La Bavaisienne Ambrée

Brewed by Brasserie Theillier
Style: Bière de Garde
Bavay, France

I cant be too sure that I am rating the correct beer here but that little lable in the corner (right) looks right to me. The head is white and lasting. The nose is malty up front with some wheat. The taste has got this strange taste to it. Imagine pulling a banch off of a tree, now taste the green of the inside of the branch. That is just about it, sour with kinda.

Bottle Brewtopia ’04 This pours a light amber with a frothy head. Complex malty aroma with touches of bready yeast, some sourness and an overall mustiness. The flavor gives way to a slight sourness with some malt in the background. Pleasantly different to be sure.

Hay and bread malt (M); leather yeast profile (L); honey, cinnamon?, butter aromas. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic flavor becomes a lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter, astringent finish. Distinct pecan taste. Medium body, oily/watery texture, lively carbonation. The bottom line is: I’m nutty enough for the both of us…I don’t need my beer to be.

Brewtopia’04. Smells sweet, cugary, and cherry-ish with some musty old fruit. A pile of sweet maltiness dumps from the glass and splashes down all over the palate. Sweetness yields to sour and bitter. What a lovely find on the Shelton Bros table at the fest, not an everyday beer, to be sure. It’s not so Belgian yeasty as man French beers tend to be, but it IS quite peppery. Wonderful.

This beer was sampled at the San Diego Real Ale Festival thanks to Dr. Bill’s vast collection. This beer poured a brownish/orange/copper mix with a thick foamy tan colored head that refused to go away. The aroma had definite hints of aging, with lemon, flowers and citrusy mango in the nose. It almost had a lambic-like sourness in the nose...very hard to describe, heavily acetic. The taste begins with a frontal malt assault complete with roasty toffee and finishes with an astringent and tongue numbing lemony citrus. Light roasts then return and lead to hints of vanilla in the finish. Very earthy beer I must say... a strange balance between sweet and sour, but a very complex and cool journey I must say. Dry finish, but sweet after the initial sour burst. Another must try again!

Pours a deep copper body with a efferevescent tan head. Looks almost like a champagne or sparkling cider. Aroma is odd. Sort of caramel, flowers, and fruit. Very light aroma, though. Taste is flowery with some roasted notes and some sweetened malts. Palate is almost overwhelmed by the resounding fizziness, but it’s a lighter feeling that expected. I guess due to the smaller conecntration of bubbles. Finish is a bit sweet but there’s a lingering bitterness. Damn good beer! I can see why this is the number one Biere de Garde!

Pours a dark orange colro with a small white head and minimial lacing. Aroma has the fresh brewing beer smell. Musty, toffee, and citrus. Flavor is toasty, caramel and butter. A musty sourness leads to a medium finish.

Clear amber with a big rocky light tan head. Very nice malt slightly sour citrus musty aroma. Toasted toffee, bitter cocoa are followed by musty sour malt, yum-yum! Beautiful body, medium dry finish. This is a really nice beer, my expectations were very high and this beer exceeded them.