Malheur Bière Brut (Reserve)

Hazy yellow of color with a white head. A dry aroma with spice and notes of sweets. A flavor of spice, hops and dry.

C&C 750, from the MJRBC, marked as the "Limited 2006 Edition" and "with extra Saaz hops", FWIW. Best before date is 01/01/2008, so I guess it’s appropriate that this is my New Years Eve selection. Clear, bright gold pour, lots of carbonation bubbles, topped by a big off white head that recedes rockily. Looking closer, I can see those are not ALL bubbles, but some are fine flecks of yeast. Sweet nose, light peach or maybe apricot, with a white grape tinge. Flavor is not as sweet as the nose implies, a rather dry, peppery flavor, some tropical fruitiness underneath. Mildly acidic finish, peppery but lightly sweet. Lovely white lace rings. Light, bouncy mouthfeel. Not bad!

750ml bottle from Central Market in Dallas TX. Pours very much like champagne, more than Deus, yellow with a big 3 finger puffy white head. Nose is sweet and yeasty and pretty belgian. Taste is sweet and bubbly on the tongue. Overall not bad for a sparkling champagne beer, less sweet than deus, and fairly balanced.

Popping the cork produced a large POP and a slow eruption of fizzy white lava. Not much loss. Poured into the goblet, it had a very hazy yellow/straw body with a tall, tightly packed head of fizz. The lacing was of the sheet sort, slippery on the glass. The aroma was yeasty and had scents of bananas, lemons, pears, honey, and a mild grassiness. Very spritzy and Champagne like mouthfeel. (This is shaping into another brew that my non-geek friends would say "That’s not a beer" to.) The flavor retains its fruitiness and finally lets one know that there is malt here, pale and sweet. The grassy bitterness appears midway through and lasts into the finish, accompanied buy flavors of juicy pears, mild lemons, and bananas. Dry and slightly acidic in the end. The alcohol remains well hidden until it’s in the bloodstream. Quite nice.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=8895>Binny’s Beverage Depot, Chicago (South Loop), IL<font size=-1>

I bought this one during the summer 05, and I enjoyed it on New Years eve. It’s golden with a lot of chunks of yeast and a huge, silky smooth head. The aroma has notes of fruit and yeast. the flavour is not as sweet as Deus, but this rather dry beer does have sweetness, that is nicely balanced by bitter and acidic notes. I also find alcohol, fruit, among others peach and apricot, orange and other citrus fruits. If I had to choose, I think I would prefer Deus.

Bottle. Pours rich, slightly banana with a big bright white head and lots of particulate in the beer. A slight lacto funk at first on the nose fades leading to a strong yeast aroma. Interesting balance of spice (white pepper) and sweet (banana). The yeast doesn’t overwhelm the flavor like I initially thought it would. Excellent balance of sweeter malt and dry and slightly spicy yeast. Bananas, cloves, a touch of caramel, apricot and good dose of grassy hops. Firm body. High carbonation that doesn’t take away from the flavor. Give this one some time and it will reward you well.

Dark yellow colored, hazy appearance. Big white head. Strong and very rich peppery spices dominate the aroma, hops come up also very strongly, fruity orange, pineapple and peach there too. Fine aroma. Medium to full bodied, some crispy sparkling note in mouthfeel. Flavor is also rich with this same dominating pepper, nice fruits also with apple and orange. Aftertaste dries strongly with fruits still, hops turn it to bitter one when beer gets warmer. Some warming alcohol also in aftertaste.

This one kind of took me by surprise. I wasn’t ready for the carbonated malt champagne experience at the time we had it. Either way I’m glad I had a chance to try this. Poured a cloudy yellowish orange color. Again carbonated and fizzy texture. Smooth subtle flavors. Getting a lot of grape and yeast. Nut, smoke, and very dry finish.