# 3 Monts



## jgriffin (5/11/06)

Well i have to start with the truth and admit that i bought this beer under a mistaken assumption. I was prowling the new 1st choice liquore shop, and saw this beer. On the front it has "Bier de Flandre" so i thought that i might be buying a Flanders Red ale. The rest of the writing didn't give any clues, so i sunk $12 into a guess. Yes $12. i figured it was worth it for a beer style i had never tasted.

Anyway, just opened it, after finding a correct corkscrew and struggling with the steel cork holder. On pouring it's a nice golden yellow colour, with a strong compact head. I could immediately smell the winey taste common to high alcohol beers, which is when i went searching and discovered it's 8.5%.

First taste showed the common winey taste, but nowhere near as stong as i thought from the smell. The bitterness was sharp up front, but complex, tasting to me like a variety of hops has been used in this beer. There is very little residual bitterness though. The beer is slightly sweet, tasting slightly under attenuated. The winey flavour dissapears after a few sips, as does the sweet taste.
I'd say it's a very nicely balanced beer, reminiscent of a Leffe Blonde (to my uneducated tastes) but nowehere near as "in your face"; more subtly and suitable to non hardcore beer fanatics.


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## shotduck (5/11/06)

You got yourself a nice farmhouse bier de garde. I have had several of these in the past, and each time they tasted slightly different. Its one of the things I love about artisinal brewers - their beers can differ slightly from batch to batch. Interestingly enough, the first time I tried one I very nearly spat it out, but the rest have been pure heaven.



Cheers,
TSD


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## jimmy01 (5/11/06)

Tried this once. Be reluctant to try it again

Found it had a harsh solvent taste


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## Aaron (5/11/06)

3Monts is a wonderful beer. When I have tasted it here it has been great. I would love to taste it closer to home when it has not had to undergo a long trip on a boat and is in premium condition I have also had the Chi Ti Blonde which is another wonderful example.

I have just made my first attempt at one of these and am looking forward to comparing it to the real thing.


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## Kai (5/11/06)

I am too.


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## Duff (6/11/06)

jimmy01 said:


> Tried this once. Be reluctant to try it again
> 
> Found it had a harsh solvent taste



Wow, solvent. Didn't detect that with the one I tried recently.

I was chatting about this beer yesterday with mikem108. Going to crack at the style shortly.

Cheers.


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## shotduck (6/11/06)

jimmy01 said:


> Tried this once. Be reluctant to try it again
> 
> Found it had a harsh solvent taste


This was the exact impression I got the first time I tasted it - Jan 2002, I think it may have been. As I said earlier though, all other bottles I have cracked have been wonderful, so I suggest you do try it again - perhaps from a different source?



Cheers,
TSD


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## shotduck (6/11/06)

Duff said:


> Wow, solvent. Didn't detect that with the one I tried recently.
> I was chatting about this beer yesterday with mikem108. Going to crack at the style shortly.
> Cheers.


Have you read Markowski's "Farmhouse Ales?". If so, what did you think of it?
I have it sitting in my bookcase, staring an accusatory eye at me for not having read it yet... too many others (both brewing and other) on the list, I'm afraid.

Cheers,
TSD


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## Malnourished (6/11/06)

The Shot Duck said:


> You got yourself a nice farmhouse bier de garde. I have had several of these in the past, and each time they tasted slightly different. Its one of the things I love about artisinal brewers - their beers can differ slightly from batch to batch.


I really like Trois Monts, but I think calling it farmhouse/artisanal is a bit of a stretch. Have you seen the photos in Farmhouse Ales? It seems pretty high tech. I doubt much of anything is done by hand.

According to BeerMe, Brasserie de St. Sylvestre produces 35000hL/year. That makes it a bit bigger than a microbrewery, by most people's standards.


