St Ambroise Erable — McAuslan Brewery
I don't even know if I can adequately describe in words how much I love maple syrup. When I buy a new bottle (always Ontario), I open it on the spot and take a swig. Ben does this now, too. Be aware, if you are pouring syrup out of a bottle that I bought, it's had my mouth on it. I nearly always buy those little maple sugar candies that the syrup sellers always have on their tables, too. While I love the pursuit of the ideal pancake (and I'm closing in on it), basically as soon as the first bite or two has confirmed the quality of that batch, I really only care about the pancake as a vessel to transport the syrup to my mouth. So, it goes without saying, I'm a fan of maple beers. Much more so than honey beers. They vary in mapliness, but many are delightful. And as the sap runs in the trees, it's time to start drinking them again. First one this year for me, is St Ambroise Erable by McAuslan Brewery
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St Ambroise Erable — McAuslan Brewery[/caption]
"Maple is my staple" — "Fearless" Fred Kennedy
From a 341ml bottle, St Ambroise Erable pours a bright clear deep copper red. About 1" of frothy head dropped to some fuzzy film that made a decent ring and left some good lace on the glass. Aroma is huge maple syrup. Classic, sweet rich woody goodness. There are hints of the malts as well, and a little trace of fruitiness. But it's a maple-fisted punch to your nose, in the best possible way. On the palate, there is a lot more balance. In fact, initially it just shows some malty sweetness, which only pops into big maple syrup as it moves back on your palate. There is definitely biscuity malts, as well as a nice touch of herbal hop. The finish is all sweet maple syrup, though, with touches of hops and that hint of fruitiness (which I'm assuming is the yeast). I'm torn on something though. I kind of want the body to be heavier. But that might just be because I'm half expecting it to be actual syrup, not beer. As it is, it drinks like a nice brown ale, good carbonation with enough weight to be felt. You could certainly get through a bunch of these. And I probably will. J'adore.
Sante, McAuslan!
Buy St Ambroise Erable
Roughly 40 kegs of this delight is on it's way to Toronto as I type. You can find it on tap anywhere that you usually find St Ambroise products. And the good news, is they're applying for a listing next year at the LCBO.
Drink It With
Well, pancakes. It's okay, if you're not comfortable drinking beer at breakfast, have flapjacks for dinner! For cheese, I would pair this with something sturdy, but not too big. Maybe a nice piece of Emmenthaler would do the trick.
About the Brewery
McAuslan Brewing began operations in January of 1989. Located at 4850 St-Ambroise Street in Montreal’s St-Henri district, it has established itself as Quebec’s foremost micro-brewery.
The brewery launched its first beer in February 1989. St-Ambroise Pale Ale was an immediate success. Its distinctive hoppy-ness and clear reddish hue set it apart and gained it an instant following. Shortly after, McAuslan Brewing became the first micro-brewery to offer its product in bottles.
4 comments
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As a fan of maple syrup, if your ever in Quebec stop in to an SAQ and look for La Maison Des Futailles "Fine Seve" I believe it's aged/fermented maple syrup, 40% abv and tastes like scotch/whiskey.
Fantastic! I think I drank about a quarter of the keg at Bar Hop in several visits. I've been trying to find very maple forward beers since having Schoune's 2005 recipe of their erable. Sadly everything has been a hint of maple. I'm looking forward to the bottles next year.
St Ambroise please don't downgrade the mapleness next year!
I sadly must disagree with the poster.
I've been a huge fan of McAuslan products for years and haven't been able to find a maple beer that was worthy of the name. Needless to say I was thrilled to bring the McAuslan Maple beer home! I'm drinking one as I write this and I don't even know if I'll be able to finish it... It sure tastes like a punch in the face of maple, which isn't a bad thing IMHO. But why did they have to cut the corners on maple and try to substitute some syrup (hell, reduced sap would have been awesome, pure maple flavor! ) with ''natural maple flavor'' (as written on the label). The end-product tastes like burnt syrup, not the good burnt stuff! I suspect this is a RJ breweries recipe, marketed for McAuslan. The rest is ok, although carbonation is a bit high for a beer that tastes like candy. Head retention is poor but that fits the style (or should I say the style so far...not that much maple beers on the market).
Judging on the other comments, I guess it's a hit or miss.
Sorry McAuslan, it's a miss for me!
i tasted maple saint-ambroise (drinking it atm) and im a bit disapointed by it. im a big fan of saint-ambroise beer, but this one....doesnt like it at all. i tasted many maple beer and most of them dont taste maple at all. this one does taste like maple but a really really bad one.its almost like a chimical maple. the only true maple beer for me is deserable from le grimoire brewery.its the only beer i tried that really have a true and strong maple taste.nothing come close to it so far.