United Nations of Beer

Coup de Grisou beer

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB HQ)

Coup de Grisou beer

After my close encounters with its other two siblings, I didn’t have any particular expectations for Coup de Grisou beer.

The Cheval Blanc was roundly disappointing, while the Blonde d’Achouffe tasted strong and kicked like a mule, without making me reach for a thesaurus to look up superlatives for it.

Coup de Grisou is 5% abv, which isn’t strong enough to make you clutch your head in dismay like the guy on the bottle, unless you’ve had a skinful of them.

Still, I liked the label and my cute buttons were well and truly pushed by the free Coup de Grisou glass the brewer included in this ‘limited edition’ selection six pack, so I was in a welcoming frame of mind when I popped the top.

And you know, it was Friday night, I’d been to the gym in the morning, spent all day uploading new pages for the UNOB site and the early evening painting the basement. There are times when you really, REALLY need a beer. This was one of them.

It’s described as a buckwheat beer, which is interesting, up to the point where I realized I had no idea what buckwheat is. Or rather, the difference between buckwheat and wheat-wheat.

Apparently it’s what that Kasha/Kashi stuff is made from, so it must be good for you. Which is a pleasant discovery. Not nearly as pleasant, though, as discovering that this stuff tastes bloody nice.

Coup de Grisou beer immediately reminded me of buckwheat when I smelled it.

Obviously that’s a load of bollocks, because I have no idea what buckwheat smells like. But I was definitely getting bread and summer grasses, a yeasty, hoppy, happy aroma that made my mouth water and forget it's minus something outside. No hint of rotting citrus fruit or cheap candy here.

The first mouthful left me reaching for a description. Unfortunately it chased down a hasty dinner of Brussels sprouts sautéed with garlic, olive oil and prosciutto ham, with fish sticks (really!). So perhaps it was a bit lost on me at first.

And then I began to notice something. There was a taste in my mouth. It was good. It had nothing to do with prosciutto, sprouts or fish sticks (as good as they undeniably were). This was caused by beer.

I paid more attention to my Coup de Grisou beer. The colour is a cloudy, orangey amber, like the moment before the sun begins to bleed out on a long summer’s evening.

The taste is caramel-like without being too sweet, a true sucker-punch of flavour that you don’t see coming until it’s knocked seven bells out of you.

There’s a consistency that’s magnificent about this beer. From the first to the last swallow, the taste is deep, pure, fruity, just sweetish but ultimately a touch bitter afterwards.

Bloody hell, I could imagine myself drinking this all night, until I too would clutch my head in dismay as the ground heaved beneath my unsteady feet.

Coup de Grisou beer is thoroughly, thoroughly recommended. Even if you are eating fancy miniature cabbages and cheap breaded fish. The best beer I’ve drunk this year.