I have a real soft spot for the beers of Brasserie Caracole. It was one of our earliest brewery visits, tracking down virtually unknown breweries with the aid of only paper maps and an address with directions provided by another brewer.
And a fantastic recommendation it was; a memory which brings a smile to my face as I write the notes for this beer.
It is one of the last breweries in Europe to heat their kettles with an open fire. The brewery really is a working historical display of how things used to be done, housed in the atmospheric stone and wood diary shed that is home to the brewery.
Caracole was the first beer produced by the brewery and remains the most produced beer from the portfolio. It really is just called Caracole, with the ‘Ambree’ added to help distinguish it from the other beers
We will nominally label it an amber ale, largely thanks to its colour. There is a lovely fruity malt body, caramel, brown sugar, raisins with a moderate hop bitterness and a strong Belgian yeast character. It finishes slightly sweet, but with a prickly lingering bitterness.
An amber beer recreated to a recipe from the 15th-Century, the typical beer from the Mechelen region of Belgium
A Belgian style ale, something of a cross between and blond and amber ale
by Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven
A malty amber ale, mixing sweet and bitter flavours in a beautifully drinkable beer
A really interesting amber ale that is heavy on the herbs and spices
A dark golden to amber ale brewed by the Monks at Chimay for the French Trappist Monastery Mont Des Cats
Unique for it's 'coachman's glass', the beer is more than a match for its presentation.
An amber ale brewed with barley, wheat and oats and finished with a little Belgian candi sugar.
by Brouwerij Corsendonk (at Brasserie Du Bocq)
A Belgian amber ale by Brouwerij Corsendonk
A bold, strong dark ale edging toward a quadrupel style beer
A light and lively Belgian blond beer from the rustic Brasserie Caracole
A typical Belgian witbier with loads of orange and lemon citrus and a little coriander