BFM Cuvée Alex le Rouge

Brewed by BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Style: Imperial Stout
Saignelégier, Switzerland

Serve in Snifter

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Pours with a creamy, dense, initially two-finger thick, somewhat browned, dark tan colored head. The beer is quite black colored though it does show flashes of clear, dark chocolate brown when held up directly to the light. The aroma is an interesting mix of chocolate a perceived tartness, smoked almond aromatics (a mix of salt, smoke and toasted nut notes), earthy city roast coffee, a definite spicy wood-like note, a slight must note, as well as a distinct, toasted nutty character that seems to finish things out. After a bit some soft fruit notes of plums left too long under the broiler become noticeable as well. This has an interesting, very complex, yet hard to describe aroma.

Quite dry tasting and actually fairly light, especially considering the strength of the beer. My suspicions of the sour aromatic notes are confirmed towards the finish as this has a definite lactic character to it. There is a slightly smoky, salt-leaning almost peat like note here that mixes with the tartness to remind me a bit of the ocean. While tart it is only lightly so, the beer is very dry with no real sweetness noticeable at all. A very earthy leaning, slightly smoky seeming . The finish also has a faint vanilla note that adds just a hint of perceived sweetness that also makes me noticed a prune-like flavor and some tart plum flavors as this beer warms up. I am not sure what the tea adds to this beer, but I wonder if it influences the smoky notes, the woody character, some tobacco notes, and a certain leafy-like sort of tea quality that becomes a touch more noticeable as I work my way through this beer. This has a nice roast finish to it, though this definitely competes with the tartness to be noticed.

This is quite easy drinking for an Imperial Stout of this strength. The only thing that keeps me from drinking this faster is that it has some really interesting, unique flavors that are quite subtle. This beer is defined by the balance the many competing, yet intertwining components achieve in the glass. This beer has got to be drastically different than when it was first bottled, but it has certainly developed into an interesting departure from the traditional Imperial Stout. My biggest complaint is that it is perhaps more complex than it is good tasting; it almost seems like a better intellectual exercise than a truly tasty beer.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Sour fruit, chocolate and coffee aromas. Sour fruit, pepper and a little chocolate flavors. Light on the palate. Overall interesting.

0.33 l bottle, thanks Sinensis! Sweet tart, solventy and chocolatey aroma with cherries, almond, vanilla. Sweet and tart flavor with leather, sour cherries, woody chocolate, licorice and some barnyard. Plenty of sour berries, cherries and gooseberries. Imperial stout and sour ale, a perverse combination.

Interesting nose, slight alcohol aroma but sweet malty molasses aroma as well. Thin mouth feel with little carbonation, interesting flavors with the vanilla and tea. As it warmed it got sweeter and less delicious.

33 cl, bottled. Pours black with a tan head. Aroma: Roasted malt, coffee, olives, Taste: Light sweetness. Slightly salty, pleasantly acidic. Some bitterness. Red wine flavours. Palate: Full bodied, some carbonation. Very pleasant and interesting.

33 cl bottle @ ISKTR.
Rated on 20110320.
Pours amber color with small head. Aroma of sour fruits and malts. Flavor of malts, sour fruits and caramel.
5344

Batch 2011. Pours black with a small tanned head. Aroma is sour. Ash, coffee and hint of liquorice.A bit of Dark fruits. Nice amount of co2 and nicely bitter palate. Flavor is burned malts, ash, liquorice.... Bitter. Some cold espresso maybe? Medium to full bodied. I like this, nicely different beer!

Bottle from Perry’s Liquors, Livermore. It pours cloudy dark brown, with a thin white film. The nose is dark fruit (raisin, currant etc), roasted malt, meat, caramel, touch of spice and coffee. The taste is mostly dark fruit (prune, date, raisin), as well as tanginess, pepper, roasted malt, filter coffee, wood, vanilla, red wine and some astringency, with a long dry-warming finish. Full body and low-moderate carbonation. Decent.

EXPLODE! Note to others, this beer can be a touch volatile. Aroma of sour apple, molasses, spices and dark fruits. Pours 100% head so look out. Settles into 50% suds and half deep brown beer. Taste is very complex with floral notes, tobacco, and a nice yeasty funk. Very unexpected.

330 ml bottle. Batch 2011. Finland. Courtesy of mjs. Black colour with small tan head. Intriguing aroma of fruits, medicine and malt. Sourness, fruits, liquorice, medicine, mildly roasted malt and mild bitterness in flavour. Burning warmth. Very nice sourness. Very tasty. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

(Bottle, 0.33 l - batch 2011, from Alko Arkadia, 20120310) The beer poured almost black and clear. Its head was medium sized and light brown. Aroma had sourness, ash, liquorice and coffee. Palate was quite full bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were sourness, burnt malts, ash, sweetness, liquorice, cough mixture and bitterness. Aftertaste was sour, burnt and bitter. Very interesting and different brew. I liked.