Thiriez LAmbrée dEsquelbecq (Amber)

Brewed by Brasserie Thiriez
Style: Bière de Garde
Esquelbecq, France

Bottle (750ml). Shared with R, blankboy, GregClow, DougShoemaker, and mds, courtesy of DougShoemaker. Poured murky orange with a decent lasting foamy tan head. Aroma of orange pekoe tea, mild dry hop medley, orange juice, gentle grains (barley, rye, ...). Taste is surprisingly grainy, even milder hop component, yeasty - reminded me of fresh rye bread. Very dry mouthfeel - overall tasty, not outstanding but no flaws here.

Pours a nice cloudy amber color with yeast in suspension and a thick offwhite head. The aroma is captivating, hay, fruits, mint leaves and yeast touch my nostrils. The flavor is very good with its mint, fruits, hay and yeast, the finish is sweet. The body has a light to medium thickness with a creamy texture and lively carbonation. This is excellent, another strong offering from Thiriez.

Bronzy and quite effervescent, it started off with a fat layer of honeycomb meringue, and it kept on bubbling and churning like a miniature volcano in the middle of my glass, I enjoyed watching that. A few flakes were found laying around the bottom, not enough for me to be repulsed.
A real sour, almost lactic aroma. Like a funk-less lambic, or freshly squeezed lemonade. I tried hard to pick up anything else, but just couldn’t. A little one-dimentional, but I liked it anyway.
Excellent presence in my palate, much more malt body than I expected, it finished off chewy with an unripe exotic fruit flavor, like a caramel coated mango. This is my second solid offering from Thiriez, I’ll try to seek them out more.

The Lure:
A lofty head forms intricate lacing around the peaches and apricots. Hay-like maltiness and oranges/citrus fruit assure a probably quenchable pride.

The Festivities:
Sweet fruitiness benefits from the dry hay within. A cushiony mouthfeel emerges from the big bubbles (almost too expansive though) and capable maltiness. Papaya and citrus fruit rise confidently above the classy, restrained profile.

Transcendence:
Warm winds whistling in between barn boards.

750ml: Hazy light to dark orange with huge puffy rocky head that grows in the glass and leaves a light lacing. Grassy peppery aroma with a hint of lemon and a bit of mustiness. Rich taste that ends a bit bitter at the end with a bready ending. A perfect Thanksgiving beer.

(750ml bottle) Pours lightly cloudy amber body with a huge rocky off-white head that lasts. Aroma of musty leaves, light florals, and notes of citrus. Flavor of spicy yeast with a hint of fruit in the finish.

Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted bread/grain), lightly hoppy (flowers, orange), lightly yeasty (cobwebs, mold), with notes of peach, straw. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation. Could use a more richness and aromatic allure, but for what it offers, it’s very pleasant and very drinkable. Like the Xxtra saison, it’s only fault is in what it lacks.

Not a Biere de Garde. Great character of munich malts. Bitter. Less well balanced than the blond