Malheur Bière Brut (Reserve)

Clear golden with a fluffy white head. Massively strong aroma, extra points given for probably the most intense smell I’ve ever noted from a (non lambic) beer. I noted lime rind, elderberry, sherry and really sweet candy. Warm, sappy mouthful, very heavy. Flavours of floral hops, vanilla, more sherry, grassy hops and alcohol, not as sweet as you would expect, even in the finish... it’s just alcoholic, very very warming. Could do with a few years in a cellar in my opinion.

First Official Houston Tasting. Thanks to KAggie97 for this beer. Golden straw color with frothy head. Aroma has that champagne yeast nose along with a slight pungent pepper smell. Has a creamy bubbly mouthfeel with lemon rind flavors and yeast. Some apples and grains as well.

750 ML Bottle 7/15/07: Light Golden w/ a huge, lasting, thick, marshmallow creamy white head. Lightly hazy and highly carbonated. Aroma is winey, peppery yeast, grainy pils malt w/a bit of alcohol. A bit corked and has a barnyard earthiness to it. Low esters and a bit of toasty malt. Sweet from start to finish which is odd for a "Brut" style! Cidery apples fruitiness and a light sugary sweetness with a touch of grainy malt. Aftertaste does dry out and had a light medium bitterness that is earthy and herbal. Light bready mid palate, and a grainy pils malt in the aftertaste. Soft, but medium high carbonation, dry m/f, and well hidden alcohol. Not as good as I thought it would be! Might be good with some mild cheeses or lightly dressed salads. Ham brings out the bitterness and alcohol presence, so not a good match!

Bottle opens with a real pop so be extremely careful when opening. Pours a hazy dark yellow, light orange color with the largest amount of froathy white head I’ve ever seen. I poured it into my st bernardus glass and im not kidding when i say 4/5 of the glass was froathy white head. Reminds me of big clouds. Aroma very lemony, tart and citric and lots of flower aromas. Also yeasty doughiness undertone. Flavor is very different. Definite alcohol warmth flavoring, sweet apple malt flavors with distinct lemon and spice. Overall, interesting beer.

Golden color with a medium-large head. Aroma is bready/yeasty with some sugary sweet scents. Flavor is yeasty, bready, and has some light citrus to it. OK feel, but this one disappoints relative to the Dark version.

Sampled at the Newtown Brewfest 07 with Stegosaurus. Hazy golden fluffy pour with alot of carbonation. Fruity, flowery aroma. Bready and sour in the finish. Pretty darn good.

Michael Jackson Commemorative Edition, Sampled October 2007
Well despite the careful pour, my serving this at 50°F has caused this to overflow the top of my tulip glass. I couple quick slurps of apple tasting foam and I hope I am safe now. The beer is crowned by a seven-finger thick, light tan colored froth that is quite tightly beaded, though not quite creamy in texture. The beer starts out with overly active, madly boiling streams of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. The beer is a brilliantly clear, bright gold color, which makes it quite easy to watch the streaming carbonation. The head produces an excitingly varied, never disappearing, pillowy surface as it slowly recedes, all the while leaving a thin layer of lacing patterns on the sides of the glass. Aromas of apple, lemon zest, lightly herbal notes, a peppery hop note, honey-like malt notes, a backbone of toasty grain notes (think soda crackers, fresh crushed pale malt, and perhaps a touch of biscuits).

Despite the Brut moniker, this is sweet flavored with notes of honey malt and a touch of green apple. The carbonation has died down enough at this point that it is a touch creamy feeling, though it still has a nice prickle of carbonation as it slides cross the tongue. The beer finishes with a light, yet sharp flavor of hops; lemon grass, touches of basil, a nice non-descript herbal note and a light bitterness. These notes never overcome the soft malt sweetness, but do tend to linger on in the long finish along with it. This has a very smooth finish to it & I definitely like how it sits on the palate. The beer certainly hides its alcohol well too as only a touch of warming alcohol character is noticeable. As the beer rests in my glass a bit, flavors of marshmallow, kiwi, pear, and green raisins become more noticeable.

As with most champagnoise style beers, there is a lot of sediment in the second pour of this beer (I guess wine grapes just don’t have the same level of proteins that barley does, as I am sure this was bottled brilliantly clear and sediment free). The aroma of this beer just gets better and better, I don’t think that there is anything in particular in the nose that wasn’t there before, yet it still manages to pick up a level of complexity, yet still remain so smooth; I really just want to take a draught of the aroma. The flavor picks up some complexity, what I would describe as more bready, and flavor with the additional sediment, though I am having a hard time differentiating between the two pours. This is just dangerously drinkable; flavorful yet smooth; engaging, yet quaffable. Certainly a beer to be enjoyed. Even my second pour of this beer produces a still ridiculous, seven finger thick head. I really like the how the flavors of fruit, malt and Saaz hop interplay & meld into the smooth, yet still seemingly crisp, body and palate of this beer. In the end it is the fruit character that really stands out for me; the interplay of apple, pear & ripe, white wine grape notes just create such a crisp, inviting character to this beer.

Truly a beer that needs to be drunk in quantity to really enjoy; I would have written this off as a really good beer, but not great, if I had not had multiple glasses of this brew. I really can’t ask any more of either the appearance (especially if I had poured it out all at once) or the palate of this beer; it really is just spot on for this brew.

#1400 raaaawr. After loving DeuS I was really excited to try this one. Pours a hazy golden yellow with a large head, good lacing and retention. I was surprised I didn’t lose half the bottle, I was even prepared. Aroma is very lemony with notes of pepper, yeast, more fruits, light hops. I usually drink beer at cellarish temp, but for this one I started cold as recommended. Medium body that feels very light, dry finish, lively carbonation. Somewhat reminiscent of Champagne, but I’d rather have that or Deus. I really wanted to love this, but in the end it was a REALLY expensive bottle that wasn’t amazing.