Abbaye de Vauclair Brune

Abbaye de Vauclair

Brewed by Les Brasseurs De Gayant
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Douai, France

The Vauclair Abbey was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1134 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, located in the North of France. Supported financially by rich families, the abbey quickly prospered and was given several estates and farms, until the French Revolution in 1789, when it was finally demolished and sold as “national property”. Then World War one lead to further damage from artillery fire…..to where today only ruins remain. What remains of the site is an arboretum of apple and pear trees and a medicinal herb garden.

Not the first time I have had a beer from the Abbaye de Vauclair range. Had their Rubis (Ruby) a while back and thought it was surprisingly decent. It was cheap and did the business, so looking forward to their Brune for sure.

Review: 33cl bottle of Abbaye de Vauclair Brune: 6.4% vol.

Bottle from Lidl, France. Cheap, and coming in a nice 33cl stubble bottle.

Pitch black on the pour with a small white head which eventually dies a death. Looks like a black lager more so than a Belgian Brune ale. Not a looker.

The aroma is quite strong in this one, very hoppy smell, very piercing, and very sweet. Must be the dark roasted malts and the fruits.

Getting a slight bitter taste in the mouth, not a problem but noticeable.

Has no real kick or bite to this beer.

Nothing special, pretty boring and bland truth be told. Just the hops and the roasted malts (on the low level) and not much else to write home about. No real flavouring and a bit dry. Disappointing.