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## neonmeate (6/11/06)

what does vary from batch to batch with this beer is whether it is corked, which also provides some of the flavour interest depending on the severity of the corking and depending on your point of view. also they do sit on the shelf for ages and develop nasty swarms of floating protein gunk.
the last few bottles i've had have been uncorked and fresh and have tasted just like a strong lager really - pils malt, noble hops, alcohol and THAT'S IT. i think i prefer it with a bit of corking!
btw $12 for 750ml of 8.5% beer is pretty good value i think.


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## warrenlw63 (6/11/06)

Yep.

You find it (Trois Monts) quite a different proposition in France where it sits on virtually every supermarket shelf for around $5 Australian Jenlain is even cheaper and more plentiful at around $3. :blink: 

As NM said Trois Monts is a pretty clean, malty, almost lager-like drop but nicely made when young. Most of the corky, musty, winey type of character we're experiencing here is because the beer's getting old in the tooth. OTOH some careful "neglect" seems to make for a more interesting beer.

As for the Jenlain I prefer the younger samples. Nice and malty, caramelly with a bit of an aniseed character. The older bottles seem to lose a bit of this.

All that aside La Choulette Ambree is my fave. Almost reminds me of a German Bock with some champagne and yeasty notes in the background. Very delicious indeed. :beerbang: 

Warren -


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## Kingy (18/8/07)

im currently drinking this beer now and am very impressed that the taste hides the high alcohol. Ive just noticed a huge amount of floaties in the bottle tho. I hope its yeast :unsure: taste good anyway who cares


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## fraser_john (7/7/08)

Picked up a bottle of this for nicks last week, had it Saturday night over dinner and SWMBO took quite a fancy to it, so I guess, grudgingly (yay) I have to try making something similar!

I have seen The Drunk Arabs recipe, [topic="2995"]Bier De Garde recipe[/topic] and it sounded pretty good.

Any others out there for comparison purposes?


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## rich_lamb (7/7/08)

Hey, very nice description of the "biere de garde" style from a guy who is just exploring! I was recently in France enjoying these; yeah they are good when they cost $5 from a supermarket.

I never hit anything solventy though; must be an ageing issue. Even at $12 here I'd say they're worth buying. I saw one recently at about $16 which is past the limit - I'm a bloody homebrewer and I won't pay! :beerbang:


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## PostModern (7/7/08)

Bitter & Twisted said:


> I never hit anything solventy though; must be an ageing issue.



Or a storage issue. I'd guess they're getting too warm somewhere between brewery and bottlo.


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## sinkas (7/7/08)

neonmeate said:


> what does vary from batch to batch with this beer is whether it is corked, which also provides some of the flavour interest depending on the severity of the corking and depending on your point of view. also they do sit on the shelf for ages and develop nasty swarms of floating protein gunk.
> the last few bottles i've had have been uncorked and fresh and have tasted just like a strong lager really - pils malt, noble hops, alcohol and THAT'S IT. i think i prefer it with a bit of corking!
> btw $12 for 750ml of 8.5% beer is pretty good value i think.



I beleive that Ian, the "cellarman" on the craftbrewer radio podcast, who is the self proclaimed king of this style, uses corks in the mash/or boild to get those flavours thoruhg into his beer which is kegged..


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## fraser_john (7/7/08)

sinkas said:


> I beleive that Ian, the "cellarman" on the craftbrewer radio podcast, who is the self proclaimed king of this style, uses corks in the mash/or boild to get those flavours thoruhg into his beer which is kegged..



That is an interesting little tid-bit of information! There was indeed a subtle flavour in the 3 Monts I had Saturday night that I could not place, it would make sense if it had absorbed some of the cork during storage/transport.


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## bconnery (7/7/08)

sinkas said:


> I beleive that Ian, the "cellarman" on the craftbrewer radio podcast, who is the self proclaimed king of this style, uses corks in the mash/or boild to get those flavours thoruhg into his beer which is kegged..



