Malheur Bière Brut (Reserve)

2006 Michael Jackson comm. bottle. Hazy straw color, huge white fluffy head. Smells very citrusy and acidic. Lemon flavor, not too acidic on the tongue. Not my favorite style, but servicable enough.

750ml bottle, dated 1/1/08. Pours a hazy yellow-orange with small floaties and a lovely, endlessly fluffy pure white head with lattices of lacework. Intense saaz hop aroma, with an underlying rich but subtle honey malt tone with some citrusy dryness. Massive velvety mouthfeel with a flowery palate, chalky yeast, biscuit malt, and a perfumy hop finish. Alcohol is worringly well-hidden. Only a slight metallic note detracts due to it being slightly past its bottle-date. Overall though a very nice strong ale.

(Bottle) Pours a light hazy golden colour with a white head. The aroma is very fresh and floral with spicy tones of white pepper and maybe a touch of coriander alongside some fruity notes. Bit perfumey on the nose with undertones of roses. The flavour is light spicy, light hoppy, light floral and light fruity. The mouthfeel is dry and champagne like. Very elegant and well balanced. Medium bodied.

750ml caged&corked bottle. Pours a very light yellow with a bit of haze. The head pours up ridiculously thick - overflowed glass #1 with barely any pour. It is thick, airy, large-bubbled, white and almost like beaten egg-whites, except consisting of larger bubbles. It leaves a bit of spots and wisps of lace on the glass, too. The aroma is classic Belgian: grassy, yeasty, some fruit, and delightfully bready. The flavor follows the aroma: delightful,bittersweet, golden malts; some grassy hops; some fruity esters (pear, melon); and a touch of bitter alcohol. At mid-tongue, the bitterness grows and the balance momentarily tips away from the doughy, sweet malts and towards bitter, grassy hops and bitter ethanol - but only momentarily. The finish is crisp, refreshing, and bitter with some fruitiness, some honey-toast, and some subtle funk. The mouthfeel is quite delicate and light for such a strong beer - no doubt due to the vigorous bubbles. The carbonation, though very high, is not unpleasant, but deliciously appropriate. After swirling the beer in the mouth to release the CO2, a full mouthfeel becomes evident. Overall, an excellent beer. It usually goes for $27/bottle, but Savannah Distributors have some older stock that they’ve been trying to unload, so there is now a plethora of nice bottle shops selling it for only $9-$10/bottle. Score!

750ml corked, green bottle. Best before date is 01/012009. Pours pale lemon yellow, hazy. Two fingers worth of airy but sticky foam on top on first pour, settles slowly to a fine tight bubbled layer on the surface, some creamy lacing. Yeasty, faintly funky aroma with sweetish honey/lemony notes. Fairly hoppy in the mouth, citrusy notes, sweet malt, some funk. Crisp, dry finish with some yeast aftertaste and some lingering grassy hops. Super bubbly, effervescent, medium body. 11% alcohol remains well hidden. Great presentation, only sticky point about this beer is it’s price, but I can justify it every now and then.