BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru 2008 (Trousseau Barrel)

Brewed by BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Style: Sour Ale
Saignelégier, Switzerland

12.7 oz bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a hazy orange amber with a small off white head. Even after a couple thousand beers, I still find beers that I lack the language to describe but enjoy very much. This is one of those beers. The aroma is both sweet and sour at the same time which interests me very much. The cherry fruitiness stands out. The flavor is more of the same sweet sour blend with cherry fruitiness playing a prominent role. The mouthfeel is smooth throughout displaying the effects of the barrel aging. Virtually no signs of the alcohol. This was a real treat to be able to try.

Bottle (TR5) I shared with the Indy crew: Hazy amber with a minimal head and spotty lace. The aroma has notes of cherry pits, oak, light brandy, grainy and biscuity malts, some mineral water. The taste has a nice twang of fruit. Woody with a nice soft balance of malt, earth and pitty with an interesting salty undertone. The mouth feel is soft yet lively, refreshing. Mikey Likey.

TR3 bottle. The top comes off with no sound at all and the pour is a hazy, deep amber with a collection of big bubbles along the top that collect around the edges as a collar that ends up lasting longer than I was expecting. The aroma is tart with sour cherries and an emerging funk that’s not too prevalent in the nose. There is definitely some oak tannin presence and maybe a hint of vinegar and brown sugar. The taste is better and more complex than I was expecting. The fruit presence is still there but is more sugary sweet than the aroma with the tartness being balanced well. There is a big overarching wine/oak character that lends itself to a very dry vinous finish with a little funk thrown in. The mouthfeel is slick and almost still but with just enough carbonation to make the beer work. It’s medium to full-bodied for the style. This is a very impressive and complex beer from BFM and I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to try one of the Grand Crus. It’s exceptionally drinkable given the ABV which I never would have pegged at over 10%.

This was the TR3. Pours blood-orange red, with virtually no head. Nice acetic aroma ... sharp, with bright red fruits and woody notes. Flavor is like tart cloudberry jam, and meshes wonderfully with the barrel notes. Mouthfeel is slick and full, and the absence of carbonation surprisingly does not pose a concern, in my opinion. Finishes sharp and dry, like the nose. 11% ... never would have known. A thoroughly enjoyable, jammy, tart-sweet brew!

Bottle shared by bhensonb. Pours hazy brown with an orange tinge and a few beige bubbles. There is an aromatic sour fruit nose and a hearty sour fruit flavor that sticks to the palate. There is an oak finish and very little evidence of the high alcohol content.

Bottle of TR-3, brewed May 2008/No. 3. Pours a reddish,hazy amber with a few bubbles for head. Nice aroma of sour, stewed light fruits. Medium body with mild carbonation. Flavor is light cooked fruit with lots of sour and oak. Goes a bit towards sour plum.Virtually no heat.

Pours an amber maroon color, with almost no head, very similar to the others Ive tried. Big cherry and fruity acidic nose to it, got some semblances of the oak barrel as well. The taste is very similar although it was more tart than oaky. Sweet sour fruits, and hints of the oak in the background. Doesnt have anything in it that seperates itself from the other barrels in my opinion, but still a very good drinking beer like usual from these guys.

In short: A soft, vinous and very oaky sour ale.
How: Bottle at Beer Table Brooklyn NY, TR5 version, consumed 9 months after bottling
The look: Clear dark red body with no head to speak of
In long: Nose is vinous and full of barrel. Taste is like licking the bottom of a red-wine barrel. Tannic sour grapes with notes of cherries and apples followed by a super nice non-aggressive oak dryness and sourness. Finish is more dry than sour. Slender body with a very soft carbonation. This was the TR5 version which I was told had more bit/sourness than the TR3 version. I prefer the regular lineup of Saint Bon-Chien which are more complex and intense, unsurprising since the regular Saint Bon-Chien are blends of various barrels. But this beer had a nice simplicity going for it where each of the limited number of flavour elements were brought to the foreground. Good stuff, but that beer is just too expensive to be enjoyed on a regular basis. Not that I’m obsessed by wealth, but having money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.