I was listening to the Jamil show podcast on this style recently and this was raised. They suggested that this would by and large be a waste of time as corking is not just a product of cork getting into a beverage but of something that isn't present in all corks, and that it also wasn't actually really a desired character. 
I don't know if they are right but the examples of this style that I have tasted had an earthy character for sure but I wouldn't describe it as corked. 

Their recommendation was WY1007 as a yeast as this was a style that was about malt. 
I have found that some styles definitely have a yeast character in there I'd be surprised if some didn't use more of the belgian style yeasts, but not one that is too funky, and kept at a bit of a lower temp to reduce the characters. 

I've got one of these, a darker one not a 3 monts style, conditioning at the moment. 
It was recommended by those above that you should garde, store this one for a year if you could, but I'll be going for a month or so...

Here's my recipe just for interest. The yeast combo was a little odd, but I didn't want to go pure neutral yeast, and I didn't want to go full belgian. Time will tell...

I was inspired by a bottle of Milliacus I picked up here in Brisbane, a great malty earthy beer, sweet but not cloyingly so. And at $9 a 750 a steal in my book 
The Wine Emporium on Ann St for those who are in Brisbane. 
The french cafe/bar across the road apparently has others from them too, only the Amber is at the bottle store. 

The Rye isn't usual either but I felt that it would go well in this beer, as discussed in another thread...

Batch Size: 20.00 L 
Boil Size: 33.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 27.2 EBC
Estimated IBU: 26.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
2800.00 gm Pale Malt, Galaxy (Barrett Burston) (3.0 EGrain 44.98 % 
1300.00 gm Munich I (Weyermann) (14.0 EBC) Grain 20.88 % 
1100.00 gm Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 17.67 % 
400.00 gm Rye Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 6.43 % 
250.00 gm Caramel Rye (Weyermann) (69.0 EBC) Grain 4.02 % 
225.00 gm Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 3.61 % 
150.00 gm Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 2.41 % 
25.00 gm Northern Brewer [6.60 %] (60 min) Hops 20.7 IBU 
30.00 gm NZ Styrian Goldings [4.40 %] (10 min) Hops 5.4 IBU 
1 Pkgs Milliacus Bottle Yeast Yeast-Ale 
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (US56) (DCL Yeast #S-0Yeast-Ale 
1 Pkgs Belgian Ardennes (Wyeast Labs #3522) [StarYeast-Wheat


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## Stuster (7/7/08)

neonmeate said:


> the last few bottles i've had have been uncorked and fresh and have tasted just like a strong lager really - pils malt, noble hops, alcohol and THAT'S IT.



I had a bottle recently and thought just this. Good to see it's not just me. :unsure:


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## warrenlw63 (7/7/08)

Stuster said:


> I had a bottle recently and thought just this. Good to see it's not just me. :unsure:



Well really if you think of the composition of a lot of BDGs essentially that's all they really are. Sometimes warm fermented lagers with lots more of "everything" in some ways. There's no hidden X factors.

I love Trois Monts. I guess it pays not to expect anything too much outside the strong lager parameters, after all it is just malt, hops and yeast. OTOH that lovely long dry finish is just so hard to not love.

Might be sitting around 8% per bottle but after I finish one I always find myself wanting a second. Isn't that a sign of a good beer?  

Warren -


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## Stuster (7/7/08)

I guess so, Warren. I guess I just prefer the sort of amber or darker beers in this style. Really of course, they're not the same sort of beer at all. But something like Gavroche really floats my boat. :icon_drool2: :icon_cheers:


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## warrenlw63 (7/7/08)

Yum Gavroche and La Choulette Ambree. :wub: 

Warren -


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## brendanos (7/7/08)

Anyone tried Jenlain Ambree?

I love Farmhouse Ales. One of the most inspiring and interesting things I've read.


