United Nations of Beer

Aramis Lager

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB HQ)

Aramis Lager rousse

The first Flaveurs Bieres et Caprices, a Montreal beer and food pairing event, saw Les Trois Mousquetaires brewery from Brossard, Quebec, get its beers on a wider stage. Aramis was one of them.

Trois Mous are well-known in these parts for their Folle du Roi hemp beer, a bottle so subtle it even puts dope leaves on the label. And that's not where the nuttiness ends either. You have to try it to understand. So, while you might be forgiven for expecting that particular brew to taste a little... well... ODD, you could come to Aramis with a lower threshold for bizarreness.

Whoops! Aramis lager rousse will be as surprising as it is colourful. It's really an exceptionally strange-tasting lager, at least if you're accustomed to drinking the likes of Stella Artois.

Aramis pours a deep mahogany red colour. It's pretty in the glass and will have you diving in with both nostrils.

But you're in for a surprise: the smell is totally unexpected.

It has a kind of 'glazed' smell to it, like a port wine or a sherry. You may remember being kissed by drunk elderly relatives who smelled like this. Not a great start.

Fortunately, there's more to this red lager than old lady breath. It has a deep, complex flavour and a bittersweet nature.

I was strongly reminded of the world's most potent lager, Samichlaus. The difference being, the alcohol strength here (5% ABV) is way lower, so there's less sweetness and what there is of it doesn't make you gag.

Be warned though! This is no ringing endorsement of this beer. I think most of you reading this will thoroughly hate it.

And it's no surprise really. "Lager" beers are ten a penny and almost all of them taste like fizzy piss. Drinking Samichlaus or Aramis makes you realise how wide the field of 'lager' making really is.

Go on then. Give it a go. At least you know Aramis lager doesn't have hemp in it, no matter how much you might think it does from the taste...