Connexion | Brasserie du Bas-Canada
From a 750ml bottle served warm at 14 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging. The beer was picked up straight from the brewery on the actual release date. I'm super excited to review this as the beers I've had from Du Bas have all been superb. Can't wait!
Appearance
The beer pours a clear black with 6cm of dense, mousse-like, mocha head which dissipates into a solid cap within 4+ minutes. Exceptional lacing with great head retention. World-class, potentially the most beautiful stout I've seen to date. It's just so creamy and dense-looking. Dayum.
Aroma
Medium-strong and sweet. The aroma is OMG, OMG, WTF? Gorgeous! Rich, complex, and just like the best of desserts you've ever smelled. Chocolate covered wafers with a touch of ethanol. A boozy coffee chocolate cake. Ferrero Rocher. Dark caramel, vanilla, dried fruit (raisins + prunes), and macademia nuts. A trace of coconut. Black licorice and some herbal-resiny hops for balance. Molasses. The dry nose is reminiscent of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, biscuit, coffee, nuts, and molasses. Uffff, the complexity. The aroma is absolutely stupendous.
Flavour
Follows the aroma with strong intensity, exquisite balance, and assertive perceived bitterness. The palate opens up salty-sweet and with a sledgehammer of flavour. This is a roller coaster of pronounced boozy dark chocolate cake, assertive chocolate wafer cookies, moderate dark caramel, complex nuttiness, some black licorice, mild vanilla, hints of coconut, molasses, brownies, coffee cake, mild dried fruit (raisins + prunes). Lord that is complex! The long finish is strong and balanced with notes of boozy dark chocolate coffee cake with caramel, nuts, and dark dried fruit. Holy shit, wut?
Mouthfeel
Full body with mild carbonation. The mouthfeel is velvety-smooth with a round, chewy, and creamy character. Restrained alcohol warming and a luscious finish. No astringency or harshness of any kind on the palate. Man, the richness and weight this bears is so on point with the flavours that I want to cry. World-class.
Overall
Brasserie du Bas' Connexion is a world-class beer featuring excellent craftsmanship. I don't even know where to begin with this one... I'm so excited for Canadian brewing to have a company produce such wonderful beer. As much as I've made lavish, superlative statements about this brew, it remains balanced and shows great restraint in the realm of sweetness, alcohol, and bitterness. Mind-boggling complexity. Connexion is of superior quality from the pour to the final drop to the dry nose. It's a rare treat to have a beer evoke so much and so many specific things in your mind. Shit, I've come across beerfection! I highly recommend this to anyone with an epicurious approach to life.