Beer review: Gauloise Brune (8.1% Belgium: Brasserie du Bocq)

The Gauloise Brune is an ale, more specifically a Belgian style dubbel. It's brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, a small Belgian family-owned brewery located in Purnode, near Yvoir. The brewery was founded in 1858 and produces about 6 million litres annually.

Taste: The Gauloise Brune is a medium/full-bodied beer with a sweet malty body. It features aromas of dried fruit, some spices, faint yeast and the beer finishes with the taste of dried fruit, a faint bitterness and a slight taste of alcohol.

Overall, the Gauloise Brune was a slight disappointment. The high price, and the fancy bottle raised my expectations quite high, but in the end the beer is a very average Belgian dubbel. I would maybe buy it again if I found it relatively cheap, but in Finland the price is just too damn high!

70 Good

Beer review: Blanche de Namur (4.5% Belgium: Brasserie du Bocq)

The Blance de Namur is a wheat beer, more specifically a Witbier. It's brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, a small Belgian family-owned brewery located in Purnode, near Yvoir. The brewery was founded in 1858 and produces about 6 million litres annually. The Blance de Namur has received several awards, for example the title of World's best wheat beer in 2009.

Taste: The Blanche de Namur is a light/medium-bodied beer with a spicy, yet quite sweet front. The beer is dominated by a wheaty, citric aroma and it finishes with a faint yeasty yet citric aftertaste.

Overall, the Blance de Namur is an excellent supermarket Witbier. It doesn't offer a strong aroma, but that's not what one should really be looking for in a Witbier, especially one that's sold in supermarkets. Being only 4.5%, the Blance de Namur packs a surprisingly rich set of flavors and is really enjoyable. One of the best, if not the best Witbier!

90 Exceptional