Le Saint-Bock Brasserie Artisanale Enigma

Every once in a while, you get a beer that just doesn't do it for you. I picked up this bottle at Capone's because I saw it had an A+ rating on Beer Advocate, and it was already aged. The bottle I picked up was labeled from 2008, although according to the label it was bottled 10/5/09. I was pretty excited about this beer, since it was so highly rated and cost $8 for a little stubby bottle.

When I poured it, it was a deep ruby brown, with no head to speak of. The smell was intriguing, with hints of vanilla and oak, along with tons of dark fruit. A bit of maple pokes through as well. There was a bit of strange tartness in the aroma as well that is hard to place, and an overall boozy feel to it.

It was when I first sipped the beer that everything fell apart. Initially it was fine, with some dark fruit flavors on the tip of the tongue, but as soon as it hits the middle of the tongue it just goes south. There's a sudden explosion of soda-syrup sweetness, combined with prune juice, maple syrup, and vanilla. The taste lingers on the tongue sickeningly, as the alcohol warmth takes over in the throat. There's no hop presence to speak of, and absolutely nothing to provide any balance to the beer. Caramel, maple, toffee, fruit, and other sweet flavors run unchecked through this beer, providing for me the very definition of the term "cloying."

This beer is lacking in the mouth as well, the substantial sweetness somehow still giving way to a thin feeling body, and a carbonation level that again is reminiscent of soda. The high presence of sugar and alcohol somehow sucks the moisture right out of my mouth, leaving it feeling dry despite the fact that this should be a fairly wet beer.

It's an enigma for sure, but definitely not the good kind. I feel almost like this is unfermented (and unhopped) wort from the taste, although the heavy alcohol presence makes it obvious that it is not. I would say that it either needs to be consumed younger or sit longer, but younger and the alcohol heat would make it unbearable, and as it sits the sweetness would seem to come out even more. I can only make two recommendations. First, to the brewer, all the flavors in this beer are normally pleasant, and I loved the complexity, but the sweetness is just too much. This beer needs balance, and the hopping rates have to be boosted even if just on the bittering side. Second, to the consumer I would say avoid this batch at least, if not the beer entirely. It was sickeningly sweet, more so than even soda. It's really a shame, as both Dan and I could only get through a few sips before pouring this one down the drain. So much for that $8 bottle.

-Adam