{"id":9785,"date":"2013-12-11T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=9785"},"modified":"2021-08-30T12:20:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T17:20:36","slug":"review-brasserie-duyck-jenlain-blonde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/review-brasserie-duyck-jenlain-blonde\/","title":{"rendered":"From The Cellar: Brasserie Duyck Jenlain Blonde"},"content":{"rendered":"
Brasserie Duyck says:<\/p>\n
“Created in 2005, Jenlain Blonde, the worthy sibling of the illustrious Jenlain Ambr\u00e9e, is a full-bodied beer in the great tradition of special blond beers.<\/p>\n
Left to rest in the vat for several weeks, it matures slowly to release its full aroma and develop a fine and long-lasting head. Once filtered, it takes on a sparkling, golden hue and is best enjoyed chilled to between 6 and 8\u00b0C.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Brasserie Duyck Jenlain Blonde<\/em>
\nBiere de Garde, 7.5% ABV<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>
\n*This beer was provided by the brewer for the purpose of a review.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nFRESH<\/strong><\/p>\n
Karl<\/strong>: I love surprises more than anything when it comes to beer, and this was one of the better surprises I\u2019ve had it a long time. The French do so many good things with fermentation when it comes to grapes, so I had no reason not to suspect that this French brewery just spitting distance from Belgium wouldn\u2019t do great things, but I just didn\u2019t know what I was in for here. Straight from the twist of the cap, this beer was a fun one.<\/p>\n
Bright Belgian banana flavors pop out of the bottle as I poured it into the most appropriate piece of glassware I owned for this particular beer – a free Stella Artois glass (not pictured) liberated from one of those online giveaways. Fresh, grassy notes dance around the aroma as huge apple juice flavors pop you square in the center of the palate, drenching you with bright fruit with dry, dusty farmhouse funk behind – that telltale \u201chorseblanket\u201d flavor that\u2019s the hallmark of these beers is present, but not hugely so.<\/p>\n
A rich, creamy, complex finish tails away with orange rind flavors and still plenty of that sweet, sweet apple. Light, refreshing but still hearty and complex enough to know you\u2019re drinking something; I could easily wile away the hours at the Hopleaf bar sipping on many of these as I page through a book and work through a plate of mussels and frites.<\/p>\n
Restaurants of Chicago: Ditch your Allagashes and your Leffe Blondes and get yourself some of this stuff. Do it for me.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Ryan<\/strong>: Curiosity quickly changed to excitement when I sat down with Brasserie Duyck’s Jenlain Blonde. Shortly before I poured this beer, into a tulip glass (since we’re talking glassware today), I received the following text from Karl:<\/p>\n
“Holly hell this Jenlain Blonde is amazing.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Setting the bar a tad high, aren’t we?<\/p>\n
He had, and for good reason, because this beer is really, REALLY good.<\/p>\n
On top of Karl’s aforementioned apple aromas I also picked up loads of pear and a bit of white grapes too — but no banana here. Regardless, I wasn’t disappointed in the least by the aroma and I certainly wasn’t disappointed by first few sips of this beer.<\/p>\n
Creamy, complex and doubled-down on richness the Jenlain Blonde is pleasantly sweet with a touch of lemon and honey. It was hearty, a biscuit-y, with flavors similar to a buttered biscuit.<\/p>\n
The heartiness shines through as the beer warms giving it a certain gritty, earthy quality. I like it. I like it a lot.<\/p>\n
I hung on to a larger bottle of this one and will squirrel it away for a while. I’m really interested to see what happens to this in a year or two — or more.<\/p>\n
(Editors note: Jenlain Blonde is one of a number of French craft beers highlighting events this week at The Publican and at Hopleaf<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n