BFM Cuvée du 7ème

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

2006 bottle.Hazy amber with a fleeting head. Nice aroma is mildly sour lemon with dry hay and mustard powder. Medium body. Lightly sweet n’ tart lemon flavor with dusty malt, dry hay wet wood and spicy hops, light oxidation. Different.

750mL Bottle. #00276. Fermenting bread dough, wet pineapple, and fresh spring grasses. Pours a deep, hazy bloodied amber, fuming with a pillowy, mousse-like sand-colored head. Flavor is a sweet wash of tangerine and apricot juice, fettered with a bit of oak-like brett and chewy sugars. Very complex in mid-colored fruits and bread. Good flavor profile for sure, but it takes a while for the hop oils to shine. The smack really runs with slightly old-tasting EKG. Light and fluffy. I like it as a beer, but it’s pretty far off style. Not really sure why this should even be an IPA. Good beer, with complex, pleasing well developed flavors balanced by some yeast characters and long-drawn hops.

Thanks to after4ever for this one. This brought back some college memories. It started to gush big time and filled the Duvel glass really fast... at which point my only option was to chug foam until I found another glass to pour it in. Ridiculous carbonation here, and it’s been cellared for over a month now. Murky amber body with lots of floaties. Aroma has a lemony tartness with notes of caramel and various fruits from berries to oranges. Tart sweetness in the finish, medium bodied. Once it stopped fizzing everywhere this became a very enjoyable beer. The price tag is scary though. The tartness and carbonation worked for me.

Pours a bubbly, cloudy burnt orange color with a big, foamy, light tan head. Smells pretty spicy with a sweet malt backbone mixed in with some hops. The hops werent as powerful as I was expecting. The taste is also quite malty and spicy. Definite bitterness lingers in the aftertaste and shows up in the finish. Pretty unique beer, but I dont see how this is classified as an IPA. Didnt really taste like one at all.

Tasting at Sombeast’s house

I have been sitting on this since around Thanksgiving when I picked it up on a run to US Cellars in Minnetonka. For whatever reason it caught my eye without being too expensive. At $14.99 I am not sure I would buy it again but it was nice to have sample it once. Perhaps if I see any of the other releases for under $15 I may pick one up.

Aroma / Appearance - A two finger pillowy head dances to the top of the glass. Underneath the caramel bronze body sits impatiently with lively carbonation pushing air to the top at a fast rate. The nose is very open and reminds me of a floral shop. Pine, oak, rose petals, strawberries and a base nuttiness create the sensation of being in a field of wildflowers amidst towering trees.

Flavor / Palate - The first taste is that of a trail mix bar. Pine nuts, banana chips and peanut butter flutter across the tongue along with the carbonation. Next comes some more earthy tastes in the form of moss and barnyard. The clean dry aftertaste makes this a pleasant beer to try either as a sipper or before moving onto more complex styles. Either way I recommend splitting a bottle with a few people to see if you like it too.

33cL bottle, courtesy of jasonp. Thanks, Jason! Pours a murky orangish-brown color; creamy tan head with good retention and lacing. Generous, intricate aroma; fresh-cut flowers (somewhat green), green apples, caramel and biscuity. Creamy, fluffy mouthfeel: graham crackers, caramel, and slightly tannic; red fruit and a hint of chocolate. Strange, lovely beer. Medium, biscuity and toasty finish, with some chewy malts.

750 ml bottle shared with Phil, served at cellar temperature in tulip glasses. MA18/08

App.: Cloudy orange-copper, tight white head, good lacing. Aroma: Lots of sour cherries, spicy and peppery, a bit funky, some light non-descript fruitiness, a bit of sweet malt, some leafy hops, a bit of peach, some yeast and bread crust. Palate: Medium+ body, fairly soft carbonation. Flav.: Much like the nose – sour cherries, some spice and funk, a bit of wood, white pepper, a bit of yeast and bread dough; lightly tart, fairly bitter.

Quite enjoyable and Phil agrees. A very unconventional IPA. Nice job.

Big Fizzy Head. Amber-orange pour with a sweet pear aroma with a bitter taste on top of my tongue. Medium bodied, better after it warmed up a bit. I brought this one to Immy’s tasting. Was enjoyable but not worth the $19.50 for the 750ml.