Originally published in BEER February 2006
ABV 5.5 per cent
Origin Purnode, Namur, Belgium
Buy from Morrisons, specialist shops
Website www.bocq.be
Du Bocq La Gauloise Ambrée
In March 2004, when Yorkshire-based grocer Morrisons turned itself into the fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK by swallowing up rival Safeway and converting all its stores, the news was greeted with some alarm by bottled beer lovers: of all the national chains Safeway had boasted easily the most interesting beer range.
Last Autumn Morrisons went some way to making up the loss by launching a range of over 20 imported specialities, but hardened beer hunters hoping for the sort of surprises Safeway once served up may be disappointed by a list heavy on Interbrew and S&N/Kronenbourg brands and beers already fairly widely available in Britain.
La Gauloise Ambrée, a bottle conditioned Belgian amber ale from an old-established family-owned Wallonian independent, is one of the more interesting inclusions. Brewery Du Bocq specialises in decent warm fermented beers, though an irritating habit of marketing identical brews under different names hasn’t helped its reputation with beer lovers.
The Ambrée is one of a series of three Gauloise beers with labels depicting the classical goddess of grain Ceres. Though the label claims this is “the beer of our ancestors”, the recipes are modern. The advised serving temperature of 5°C should be taken even less seriously – it’s far too low in my opinion.
This is a cheerful enough lightly spiced ale that pours clear and sparkling from its corked 750ml bottle, with a rich amber colour (30 EBC) and a fluffy off-white head. Herbs including coriander show in the spicy, mallowy aroma.
There’s plenty of juicy sweet malt, drying hops and herbal flashes on the palate but also a papery note. The finish is the beer’s strongest suit: it’s tangily fruity with rounded burry hops (30 IBU) and a ginger cake touch.
The blond and brown sister beers are not stocked by Morrisons but often pop up in specialist shops – the brown is the strongest and best of the three.
See next post to read about more beers stocked by Morrisons.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/la-gauloise-ambree/6152/
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