Thiriez LAmbrée dEsquelbecq (Amber)

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

Bottle from Cave à Bulles, Paris. Hazy copper with a solid head. Sour yoghurty aroma followed by sour fruit flavours. Good balanced sweetness. Enjoyable- more of a Vlaams oud bruin (though not nearly as sharp) than an earthy biere de garde.

Bottle. Hazy, orangey coloured, small and stable foamy layer. Sourish-grainy nose with a touch of cloves. Moderate sweetish-sourish, light to medium bodied. Sourish-fruity finish. Not great........

From a bottle in Paris, November 2006. Medium to dark amber color. Pretty decent head. Very cloudy with sediment. Aroma of yeast and amber malts. Slightly fruity flavor, lots of yeast. Malt is really thin, as is the body. A bitterish flavor that might be hops but is really different. A touch sour. There is also a bit of that earthy taste that often comes in biere de garde, but not so prevalent here. There is a definite graininess, although a very simple and rustic one. OK, but the malt is not really there. Lacking a bit of punch. Somewhat bland. Highly carbonated. Earthy, malty, slightly caramel beer, but not really impressive.

(750 ml bottle from Marcorelle’s) Pours clear darkish amber in my snifter. Large, foamy, doughy off white head takes a while to recede. Aroma of caramel, citrus and honey. Mouthfeel light, smooth and refreshing. Refreshing flavor of light caramel and citrus with funky, yeasty overtones. Maybe a hint of pepper on the back of the tongue towards finish in warmer, deeper in the bottle samples. This is a really nice beer although I wish the flavor was a little ’beefier’.

33 cl bottle. Coppery colour, slightly cloudy, modest white head of a fine, delicate structure. Malty nose with sourish, almost pungent herbal and fruity notes; quince, raisins. Honey-ish and sourish taste with a mild hoppy finish. Velvety palate.

75 cl bottle from BeerGeek. Hazy amber color with a three finger beige head. Aromas of spice and light citrus. Nearly full bodied with coarsely creamy carbonation. Flavor is "brown" malt, with a hint of coffee, and lots of light, but not stone, fruits. Lots meaning many kinds, not lots of fruit. The mouth tingles. The finish seems reasonably balanced. What I thought was coffee, not seems more like cola. It just won’t settle down. It is a really enjoyable beer.

75 cL bottle. Pours hazy orange (amber? - no way) and with a slowly collapsing white head. Spiced and light citric yeast aroma. Flavour is light orange to berry fruity and mild yeasty, shows a light spice note to a mild citric base. Could be slightly infected, then again - I was warned about a strange yeast used. Ends with a mild fruity yeast lingering finish. Certainly strange but also drinkable.

750ml bottle. Cloudy gray-amber color. Highly effervescent, light, and relatively dry for an amber. Hints of sour cherry, vanilla, and some sort of spice, perhaps just the yeast or malt. This is a seriously complex beer for being only 5.8%. Very well balanced with a crisp Earthy hop character and a nice subtle amber malt backbone that doesn’t overwhelm the palate. Great beer.