BFM Cuvée du 7ème

Bottle from Holiday. Clear golden with a fizzy white head. Orange spice and hops aroma with a strong orange juice taste with a floral perfume taste to the finish. Decent.

750ml bottle, 2006 vintage. Tart, spicy aroma, very lightly sweet and toasty with notes of tangerine, pear, citrus, musty wood, dried flowers and some light brown sugar. Hazy orange-red color with a lasting, thinly foamy, off-white head. Flavor is immediately tart and citric, mellowing a bit to show some background sweetness, spice, tropical fruits and pepper, as well as a heavy dosage of earthy, musty yeast towards the much drier finish, which seems to show a brief metallic glint. Lingering herbal and citric quality. Moderately acidic, fairly effervescent, very slightly warming and dry on the palate, body is medium-full. Kind of an odd one, but not unwelcome. To call this an IPA seems a bit of a stretch, though -- the bottle refers to itself as "Rousse de garde".

’06 bottle. Dark amber colored, decent white heard, nice shimmering opacity. RB says it’s an IPA, but the nose says otherwise: a balanced combo of sour fruit, some vinegar, yeast, slight bitterness. The flavor... haven’t seen this kind of disparity yet. The flavor almost gets there, but the alcohol and heat bring it way down, drowning the acidic, yeasty, unsweet fruit notes and leaving a mess behind. The palate is rather thin but has nice length into yeast and bitter citrus, probably the closest it gets to an IPA. Overall serious potential, but the flavor is a problem. For those interested, Cd7eme:IPA as The Godfather:romantic comedy.

750ml bottle vintage dated 2006. Also the label refers to this beer as a Bier de Garde, not a Belgian Strong dark as it is currently listed in the BA database. Pours murky amber with orangy hues. A vibrant, off-white head of three inches swelled up before a slow retreat. Plenty of webbed lacework remains throughout the glass, as well as a solid skim coat on the surface. Aromatics lead off with pink grapefruit, peach skins, oaky tannins, and earthy undertones. Lemon pith, wet hay, and dusty boards follow through along with hints of wet sock and funky cheese. Plenty of acid, earth, and fruit. Light to medium bodied. A creamy and drying mouthfeel. Crispish. Peach pits, grapefruit pith, lemon spritzed grass, and pineapple skins lead off the pallet. Dried apricots, tannic wood, and bitter, dried greens follow through. Finishes with a lingering bitterness, drying oakiness, and peach skins. Very complex with a nice level of tartness. Plenty of acid without being overbearing or sour. Big ups to my SD connection for such a great extra in a trade!

750 ml bottle, 2006. Cloudy amber with thick tan head. Aroma of nuts and toffee. Taste is malty with a fair amount of bitterness. Decent beer.

Endless gusher, hazy reddish-brown with a good four fingers of puffy white foam and lots of brown yeasty clumps of sediment. Very malty aroma, tastes are all spicy esters, cloves, yeasty breadiness, spicy and then some malt. Strong bittering herb/spicy hop finish and strong alcohol heat. Odd.

Bottle from Ledgers in Berkeley, CA. Hazy dark amber color with a decent creamy beige head. Light seeded fruit aromas over roasted malt/caramel. Seems a bit acetic. Medium plus body with creamy carbonation. It is quite astringent. Woody maltiness follows the fruity hoppiness. The finish is like sucking wood. Arguably a very light touch of funk. The sort of IPA where the hop results in something other than bitter. There is arguably some bitter, but astringent is a much more appropriate term. My mouth seems to be dehydrating. A beer to enjoy rather than guzzle. Going down pretty fast though. Very good beer.

750ml bottle, 2006 vintage. Hazy brown color, nice white head. Slight sour apple aroma, not much hoppiness. Hoppiness is there in the taste though, not too bitter really. Not much of an IPA , but not bad either.