Les Brasseurs RJ hail from the cosmopolitan city and fashion capital of Canada, Montréal. So, it seems only fitting (catch the pun there)* that their master brewer, like a fashion designer, has created what they call their liquid masterpiece, Robe Noire. Je parle un peu and “Robe Noire” sounds like “black dress” to me. The must have fashion mainstay for any and every occasion. Equally acceptable at weddings and funerals (that being the dress, not the beer) with perhaps a more conservative neckline and hemline at the later. If you are looking for more fashion advice may I suggest the COMDB Guide to Fashion, the go to guide for the upcoming Guccis and Wangs of the fashion world.
The ever vigilant, sometimes diligent and always indignant COMDB Translation Department were more than happy, in fact overly enthusiastic, to correct me with regard to my translation. With the unwarranted addition of a couple of personal adjectives I won’t repeat here, they tell me that although Robe Noire does mean black dress in English, it can also mean black robe or black cloak depending on the context. After multiple meanings and constant demeanings from the COMDB Translation Department I was ready for a serious, some would say sinister, stout. Time to try this black dress on for size.**
No surprise here, a fashionable black pour, no shades shown or thrown. A strong cocoa roast malt aroma, loco cocoa. The chocolate is in charge, cocoa first and then more in the body. A middlin’ mouthfeel, not creamy but full. No real bitters but a sharp strong mildly boozy finish and a warm your cockles aftertaste. Not quite an imperial stout, maybe an upwardly mobile prince with royal ambitions? This is probably what someone who has never had a stout thinks all stouts taste like. I had neither the nerve nor the fortitude to attempt a big swig on this heavy hitter. Slow and steady left me semi-steady.
I had previously enjoyed a super suds parle vous pilsner from RJ, but this stout was made of stronger stuff. The bottom line, a box full of chocolates. Robustly flavoured, strong on the verge of overbearing but never quite crossing the line. Did I fashion this stout? I did enjoy it but it was an experience perhaps more suited for savouring on a cold night beside the fire. For chocolate lovers who love stouts too.
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