanche du Paradis:   Hazy, solid, orange bodied wheat bear. Orange peel aroma. Too sweet, like a sugary orange cupcake. Rounded but heavy. Low aeration, quite flat even. 4.0

Derniere Volonte:   Frothy white head, solid body, inert. Floral and malty aroma. Someone called this 'rape' at the tasting to wider acclaim. I sort of vaguely see where he was coming from.. citrus dominant but it's wider trappist flavours .. that don't really mix. 2.5

Rescousse:   Nice transparent amber, white head, but still malt driven aroma. Light taste, a relief. Bitterish.. toast is present again. Good enough I guess? But no real redeeming qualities. 5.5

Route des epices:   Dark amber, inert, rye mash. Aroma in line with rye malts. Supposed to be peppery .. could taste traces there. Soft mouthfeel, light but full. Easy drinking. 7.0

Corne du Diable:   Amber bodied, low white head. A little hops on the nose. Peppery hop taste, sweeter than I'd like, but nicely lingering. 6.5

Charbonniere:   A rauchbier, this is dark amber with a nose of smoky bacon bits. Traditional ham flavour on it. Pretty drinkable actually in the end, not sure I'd drink more than 1 but this is fine. 7.0

Aphrodisiaque:   Dark colour, coffee mocha head, scent of dark cocoa and subtle vanilla. Heavy milk choc taste, slight coffee, bitter enough to be highly drinkable. 8.0

Peche Mortal:   Pitch black. No head. Solid and heavy. Chocolate, coffee, medium alcohol aromas. Chocolate dominated taste at first but this is surprisingly shortlived. Burns a little alongside the bitterness but then 9.5%'ll do that for you. Lovely developing coffee roasted flavours. 9.0