What's YOUR Bete Noir? (Kelham Bête Noire)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Kelham Bête Noire
Date:	12/02/06 (300 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A tasty and warming winter ale

Disadvantages: Little aroma ~ a seasonal beer so availability is limited

We had rather a MERRY Christmas this year thanks to a polypin of Bete Noir delivered from one of our local breweries.

~~~THE BREWERY.

Bete Noire is brewed by the Kelham Island Brewery, founded in 1990 at a purpose built site in Alma Street, Sheffield (next to the Fat Cat pub). Brewing began using equipment from the old Oxford Brewery and Kelham Island was the first new brewery to start up in Sheffield during the 20th century. In 1999, due to increased demand and production, the brewery moved to its present location very close to the old site. The old Brewhouse still exists as a visitor centre ~ tours can be arranged in the evenings for £4.50 a head and for that you will also get a beer.

Kelham Island Brewery is now Sheffield’s largest brewery and has won many awards for their beers ~ the most famous and prestigious of them being 2004 Champion Beer of Britain (in a blind tasting) at the Great British Beer Festival for their wonderful Pale Rider. The brewery now produces four regular beers, along with a selection of seasonal and special beers.

Kelham Island beers can be found in their two Sheffield pubs (The Devonshire Cat and The Fat Cat) and also in over one hundred other outlets. You can also, like us, purchase your beer direct from the brewery via the contact phone number.

~~~THE BEER.

***History and background***

Bete Noir was first brewed in 1992 and intended as a one off special beer for that year. Thankfully it became a popular brew (even becoming a finalist in the National Winter Ales Festival in 1997) and they decided to produce it every winter.

According to several dictionaries I consulted Bete Noir refers to either an irksome problem or something you dislike. The Collins online dictionary gives the definition as :

“a person or thing that you particularly dislike or that annoys you:
My particular bête noire is cigarette ends being left in half-empty glasses.”

I’m not sure why this should relate to a nice beer, but that is what the experts say! A literal translation from the French (according to the French online dictionary) is a black beast or animal.

***Vital Statistics***

Bete Noir weighs in at 5.5% ABV and is brewed using Maris Otter barley and Chocolate and Crystal malts to give the beer colour and flavour. Style wise, Bete Noir is a black beer similar to a stout, but is generally categorized as a Winter Ale.

Bete Noir is brewed for sale in December and January of each year, although seems to still be available as late as the end of February.

***Look, Aroma & Texture***

Bete Noir is a very dark, almost black beer with a ruby red tinge when held up to the light. Our came straight from the barrel so had a slight, loose head that dissipated quickly leaving only a small amount of lacing on the side of the glass. Aroma is actually quite subtle, with just a faint hint of coffee, a roasted nuttiness and chocolate. Texture is quite creamy, smooth and pleasant ~ consistency is medium to full bodied and is a very good robust winter warmer!

***Taste Test***

Bete Noir is quite a complex beer combining a variety of tastes and elements. The initial flavours I got were chocolate, coffee and black treacle toffee. These flavours remain, but the beer develops to reveal hints of dark fruit, plums and a slight underlying caramel sweetness. The finish is surprisingly dry and has a dark chocolate bitterness. This leads to an aftertaste that is lingering and is moderately sweet (a sultana fruit flavour), but also has a slight sour edge (I DID say complex!) a little like some Belgian beers.

~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.

We got our beer delivered to a local pub and then collected it from there. A polypin is a container which holds 36 pints of beer and we paid around £50 between our family for our Bete Noir. This included the cost of the polypin itself which we can now keep and have refilled at the brewery if we wish (the cost of the container will be deducted from the next lot of beer). To buy a beer of this strength in a pub would set you back over £2.00 a pint, so I think the price we paid for the 36 pint polypin was pretty fair.

I must admit that Bete Noir wasn’t my first choice when we were deciding what to have for Christmas, but this was mainly because I hadn’t had it before and I wanted the family to try something I was sure they would like. Unfortunately we left it a little late and our choices were limited. As the landlord of one of our local Real Ale pubs deals with Kelham Island quite regularly he promised to get us something dark and tasty that would be suitable for winter.

He chose well with Bete Noir! It is rich, warming and has a nice smooth texture that went down really well on Christmas Day. The plum and sultana flavours seemed particularly appropriate to the season, as did the chocolate of coffee notes. The robust texture and strong flavours suited the atmosphere and the strength was just what we needed to get the party going with a swing!

The flavours of Bete Noir work well together and compliment each other nicely. My only criticism is the lack of any real aroma ~ I think enjoying a beer should be reliant on a combination of the senses. I like my beer to look good, smell good and feel good as well as taste good. Bete Noir pleases all the senses, but the aroma could be a little more pronounced. That said, the taste makes up for it nicely!

Bete Noir IS a dark beer and the taste is pretty strong. We got some of the seasoned lager drinkers in the family to try it but, because it looked and tasted different, they wouldn’t even entertain the idea of having a pint! A couple of those who tried it (including Alun’s mum and dad) liked it and the “proper” beer drinkers really enjoyed it and got rather drunk as a result. We took the remainder home with us in a few four pint containers and drank them over the next couple of evenings (no waste and we got our money’s worth).

I would definitely recommend Bete Noir to those drinkers who appreciate full flavoured dark beers. It IS strong though and certainly NOT for wimps!

~~~BREWERY DETAILS.

Kelham Island Brewery
23 Alma Street
Sheffield
S3 8SA
0114 249 4804

http://www.kelhambrewery.co.uk/index2.htm

***If you are thinking of getting a polypin (or other sized containers) of Cask Ale please ask the brewer how to keep it, how long it lasts and how long it needs to rest before you are able to drink it. Any good brewer will be very happy to tell you what’s what! ***

Summary: A perfect choice for a winter beer!