BFM Cuvée du 7ème

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

In short: A wild, dry and tart hoppy beer. Different and exquisite.
How: This rating is for a 750ml of the 2006 version drank late 2007. I also sampled the 2004 version (4.2/5) at a tasting session and it was quite different.
The look: Cloudy dark copper body topped by a little off-white ring of foam.
In long: Nose of apricots and those little dried oranges cubes. Right from the start you know you’re in for something different. Grainy and floury malts with a light caramel presence. Fruity notes are dried oranges, red grapefruits, pineapples, and other acidic/tart fruits. Strong pepper and coriander presence. But it is its unusual hops profile and kind-of-wild yeast signature really set this one apart. A distant reminder of my beloved Hitachino Classic Ale. An amazing different hop fix. Overall very tart and rather dry (sawdust) with a nice wilderness. Hard to describe. The problem is that it is quite expensive and if I drink that on a regular basis I’ll end-up as broke as broke as a hooker at a star-trek convention.

750. Pours deep cloudy rubied brown with a comically massive head--pouring this beer is an exercise in patient deliberation. Ratio of head to beer for the first five minutes is about 10:1. Skyscraper of sudsy, fluffy mouse and occasionally spotty lace above a shallow puddle of actual beer. "six aromatic hops" sounds like at least two marketing lies in one, if not three--the nose is fairly subdued, all things considered. Yeah, there’s spice and pepper and a bit of funk there, and it’s a great nose, but I wouldn’t exactly advance my hop bill as the preeminent differentiator with this beer (if there is one). Medium body, active carb, forward flavors; nice attack. Mid-palate is a bunch of funk and dark rummy tree fruit. Tingly coriander around the edges, and a slightly puckery, slightly spicy finish. Nice stuff but not the finest BdG on the market by any means.

Bouteille, verte, de 750 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de caramel et de petits fruits avec une pointe d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée voilée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Goût: Goût de caramel avec une pointe d’houblons. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’houblon herbacé en arrière goût. (Rating #1433)

From Immy’s Tasting. Hazy amber color with a thin light tan head. Sweet lightly sour fruit aroma. Shar peel edge on a sour base.

Chunky, hazy, odd brown-grey color, huge head. Spice, quite sharp hops, long bitterness, quite strong. Dry metallic note causes discomfort. Super frothy palate is fun. Interesting but not satisfying to me and nowhere near worth the price (had I paid for it).

11.2 oz swingtop - very turbid, amber/brown pour, with a huge frothy head - very dry aroma, with hops present quite present up front, followed by other spices (cinnamon, perhaps some nutmeg), then some cocoa and musty, slightly tart, yeasty qualities - a very dry and spicy ale - cocoa and cookie/gingerbread flavors initially - then, lingering beneath the earthy, hoppy dryness, some hints of sweet caramel and toffee - then some smokey, peat/scotch-like flavors - an orange marmalade-like sweetness develops as the beer warms, balancing the spicier qualities - super dry throughout, but quite subtly complex - quite underrated so far.

The aroma is nice with malt, yeast, herbs, and spice. The appearance is reddish brown with haze. The head is nice. The flavor is like the aroma and somewhat bitter. The palate is average for the style. Overall not bad but not good.

Bottle. Orange-amber colour with a weak haed. Aroma of sweetness and sourness. Very sour flacour that ends yearty, malty abd hints of hops without any bitterness.