La Goudale

As I normally do with all reviews, I pour the beer in the kitchen and take the bottle up to my room so I can study it and offer some insights into what makes the beer unique. I would've done that this time but the label is all in bloody French! So either La Goudale is a traditional blonde beer or it's an old man with funny ears... My French isn't... It's not great.

It pours a deep amber with a frothy head that lingers a little and tastes a lot like the Saint Omer 8.0% which I reviewed a while ago. This gives up 0.8% in that respect, weighing in at a respectable 7.2% and for that you get a drinkable and smooth, typically French, blonde beer that has an after taste like Pernod and burnt sugar but with a feel similar to watery Angel Delight.

I was never really aware that this beer even existed before my Dad came back from his annual booze cruise to the Carrefour at Cité Europe in Calais but it was a sound investment as it's one that, just from looking at the label, I probably would have picked myself. It looks traditional, it looks like it should be drunk by old men who sit in the shady back parts of French seaside cafés. It tastes like it should be had with cigarettes and talk of "The Resistance." Drink it cold and drink it quickly before you are found by the Gestapo.

Food Suggestion: Crème Brulee made in a massive plant pot and eaten with a trowel.

Drink this if you like: Any other French beer that costs more than a couple of Euros, they do generally seem to be the same. Pelforth seems to be the best of the group and if you've ever had that then you'll probably quite like this but if you're not one for stretching your wings then you'd probably like this if you've ever had Leffe Blonde or Hoegarden... Which everyone EVER has had.