Hello my thirsty friends!
Today I present you a young French brewery founded in 2006 in the Flemish part of France: the Brasserie du Pays flamand, litterally "Brewery of the Flemish land". It's a brewery gaining traction and fame, it usually makes clean sweep of national awards and won several world awards.
We go today with their flagship beer bearing the name of Anosteké, which means "see you next time" in Flemish (don't ask me if it's true, I have no idea, it may as well be the franco-flemish deformation). We will try today the Blonde and the Saison. I'm not a big fan of the Saison type, but well, it could be interesting to have just a comparison.
Anosteké Saison
Saison is a type of beer specially made to be drunk during spring and summer. It is so intended to be fresh and light. Or lightish if you wish. As such, the Anosteké Saison measures 6% ABV and present a pale blond color.
Don't get fooled by the clarity! It's only the first half of the bottle: it is actually unfiltered and will be cloudy when completely poured.
It smells of flower with a light touch of fruity ester, I would say banana.
In mouth, it is easy to drink, with really a light density. Not watery but definitely on the lighter side of typical ales.
The bitterness is rather average, but it presents itself quite early in mouth, and actually goes crescendo and with a good length. There's also a slight acidic touch of citrus fruits, between citrus and orange.
All in one, I was surprised by the Saison. Despite being light, it definitely shows some character. Big up for the early bitterness! It's for sure not any Saison, and it won the World Beer Award 2016 in Saison category. Definitely a good choice for these current hot days!
Anosteké Blonde
The actual flagship of the brewery. Can't miss the tag on the bottle "World Beer Award 2021" in category Pale Belgian style. As such I expected it with high expectation after the aperitive Saison.
The Anosteké Blonde measures 8% ABV and shows a light blond cloudy color.
And... you saw it right away. What is this head? Well, I don't know. It may have been a bad bottle, or it was too tempered, but it wasn't right. The foam didn't stay, the head disappeared quickly and too soon enough there was no CO2 left in the beer. No need to tell you that the tasting was quite disappointing.
The smell is on the flowery side, with nuances of orange.
It was unfortunately disappointing in mouth. With little gas, it appeared dull. Somehow hoppy, somehow fruity (citrus/orange), somehow light on density. At 8% ABV, I like a beer with more body.
So in conclusion: a disappointing World Champion. Seems to be a French characteristic.
I will however try it again in a while. The bottle fermentation may have gone wrong or whatever. It's handmade beer after all! Every Leffe are perfectly produced and identical, and they are dull just the same!
One point for the Saison!
One "try again" ticket for the Blonde, that will likely compete against the IPA next time!