What's day without night; pie without mash; Bert without Ernie? Somethings don't cut the mustard on their own. In this case: scent without taste.
Bizarrely it's been the case of the last two beers I've drunk, both Moinette Biologique, an organic offering from big boys Dupont and Ramée Amber, a beer from a much smaller, less-well-known brewery - certainly by me at least!
I haven't tried the standard Moinette that Dupont makes, presumably it's pretty similar, but the Biologique version presents itself in a dinky 250ml bottle. I didn't know that pesticides added an extra 80ml to my beer, so perhaps I'll think again with non-organic beer! I had to make sure I was concentrating so it wasn't all drunk before I'd made my notes.
There's wheatsyrup in this beer so it gives a distinctly cloudy appearance, less like a traditional Belgian Witbier and more like a German HefeWeiss (think Erdinger or Kupper's Kölsch) with deep yellows and a fizzy head settling to a nice creamy layer.
It smells delicious with a kind of candy floss aroma, or frying butter. It's a smell which I've not really come across in beer so a nice surprise. Unfortunately it doesn't really translate to a delicious flavour, rather just a bit of an odd one.
To make matters worse, it's pretty much the only flavour on offer. The beer doesn't really offer much in terms of sweetness and only the mildest bitterness. The body is very thin too, which may please some, but I'm a fan of meaty numbers with something to chew on, post gulp. For its 7.5% it comes across a bit watery which is possibly an achievement in itself, albeit not a great one.
Ramée came out looking like my sort of beer. The bottle (with 80ml added pesticides) is smartly presented, though not overwhelming. The cloudy ruby appearance is nice, giving the suggestion that it's got good body. It also involves a little wheat. The head is a fast-fading affair which is a little disappointing but there are more important things in life. Like aroma.
This beer smells as much like strawberries as Fruli (well, nearly). It was such a distinct presence that I had to check the label to see if it did contain strawberries or not. It didn't. So, all the more impressive perhaps. So how did this beer build on it's enticing aroma?
Well, as you might have guessed from my introduction, it didn't really. Apart from a gentle strawberry flavour in the beer, which was more than agreeable, there was once again very little going on. Thankfully it was saved by a hearty meal. Once I had some tasty food the lack of flavour became less of an issue and it became a refreshing palate washer.
Neither of these beers are dreadful (although Moinette does taste a little weird). I wonder if both of these beers suffer because of the wheat content? Wheat isn't exactly known for its pungent flavours or aromas and I can only assume that it supresses the malt flavours.
I think these two are slightly let down by the fact that they aren't really presented as wheat beers. I approached them both as Belgian abbey-style beers and neither had the body or aftertaste to match; something you'd expect from the 7.5% strength they both have. Ramée particularly so as it labels itself as a Tripel. I can't fault either of them on their aromas though and they have to be commended on this, but unfortunately it's not quite enough to make them good beers.
Moinette Biologique - 6
Ramée Amber - 6.5
http://www.brasserie-dupont.com/dupont/Default.aspx?Page=moinettebio
http://www.ramee.be/EN/Products.aspx
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