Review: Brasserie Générale Vannage 2014 Vin de Blé (Cuvée Spéciale)


Time to get a beer out of the hoard - today's beer from the hoard review is Brasserie Générale's Vannage 2014 Wheat Wine.

From the label: « Pour la première fois de son histoire, la Brasserie Générale vous propose cette bière exceptionnelle contenant 70% de blé. Ses aromes subtils et envoûtants témoignent de sa richesse et du savoir faire de nos brasseurs. Ses saveurs uniques vous rendront fous de blé. »

I've only had a small handful of Wheat Wines over the years, with my favourite being Half Pints' Demeter's Harvest from 2012.

Appearance: This beer is 5ish years old so the first thing I noticed about the beer was a very hefty amount of sediment throughout the body, which isn't surprising at all at this point. Somewhat clearish amber caramel body to it, decent amount of carbonation and a light off-white head on top.

Aroma: Slightly oxidized (slight hint of cardboard) with a hefty syrupy sweetness to it, notes of dark fruits (raisins, figs), caramel, slightly boozy, hint of bubble gum, aromatic and a hint of wheaty goodness.

Taste: Hefty dose of caramel right from the beginning. There's a hint of toasted maltiness to give it a hint of nuttiness and woodiness to it. There's a light amount of boozy burn in the back of my throat but not surprising as it's 9.5% ABV. The beer is a tad syrupy and has a mild fruitiness at the end.. banana, raisins and figs. Aftertaste is a tad metallic and hint of pear.

Overall Thoughts: It's not every day you see a beer with wheat being 70% of the grain bill. After 5 years the beer is still pretty darn great - it's sweet, a bit syrupy, dark fruit and caramel. I've had beer that's just as old as this and it tasted full on stale but this one stayed pretty decent after all these years thankfully.  I haven't had many beers by Quebec City's Brasserie Générale but from the few I've tried in the past few years, their beer has been great so far.

https://www.brasseriegenerale.com

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