Caulier Bon Secours Ambrée

33cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, complex brew, balanced, cloudy, good head, good brew

Pale amber. Lively carbonation. Heterogenous off white head. Grapefruit, earthy hops, soap and soy sauce and orange peel in the nose. Yeasty. Orange peel and grapes in the taste. An unpleasant musty acidic component. Poor finish with a hint of grapes. Additional comment after several samplings: Indeed, a very dissapointing beer.

Appearance: Pours a hazy, amber body with a small, wispy, off-white head. Smell: Rather fruity aroma with sweet-smelling malts and notes of sherry and ruby port. Taste: Toasty maltiness with a clobbering fruitiness giving you flavors of port, sherry, and a mini-box of golden raisins. Hint of wood. Pinch of spices. No more than a slight hop bitterness. Warming, though lusciously sweet and fruity in the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: Quite tasty. A nice surprise!

A very odd sweet sour aorma that reminds me a bit of over spiced cider. A hazed brown pour with lite to no head. Dried peach like flavor. Slightly thin with good carbonation. Very special beer was on the edge of being excellent.

Name: Bon Secours Ambree
Date: 05/24/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear dark amber, wispy beige head, bits of lace,
Aroma: sweet dark caramel aroma with a candy sweetness a fruity esters,
Flavor: sweet candy malt flavor, lots of dark fruits with figs and plums, just a hint of balancing bitterness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Pours a hazy copper amber with a clingy-lacing light tan head. Aroma of sweet sugary caramel malts with a touch of doughy malts. Body starts with a decent fullness and some toasty biscuity malts. Finishes with some warmth, but a drier slightly earthy dark caramel finish. A decent Belgian strong. It’s funny that a bar in London sells half-gallon bottles of this for $1000.

Pours an amber color with a tan head. Aroma is candy coated fruit, caramel, and grain. Flavor is malty, caramel, candy coated fruit, and a bitter toasty finish.

33 cl flip-top bottle via Lubiere (merci), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. Gushed. BB: C0209

App.: Hazy orange-amber with lots of small suspended particles and a frail, open white foam. Aroma: Lots of sweet caramel/toffee, fruits and esters, some underlying malic acid brightness, some hazelnuts, light spiciness, yeast and dough. Palate: Medium body, very lively (hence the gushing) and somewhat sharp effervescence. Flav.: Similar to the nose, there is a good deal of caramel, some raisins and dried fruits, some cherries and apples, a bit of the organic acid brightness, a touch of nuts and spices; on swallowing, it is fairly sweet, not bitter, with more than a touch of alcohol.

Certainly not a bad brew, but it didn’t thrill me (except when it came forth from the bottle like a fizzy volcano).