La Bavaisienne Ambrée

Brewed by Brasserie Theillier
Style: Bière de Garde
Bavay, France

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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this beer is great. crisp and complex. availability seems to be near nil. i’m told the brewers all are terminally ill or something and have a hard time keeping up production as of 12/05.

Huge head that sticks and stays until the last swallow. Aroma hints at toasted malt, caramel, honey, peanuts, fruit, and a very subtle hint of hops. Flavors remind me grape jam, chewy malts (like a quality Scottish ale), which showcase their complexities as well as any beer I have tried, bread, and English hops. The mouthfeel is what will separate this from anything that dares to compete; which is creamy, very chewy, and round. Tries to finish dry; so balanced, as hops and malt try like heck to outshine one another. I could go through a case of this in a week. It would pair mighty fine with many foods as well. Scored this in Chicago and only bought one. I highly recommend going to all the trouble it may take to find this delectable treat. It’s gotta be the best Biere de Garde on Earth. Tantalizing!

UPDATED: OCT 22, 2005 Beautiful!Thick glowing amber liquid with off white lasting head.It clings to the glass in a ring all the way to the end.Aroma was extremely chewy caramel,earthy,hearty and short lived spicy/sour hop aromas. Huge clean malt flavors are the showcase here.The hops are barely noticable in finish and eventually just faded away.Replaced with a sweet,winey,alcohol finish.First of it’s kind for me.Excellent!!Thanks for sharing,Kev!

Sharp, citrusy, earthy, lightly fruity yet spicy aroma balances carefully between sweets, fruits and spices. A different nuance is revealed with each inhalation. Beautiful deep copper coloured body with lots of visible tiny bubbles and strong tan head that lasts throughout and sticks to the glass. Earthy caramel with dark fruit tones and hints of apples blend nicely with the spicy notes and the perfect balancing bitterness toward the finish. Beautiful soft palate with gentle bubbles and medium-light body is a celebration on the tongue. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT, muzzlehatch and Rastacouere.

Bottle at The Moan and Dove. Hazy golden color with yeast in suspension, thin white head. Amazing aroma of spices, yeast, fruits and barnyard. Amazing flavor of fruits (apples), yeast, barnyard and spices. The body is light to medium with a dry mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Excellent, mind-blowing beer, it’s insanely well-balanced and complex, every elements fit and stick together as a team.

I have been looking forward to this one- biere de garde is not a style that I am very familiar with, although is broadly similar to Ommegang’s Hennepin with which I am very familiar. This pours a frothy amber that produces the paerfect head that lasts and lasts, forming that little mountain of foam in the middle of the glass looking just like whipped egg whites. The aroma is rich with malt, fruit and subtle hops. The moutfeel is very smooth and the flavor balanced with slightly sweet malt flavors melding with fruity yeast esters and a balanced finish, neither too dry nor too sweet.

Bright reddish/copper hue, big foamy head with moderately fast dissipation and good lacing. Nose malty, caramelly, some cherry notes (flander red ale reminder), maybe just a hint of alcohol and ammonia. Very strong and distinctive. Flavor is wonderful, with vanilla cream at the very beginning, farmy lambic-type hints creeping in, huge malt, and an extraordinary smoothness just barely pierced by hints of alcohol and spices like cloves and coriander. Buttery finish. Absolutely wonderful, with one of the creamiest most quaffable textures I’ve ever experienced. Wish I had more than the one bottle.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2008 Lucid dark copper with a light tan head. Very nice color. Nose is barnyardy, lemon, grapefruit, apricot, and hay. Carbonation is just right. Crisp citrus gives way to raisin and stewed plum, then to toffee and coffee with the hops. A little bit of toasted almond too. I love the way the complexity of the flavors roll from front to back. This ale gives a faint sweet impression but is dry overall with good hopping. Absolutely beautiful.

Seriously folks, buy this beer, drink it, and love it. Wow. Fiery amber color, huge white head that hung around for the entire glass. Strong aroma, hops, wine, barnyard funk, fruits and honey. Palate is incredible, the carbonation is soothing. The fullness of its body tops all other bieres de garde, and dominates any wine I've ever had (not that we should be comparing here). I can't even describe the complexity of the malts in this, just beautiful, rich and almost creamy, dough and bread; somewhat dry finish. C'est fantastique! Bottle found at Julio's Liquors in Westboro (go there).

Clear amber with a big rocky light tan head. Very nice malt slightly sour citrus musty aroma. Toasted toffee, bitter cocoa are followed by musty sour malt, yum-yum! Beautiful body, medium dry finish. This is a really nice beer, my expectations were very high and this beer exceeded them.