Well I’m off to Brew Woo today. First stop is Peppercorns in Worcester for lunch with Norman the Beer Nut, Brandon, and some other folks. It’s been a busy day to this point with little down time. Thank God I have Silvio to cover the Saturday reviews! Silvio…
I’d like to start this week’s review with a big happy birthday wish for our host Josh. The reason we’re all here, LIBA’s founding father turns the big 3-2 this weekend. Best wishes, bud – welcome to the club.
Now let’s get down to business. This week I reviewed the Southampton Cuvee des Fleurs, which loosely translated means “wood tank/tub of flowers.” The label touts it as an ale brewed with flowers and rose water. Seven flowers are listed in the brew, but I only recognized lavender and chamomile, so I knew I was in for something different.
The beer is unique from the pour, with a high yellow, very cloudy hue with tons of sediment suspended in the beer and on the bottom of my glass, but only a moderate foam head. The aroma was quite floral, I definitely picked up the rose water, but I got some spicy notes in the background. Overall, it reminded me of a floral tripel.
Flavor-wise, the Cuvee de Fleur is unlike any other beer I’ve ever tasted. To start, the combination of flower tastes is really strong – a bit overwhelming and too perfumey at the start. I couldn’t make out any distinct flowers on my first few sips, but gradually the lavender becomes dominant though the middle, which is interesting because I couldn’t pick the lavender out from the aroma. After the perfume shock of the first taste, this beer gets sweet through the middle, but the floral taste ends on a flat and stale note.
Overall, the Cuvee is an interesting beer, great to try once or twice for the experience, but I couldn’t see having this more than once unless you really like floral, perfumey beers. It’s got an 8.2% ABV working for it, which I suppose is strong for an ale like this, but if getting hammered is your goal, look elsewhere.
-Silvio
Homebrew Academy
