BFM Cuvée du 7ème

Formerly brewed at BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Saignelégier, Switzerland

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Thoroughly over carbonated, the beer starts to foam up as soon as I pop the cap, this active bottle is definitely sitting in the sink where it can foam at its leisure. I am able to get maybe two-fingers of beer in my glass with the rest being foam, including a good two-fingers above the rim of my glass. The head is a light tan color and sits on top of a reddish-pink tinged, copper colored brew that is almost brilliantly clear. The aroma is quite interesting, a mix of damp, earthy / musty notes, ripe fruit and malt. Amped up notes of red apple, plums, candied tropical fruit are offset by a mix of malt and funky notes. The malt leans toward toasted grain, crushed malt and biscuit notes while the funky notes provide an overripe fruitiness and a touch of musty funk.

Lightly sweet, but it finishes with a sharp, substantial bitterness as well as a bit of musty funkiness. The beer is quite light bodied, almost surprisingly given the perceived sweetness, though I think a lot of the sweetness is accentuated by the amped up fruit character of this brew. The fruit notes lean towards a mix of strawberries, rip melons, berries, plum and blood oranges. The fruitiness seems a bit over-ripe, which is really where the funkiness comes in to play, but there is a light, musty, damp earthiness here that contributes lightly to the flavor profile. The malt character has all but dissapeared from the flavor, probably reduced by whatever bug has dried this out.

What a strange beer, the mix of hop focus (which has clearly mellowed with age) and weird fruity funkiness (was this even intended) can be a bit confusing at times. I admit though that the two don’t really get in the way of each other. While this may not be the exact vision of the brewer (though maybe it is), it is certainly an interesting, engaging and tasty brew. In the end this is definitely a hop dominated brew, especially since the malt character has been reduced so much by the "wild" bug, but I like the light funky influence.

Bottle. Pours cloudy orange with a small head. Sweet and fruity aroma with a hint of tartness. Flavor is slightly tart with fruity citrus flavors. Lacks the hop bitterness I associate with IPAs. Very metallic finish.

2007 version - not an IPA; described as a Rousse de garde. Pours slightly hazed deep dark gold into a snifter. Off-white head with medium retention recedes to nothing. Sour summer fruit aromas. Sweet caramel upfront yields to sour pit and summer fruits before the dry, lasting bitter resin finish.

I can’t explain how incredible this beer is. Huge vinous flavors with complex fruit, caramel-toffee, sour yeast and earthy subtleties. This redefines what beer can be.

Bottle. Clear orange copper pour - I got the first glass off the top ;) - with pillowy white head. Aroma is pretty well dominated by lightly funky yeast notes, some peppery hops, the beer smells quite grainy as well. Barely any hop bitterness to speak of in the taste, tastes more like french biere de garde that is beginning to sour. I was actually surprised that this wasn’t any more sour than it was, we had the 2007 vintage. Palate is this beers strong point, perfectly well carbed and dry. Good beer but not mind blowing, unlike its price.

Pour is hazy orange with white head, aroma has notes of some weird cooked veggie, maybe some cherry, some sour cabbage and fruit, some slight bready sourness to it as well. Taste is definitely better but still has notes of some weird cooked fruit, definitely an untintentional sour with some plastic, phenolic tastes. Off for sure, but could tell it could be ok in 2006.

Bottle @ Dan’s house. Cloudy orange appearance with an off white head that disappears quickly. Dull, citrusy, white wine, dental floss nose. Mildly tart, sour, cherry, citrusy, dull hoppy flavor with some weird plastic fruit notes.

Bottle. Pours apple cider colored. Nose/taste of very bready malts, tart citrus, apples and muted hops. Moderate tartness. Medium body.

Poured a very hazy light auburn. Smells of cider and a little vinegar. Tasted like cider with vanilla and a cherry highlight at the end. The sourness is moderate and enjoyable.

Gediegen hopfiger Geruch mit seichter Säuerlichkeit. Im Antrunk bitter, der hier nur spärlich vorhandenen Hopfen weißt noch deutlichere Altersspuren als im Geruch aus und ist weitestgehend erschlafft. So regiert die säuerlich angehauchte Bitterkeit, die dann im Mittelteil doch noch hopfige Spuren aufbringt. Trocken, in sehr milden Grundzügen Geuze-artig. Langer herber Ausklang mit der selben milden Würzigkeit, die schon im Antrunk in gleicher Intensität vorhanden war. Vielen Dank an den Doppelbock für den gemeinsamen Test! 8/10/9/10/11/10

bottle. pours apple cider red-brown. Aroma is barnyard funk, sweet apple and sugar. Flavor is nice, cidery sweet with lots of funk. This is an IPA?