Thiriez L’Ambrée d’Esquelbecq (Amber)

Brewed by Brasserie Thiriez
Style: Bière de Garde
Esquelbecq, France

Serve in Stem glass, Tulip

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Bronzy and quite effervescent, it started off with a fat layer of honeycomb meringue, and it kept on bubbling and churning like a miniature volcano in the middle of my glass, I enjoyed watching that. A few flakes were found laying around the bottom, not enough for me to be repulsed.
A real sour, almost lactic aroma. Like a funk-less lambic, or freshly squeezed lemonade. I tried hard to pick up anything else, but just couldn’t. A little one-dimentional, but I liked it anyway.
Excellent presence in my palate, much more malt body than I expected, it finished off chewy with an unripe exotic fruit flavor, like a caramel coated mango. This is my second solid offering from Thiriez, I’ll try to seek them out more.

UPDATED: MAR 12, 2008 Cloudy dirty golden copper body with an initially large beige head. Lots of small particles and I’m not talking about the bottom of the bottle. First glass out of a 750 was filled with it. Intriguing nose of mint, citrus, pear and whatever. Taste is even better. Soft caramel, doughy fruity yeast, grapefruits, red apples, dried fruits, apricots. Although I listed a bunch of fruits the beer didn’t feel that fruity. Rather sweet, more so than I expected. Kind of hard to describe I guess. Fruity sugar pie with a crusty crust is the best I can come-up with. Viscous creamy body. I really really like that brewery. Supposed to be an amber version of their Blonde d’Esquelbecq but honestly it didn’t feel anything like the blond. I don’t think this is typical of this beer because no other Thiriez has ever done that but this one gashed a lot and I had to drink it fast cause it kept coming out of the bottle by itself. At least unlike G.W. Bush in Irak this beer had an exit strategy.

dough, spruce, cereal, citrus, herbs, cough drop, butterscotch, raisin, smoke, amber, hazy, minimal head, light sweetness, very bitter, medium sourness, umami, medium body, creamy, soft carbonation,

750 ml bottle purchased at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. Gusher. Cloudy medium orange color. There was some chunky sediment floating around in the glass. Head was off white with decent retention. Attractive aroma of yeasty bread dough, spices, a dash of brown sugar, and a bit of ginger. Slightly sweet on the tongue with carbonation on the high end of the spectrum. There was a malty caramel backbone which supported other flavors of white wine, cereal grain, clove, and nutmeg. Very nice beer.

Explosive cloudy reddish amber pour into a tulip. Significant brown-flecked head fills and overflows. Then quickly recedes leaving sheet lacing. Earth and leaf aromas. Full, crisp, creamy caramel malt with slightly citrus bite -- but entirely drinkable. Would make a great session if it weren’t for the $$.

Bottle. Pours a hugh head that stays, very cloudy amber appearance. Smell is crisp with a fruity essence. Taste is full flavored with a slight carbonation feel and smooth aftertaste. Refreshing during the summer and goes down smooth. Good farmhous ale. Cheers!

Another exploding bottle biere de garde - this happens more times than not, but being prepared with two large snifters it caused no real problems. Pours amber with a fair amount of sediment and a HUGE pillowy off-white head. The aroma has lots of farmhouse spice and yeast, toasted malt, anise, sharp fruits and mellow apricots. Medium body that is very crisp and clean with sharp carbonation that is very complimentary to the flavors. The taste strarts with creamy fruits, noticeable malt presence, minor hints of cardboard and bits of earthiness. The finish has spice and spritzy carbonation giving it a crisp refreshing feel. The cardboard aspect disappears further into the bottle. Well done enjoyable biere de garde.

This is a good Biere De Garde. Yeasty, malty, and fruity flavors. Clean, crisp, and dry.

750 ml bottle. Clear orange in color with a nice huge fluffy white head and lots of floaties. Fruity and hoppy aroma. Light Citrus note. Nice hop flavor. Medium body and decent. Nice beer.

Poured a hazy amber color with a small, white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of spices, citrus fruits, lemongrass, and tangerine. Taste of caramel malts, light spices, a dry earthiness, some citrus fruits, and light alcohol in the finish.