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## rich_lamb (8/7/08)

I tried a couple of different Jenlain varieties out of a supermarket - can't remember the names specifically but one was golden and one was a bit darker. Flavours were not strikingly different.
I found these to be a fraction sweeter than some of the other varieties like 3 Monts - not quite as crisp and balanced.
Still very enjoyable though (nice on warm evenings with some mild cheese and watching my kids in the playground)


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## gap (8/7/08)

brendanos said:


> Anyone tried Jenlain Ambree?
> 
> I love Farmhouse Ales. One of the most inspiring and interesting things I've read.




I agree, this is a great book. 

It is interesting to see the % alcohol in the original examples compared to what most homebrewers pump into them today. They were used to rehydrate filed workers and used as a substitute for water.

Regards

Graeme


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## warrenlw63 (8/7/08)

brendanos said:


> Anyone tried Jenlain Ambree?
> 
> I love Farmhouse Ales. One of the most inspiring and interesting things I've read.



Yes, its probably the most mass-produced of the BDGs but nonetheless a lovely drop, very caramelly-malty with a nice aniseedy hop character. I grew quite fond of it when we were staying in Paris. Back in 2003 is was only around 1.50-2.00 euros per bottle. As common in the supermarkets as VB is here.  

Warren -


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## brendanos (8/7/08)

Bitter & Twisted said:


> I found these to be a fraction sweeter than some of the other varieties like 3 Monts - not quite as crisp and balanced.
> Still very enjoyable though (nice on warm evenings with some mild cheese and watching my kids in the playground)






warrenlw63 said:


> Yes, its probably the most mass-produced of the BDGs but nonetheless a lovely drop, very caramelly-malty with a nice aniseedy hop character. I grew quite fond of it when we were staying in Paris. Back in 2003 is was only around 1.50-2.00 euros per bottle. As common in the supermarkets as VB is here.
> Warren -



Good to hear it's not terrible! I'll have some soon, and was a bit sceptical of the "biggest selling bdg" tag. I guess when expectations are low, you can be pleasantly surprised. No yeast character to speak of?


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## warrenlw63 (8/7/08)

brendanos said:


> No yeast character to speak of?



None to my tastes. Just nice and clean, caramel malt and delicate hops. My guess is older samples may get some of that so-called cellar "mustiness". The ones I drank in Paris could be deemed "Brewery Fresh". 

Bit of laying down cold aid the complexity.

Warren -


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## jimmy01 (23/7/08)

jimmy01 said:


> Tried this once. Be reluctant to try it again
> 
> Found it had a harsh solvent taste




Apologies to 3 Monts

Despite the above previous statement - I tried this beer again recently. Very nice beer - stronger style than I usually drink but full of flavour. The one I tried in 2006 must have been damaged by storage/transport. 

Mia Culpa

jimmy


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## sinkas (23/7/08)

brendanos said:


> Good to hear it's not terrible! I'll have some soon, and was a bit sceptical of the "biggest selling bdg" tag. I guess when expectations are low, you can be pleasantly surprised. No yeast character to speak of?




Are you guys getting stock of these beers?


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## Cortez The Killer (9/8/09)

Had one of these today at lunch 

Not a very exciting beer. Hides the alcohol well, but tasted much like a run of the mill euro lager to me, clean, crisp, dry, and decent hop character but at $17 a bottle maybe I was expecting something a little more interesting...

Cheers


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## Swinging Beef (9/8/09)

Cortez The Killer said:


> Had one of these today at lunch
> 
> Not a very exciting beer. Hides the alcohol well, but tasted much like a run of the mill euro lager to me, clean, crisp, dry, and decent hop character but at $17 a bottle maybe I was expecting something a little more interesting...
> 
> Cheers


My thoughts exactly.
Not very exciting.. well hidden alcohol.. but outstanding, no.
Just a really good beer flavoured beer.

Im back at LaChouffe in future for $$ beers.


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## Cortez The Killer (10/8/09)

Picked up a longneck of McChouffe on the weekend

I'll give it a go soon

Cheers


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