Brewery: Sharp’s [@SharpsBrewery]
Location: Rock, Cornwall, England
Style: Lager / ‘Saaz Beer’
ABV: 5.2%
Version: Bottled
Source: Sharp’s Mail Order

Sharp’s head brewer Stuart Howe‘s collaboration with Jean-Marie Rock of Belgian Trappist brewery Orval has been the talk of the beertwittersphere for quite a while now and the buzz shows no sign of abating. Caught up in this whirlwind of enthusiasm a couple of weeks ago, I placed an order for a case of 12 bottles direct from Sharp’s in the interests of seeing for myself just what all the fuss is all about.

Monsieur Rock is a lager that was created to showcase the flavours of the saaz hop, a noble variety from the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic that’s widely used in pilsener-style beers (and if any of that’s wrong, please correct it on Wikipedia). There’s plenty of detail on Stuart Howe’s blog about the brewing of Monsieur Rock (some of it way over my head I have to admit) as well as a five-part recounting of the visits to the Orval brewery that were the catalyst for the collaboration.

This wealth of background information has definitely helped to fuel the general levels of enthusiasm for the beer, especially among beer bloggers; I think a large part of what makes us blogging-types so vociferously enthusiastic about certain favourite brews is when a great-tasting beer is accompanied by a great back-story. Seldom has a beer’s back-story been told in such detail as has Monsieur Rock’s, but what of the first part of that enthusiasm-generating equation? Is Monsieur Rock also a great-tasting beer?

I’ve sampled three bottles of Monsieur Rock in the past couple of weeks. Following a spot of Twitter-borne advice from Mark Dredge I chilled the first one in the fridge for a couple of days. It poured a pale, golden-amber colour with a big, frothy white Belgian-lager head and released an aroma blast of tropical citrus: fresh-cut mango and clementine orange. The first thing I tasted was a light, biscuity-malt, followed by an almost gingery spice tang with that Belgian yeast note lurking in the background and a long, lingering, bitter after-taste. It was incredibly refreshing, sharp and dry without being too harsh, although possibly this one had been chilled for a tad too long – it needed to come back up from tooth-numbingly, gum-shockingly cold before I could really settle in to enjoy the back-of-the-throat sweet-spot lager-bite properly. And it was a bit too gassy when it was really cold as well. Lesson learned.

I had bottle number two straight after the first and, for comparison purposes, I opted for one that was still at beer-cupboard temperature. I really can’t recommend that approach to be honest, as the sharpness was distinctly dulled and the crispness had definitely lost its crunch. There was still a fair bit of fresh flavour in there, but it just didn’t seem to gel properly; something about it wasn’t quite right. Another one chalked up to experience: follow the brewer’s instructions when considering chilling; they ought to know best after all.

So bottle number three, which was sampled about a week after those first two, was chilled for just an hour or so. I think that one was just about right: enough of a chill to hit all the right aaaahhhh-receptors – but not so much that my molars were screaming for mercy – and all those saaz-led flavours balancing out quite nicely. Could maybe stand another hour in the fridge, but any more than that and I think it’s probably overkill.

And the final verdict? Monsieur Rock is a very, very good lager indeed; very drinkable, very flavourful and hugely refreshing. I’d definitely recommend grabbing a bottle or three if you see it on sale anywhere or, indeed, ordering a case of 12 direct from Sharp’s, as it looks like they still have stock. But I’m stopping short of using words like amazing, awesome or fantastic… so far. Mainly because whilst I can appreciate a good lager and have tried a few in recent months that I’ve enjoyed, it’s just not my favourite style; I’m much more at home on the malty ale through to imperial porter arc of the flavour wheel. Also, because I have six bottles of my twelve-case left (counting out the three I’ve promised to take over to Ed next time I’m in Belfast) and I’m planning on saving them for much warmer weather. Let’s face it, a dank, drizzly February evening can’t be the right time to showcase Monsieur Rock to it’s best advantage, surely? A scorching summer’s day (should we ever see one of those again) has to be a better environment for a beer like this one?

Plus I think it will be really interesting to see whether, after five or six months additional bottle conditioning, the beer maintains the same flavour profile or perhaps sharpens even more? I’ll report back when I find out.

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