New Belgium Biere De Mars

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Bière de Garde
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

bottle 12 oz. 04mar05. Semi cloudy amber/orange w good off white head that lasted fairly well. Moderate carb, min lace. Aroma is Belgian yeast w lt/md roasted malt & light hops. Flavor is Belgian yeast w a creamy lightly toasted grain/malt sweetness & flavor that is intertwined with a fairly pronounced tart sourness with a bitter nip. Just into med bodied. The sour/bitter almost seems to overpower the grain/malt flavor but it is there and enjoyable. Light hops. Crisp & clean tasting, a bit spicey, slightly clovey & moderately complex. This will be on my enjoy regularly list when I can get it. I think its best at 55 degrees...not 50. Doesn’t possess the funkyness of a true saison in my book but still rather good. 12/19/05 I’m dropping this down .2 to a 3.4. I’m just not as impressed with it this year.

Tap, New Belgium Brewery. Cloudy orange, good sticky white head. Cloves, lemon peal and marmalade nose. A definite undomesticated quality. Clove, blackberry and papaya flavor, very fruity with a bit of sweetness up front, finishing dry. (Previous rating, 1/10/2005) Bottle, Liquor World in Fayetteville AR. Pours very hazy light orange, with a nice layer of dimpled light orange head. More yeast floating in here than a typical hefeweizen. Aroma is almost all bready yeast, with just a hint of citrus. Some pleasant graininess in the taste, and lots of yeast. Nice light clean palate. Finishes with some fruity/metalic esters. I thought this was a pleasant and very refreshing beer. My only complaint is that the overbearing yeastiness makes it a bit one sided. (5/4/6/4 14)

Didn’t expect to like this one quite as much as I did... All told, out of the bottle it looks about like a cross between an amber ale and a wheat beer. Nice amber/orange color with a lot of haze. Lemony nose. Body is rather crisp and ends with a slight citrus twist at the end that is refreshing. Definitely worth trying...

12oz bottle. BB 20MAR05. Super hazy orange beer. Thin white head. Bread dough nose, with some odd fruity, earthy nuances. Nice almost creamy body, comes to a bitter end with some more funk from the verbena or more likely the yeasts. Much brighter and vibrant than last years, or maybe its just the freshness. I like this and like others below, was a bit surprised at that fact. This is probably the most interesting and adventurous of NBB’s line-up, meaning those that they put in six-packs.

Hazy, golden body with a thin, off-white head. The aroma is light and slightly citrusy, made up of lemon and orange zest, with bits of wheat, yeast, fresh baked bread and some lightly floral hops. The body is light and refreshing. The flavor is clean and enjoyable. Nothing mind blowing, but solid and tasty. Not like the most common US-brewed Saisons, which is fine by me. There is no overpowering coriander or other spices. I could drink a lot of this if it were available regularly.

Orange color with a nice white head and a little lacing. Aromal is a bit towards citrus. Flavor is very full of malts, wheat, hops, fruits. Very unique. Didn’t expect it to be this good when I picked it up.

Bottle, pours orange with a nice white head. A good brad dough flavor balanced with a citrus character.

A beautiful, unique beer that is the color and hue of a harvest moon in the glass. Substantial and radiant, with a perfect half inch of stubborn white rocky head. No lacing to speak of, though I can’t subtract any points for that. Aromas are floral, yeast, apples and oranges. Tasting yields a full, hoppy and rustic beer with a long bready finish. Malt, hops, and fruity flavors are all held together by the yeast in sublime balance. An excellent beer from an excellent brewer. A brew to behold.