BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2007

Formerly brewed at BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Saignelégier, Switzerland

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle #276. 750ml. $26.99 at Premier Gourmet, Buffalo. I’ve been sitting on this bottle a long while now, I hope it’s been worth it. Pours a deep amber with little to no head. Aromas of sour fruit, some funk, very pleasant. The taste is much more sour than I had imagined it would be - this is almost a lambic level sourness. Very tart. Deep and complex. Very little carbonation, and I can’t detect any alcohol... 11%??? Smooth, sour, funky fruit balanced out with just a hint of sweetness. This is an amazing beer, and one for the ages.

UPDATED: SEP 26, 2008 Bottled, thanks Bov! Hazy nut brown, no head. Aroma of balsamic vinegar and oak. Tart and citric with vinous arousing alcohol. Woody and lemony with fruity cherry flavour. Potent malt backbone, soft but solid. Long floral bitterness. Compex and intense, absolutely fantastic!

This one really rocked. Thanks Walter. Tasted with a 2006 and a 2009. This really defined to me what horse blanket and barnyard means. Malty slight cherry sour. Well blended and very complex. This was the best of the 3 semi vertical.

Bottle from PUB’N via a beer procurement engineer. Pours turbid ruby mahogany w 2f ow head. Nose is tremendous; cherry, earthy dank basement, dark fruit, malt, oak, berry, vinous fruit. Tastes of vinous fruit, on the tart side, with oaky, berry, cherry, and thick cabernet flavors. Very rich, very complex, with well hidden -OH. This one is delicious, and gets tarter and more oaky, giving a more barleywine effect, late, but in the beginning, it’s like a tart cabernet lambic hybrid.

Dark orange color, unfiltered, with ample foam. La Folie-like aroma, intense funk, oak and cherries. Tremendously well balanced and very complex. Pleasant sourness, that unlike The Dissedent I tried a couple days ago, doesn’t become overbearingly acidic. The oak component is really terrific and adds delicious notes of vanilla, toasted wood and also a unique vinous-like juiciness. A stunning effort and an expertly crafted ale.

pours a murky brown orange with 2 fingers of head. lots of little yeasties floating around. Raisin and maybe some plum smells overwhelm with a hint of cocoa. Yeah I said it Cocoa. Tastes like heaven. Thank you BFM! Sweet raisiny and plum flavors. MMM...this is so damn good. God I wish I had more of these [but for less money]. It’s very smooth but has a little kick of alcohol. I love this beer. I can’t stop praising its’ glory. Very drinkable. But you can only have 1 bottle. Otherwise you’ll fall right over! No serious it’ll hurt you or someone you love if you don’t watch it...

750ml bottle. Pours a lightly hazed deep mohogany, nice carbonation with a small off white / beige ring. A good amount of tart cherries, vinegar, oak and wine tannin on the nose.....light barnyard funk. Flavor held tart cherries and some vinous notes. Finish was slightly tannic with great carbonation and lingering on the palate.

Pours an orange-brown with a fizzy head... good retention. The aroma is wonderful... lots of light yeast, apples, cinnamon, with hints of malt and maybe tiny traces of chocolate peeking through. The flavor is like a combination of a Duchesse de Borgogne and a geuze, with some of the nice strong breadiness of a Gouden Carolus Grand Cru. So it’s essentially a combination of some of my favorite beers. For the price, I wouldn’t buy it too often, but you have to try it at least once. I’m really impressed with BFM, they really make great beers.

Bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. Man. I was talking to a guy named Javier at Toronado SD who reminded me that US sours "just don’t have that funk." I admit, I drink so many US sours I was hazy on what he meant. This beer reminds me as gently as a ton of bricks. Aroma is tart, funky as hell, really vinous. Beautiful red-brown soil color - very French - with puffy cream head that retains well. Flavor does indeed bear a Brandy smell and features breadcrust, moldy strawberries, fruitcake, and the lightest sprinkle of pink peppercorn. This is textbook.

She poured pinks and cranberries into my glass with a small pink-tinged head dissipating into an equally pink-tinged necklace. A few gentle swirls don’t stir up any more head, but it does leave a fragile network of lace. Her nose does a surprise about-face with the sheer ferocity of aromas bowling my way. Sour, that’s the way I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh. Red wine vinegar flitters in and out of her sour bouquet which also includes wood, tart cherries, the skin of red grapes and red plums, and cranberry ice. Raising my glass of pink to pink lips, I revel in a complexly layered palate which glides across my senses with smooth precision. Red wine vinegar bitterness on the back of my tongue also includes red plum and grape skins. With each sip I bite into freshly picked cranberries, their tartly sweet juices trickling down my throat while their bitter skins cleanse my palate for each quaff. Within her dryness are oak barrels beyond the point of saturation, her essence seeping into her every aspect. The palate hits quick and hard in the middle with tart plum, cherry, and cranberry juices while leaving very little behind to contemplate; just a thirst for more. As I near the end of my first glass, I am reassured by the goodly amount of delicious Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien 2007 left in the bottle.

Clean, smooth, bracingly tart, and delightfully oaky, I once more marvel at the artistry which takes place at Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes. Brewing is an art form and beer is the masterpiece, an appraisal she is most worthy of.