Our first visit to Brasserie La Caracole was about 8 years ago. After a few wrong turns we found a rustic 18th Century dairy shed housing an equally rustic little brewery in the village of Falmignoul.
We were greeted by two young girls who must have been 12 or 13 years old. They were our hosts, as they presented the four beers that were brewed there, as well as the stories associated with each beer.
It was a very memorable brewery visit, not least because the beers. From the witbier to the quadruple, all were of such great quality. Our favourite was the Nostradamus.
It pours a lovely dark brown, and gives off a wonderfully enticing aroma of dark roasty malts, dried red stone fruits and spicing.
This follows through in the taste. Candy sugar sweetness, raisins, prunes, figs and a little tart cherry. Hints of chocolate , nutmet, brown sugar and a slight earthy hop bitterness. It is quite a complex beer, and finishes reasonably dry for all the sweet, fruity attributes.