Malheur Bière Brut (Reserve)

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.

2008-05-31. Lightly hazy yellow body, big white head fades. Mild aroma, pale malts, light yeast and alcohol, light pleasant sweetness. Flavour has pleasant caramel kissed pale malts, sweet subtle malt primary, dry pale malt with toasty notes in the finish lingers into the finish. (8+) Smooth average to medium palate is noticeably effervescent. (3+). Very nice. Bottle, Post-Mondial Tasting, Montreal<P> I thought about fudging the numbers a bit to move something else to be my 3000th rating, but it seems appropriately celebratory that I should hit a milestone in the midst of a side by side tasting of the "champagnes" of the beer world, at a tasting where I was fortunate enough to sample some fantastic new treats, and re-visit some old favorites as well. It feels pretty awesome, and I look forward to continuing to both sample great beers and keeping up with my compulsive numbers obsessions along the way as well. To all those who helped and joined me - Huzzah!

750ml bottle. Cork comes off with a bang so impressive I actually created a thread about the experience. Vinuous aroma of yeast, lemon, and hay. Actually captures some of the magic that the old Dulle Teve 750ml gave, with cobwebs, lemon, and a brilliant yeast strain. Here, the nuances are just a bit young, but are still interesting enough to really enjoy it. Has a stale kind of finish that could be drier and shorter, if that is captured, this could be a brilliant beer.

Aarhus 2008. Pale straw color with a big white head. Aroma of yeast, Full body, dry texture, lively carbonation. semi-sweet caramel.

Bottle @ Aarhus, 2008.
Pours clear golden with a great, frothy white head. Great duration and magnificent lacing. Lots of micro-floaties in the liquid. Aroma is softly malty, fine yeast and a light citric whine-like touch. Wonderful creaminess and stunning mouthfeel. Flavour is wonderful, light sweetness, good yeastiness, some hay, a little banana. Dry and well bitter finish. Really impressive.

Hazy bright yellow gold with a towering bubbly head one would expect with a champagne style. Bready hay and spice aroma, with some underlying sweet fruit (pear?). Quite sweet andmalty, yeasty, with a surprisingly bitter finish. I enjoyed this far more than the dark version,

Rusty yellow body with a huge champagne head. Smells flowery, with a bit of orange blossom. Lemony flavor with tons of carbonation and a touch of honey. There is a bit of a metallic flavor on the finish.