Review: Brasserie Nonsuch Belgian Strong Ale

While I was trying to take photos for this review, one of my roommates was mumbling to himself about how I take too many photos and it's weird, well.. HE'S WEIRD!

Last week, La Brasserie Nonsuch brought their Belgian Strong Ale to Brandon.. which is awesome because I'm never in Winnipeg to get their beer!

I was amazingly fortunate enough to try their Belgian Strong Ale back at their launch party back in June and damn.. they did an awesome job at the party.. and I'll find out soon how they did with this batch!

The Belgian Strong Ale by La Brasserie Nonsuch tops out at 8.0% ABV and comes in a corked & caged 750mL which is what you'd see from typical Belgian/Quebec beers.

Appearance: Nonsuch's Belgian Strong pours a rich, cherrywood dark brown ale with a bit of a ruby red hue to it, and a bit of a beige head on top.

Aroma: There's a rich aroma of cherry wood to start things off, followed by notes of caramel, bubble gum and a liberal amount of dark fruits (dark cherry, raisins, plums). The malt presence is quite sweet and up front.. gives off a good presence of caramel and bubble gum.

Taste: Sweet malt-forward Belgian ale with notes of caramel, bubble gum, a hint of cola concentrate, a tad amount of caramel malt presence, grassy hops, a hint of earthiness, and a bit of a boozey non-descript liquor presence that gives me kind of a bit of a warm rum or whisky presence to it.. but I don't know what it is.

Overall Thoughts: You will find that this is a caramel forward, bubble gummy and boozey Belgian Strong Ale. Too bad the label n'est pas tout bilangue... mais Nonsuch did a great caramel forward Belgian Strong Ale that pairs well with the best Manitoban poutines, I feel that this beer would pair well with poutines from: Le Garage, Peasant Cookery and Half Moon.. this is a great take on beer that has been the norm in Quebec since '91 through Unibroue.

I recommend sampling this beer with friends and sample it with the best poutines that Manitoba has ever known.. that's what I think that les brasseurs de Nonsuch would have preferred.


http://www.nonsuch.beer/Belgian-Strong