Le Pianiste
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

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From:
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Bière de Garde
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 9.04%
Reviews:
24
Ratings:
100
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 01, 2019
Added:
Apr 11, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by corby112:
Photo of corby112
Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

3.52/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Draft at The Cambridge in Philadelphia, PA.

Pours a dark golden amber/copper color with a half finger white head that quickly settles into a very thin ring.  Minimal spotty lacing left behind.

Slightly earthy aroma with peppery spice, grassy hops, faint farmhouse funk and sweet malt.  Some pepper and resinous hops along with a very subtle barnyard farmhouse character.  This is followed by sweet malt flavors of red fruits, caramel and toffee.  The nose is blander than expected and feels more like a biere de garde than a dark saison/farmhouse.

On the fuller end of medium bodied with peppery spice and an earthy presence that lingers over the floral notes, hop bitterness, light fruit and malt backbone into a slightly dry finish.  Subtle musty/funky farmhouse character along with pepper and clove.  Light malt notes of bread and biscuit followed by sweeter dark fruit notes, notably red apple and dark berries.  Complex, full bodied, well balanced and easy to drink.
Sep 11, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Unknown vintage; drank 12/16/15 @ Hopleaf.

Opaque red appearance.

Almost no off-white head; no lace.

Tart raspberry, strawberry & faint cider notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Tart strawberry & faint cider flavors up front; dry raspberry notes on the finish.

Fruity, with a nice balance between tart, sweet & dry. Very nice!
May 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.68 by metter98 from New York

Feb 16, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Karibourgeois from Texas

Jan 28, 2019
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.74/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
not enough biere de garde in the american lexicon right now, so i pretty much jump at every one i see. this is a bit of an obscure one from these guys, and i had not heard of it before this. its a really cool brew, not all the way dialed in, like if they did it again it would be awesome, but its a little rough around the edges. heavy for its lower abv and for the style, malty beyond what i usually look for in these, both in terms of flavor and body. i also didnt expect it to be funky, but there is a serious bretty weirdness to it, intentional or not (i would assume so). notes of red wine, raisin, cherry, and crystal malts here, along with a wet dog funk, a bit of briny acidity, and some caramel and even butterscotch to the finish. really interesting stuff, but it kind of all comes on at once rather than unfolding and layering up gently, its a bomb to the palate, a lot to decipher simultaneously. i do like it, more and more as it warms too, but the proportions and timings are a little funny, almost makes it seem a bit amateur, but the idea is there and the complexity is too. i have not always been a fan of the funky stuff from bells, its never felt like their wheelhouse to me, and the tartness here makes this a little odd, but its cool to see them reaching in new directions. not totally sure what to make of this, especially if its only ever been brewed once and is quite old now. not sure the story on that...
Nov 02, 2018
Photo of neenerzig
Reviewed by neenerzig from Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Having this on-tap at the Tremont Taphouse the second day of the 10th annual Cleveland Beer Week at the Tremont Taphouse’s annual Bell’s Ruins Beer Week Tap takeover event. This beer draws a fairly cloudy/hazy medium copper color. Not much head even when first drawn and served. Has a thin to medium sized white ring surrounding the inside of the glass. Not any lacing at all to speak of. Aromas of some bready malts, brown sugar notes, and some musty barnyard funk notes. The taste is pretty much the same, with some bready caramel malt sweetness that gives way to brown sugar sweetness that’s followed by some sour, barnyard funk. O yes. Interesting flavor profile for this style I feel, but I like it quite a bit. Has a very crisp, yet smooth, slightly prickly, medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Has a clean, fairly dry finish.

Eric
Oct 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by needMIbeer from Virginia

Aug 27, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Danielr26 from Michigan

May 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.92 by blissfulNemo from Michigan

May 01, 2018
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had on tap. Reminiscent of Jolly Pumpkin's Oro de Calabaza. Taste is bursting with sweet fruits, especially plums, grapes, and cherries. Almost punch like in the flavor combo. Smell is mostly sour and oak notes with slight yeastiness. Mostly the star is the taste, just wonderful!
Apr 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by archero from Texas

Mar 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by shigg85 from Japan

Mar 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by szmnnl99 from Michigan

Jun 07, 2017
Photo of StoutHunter
Reviewed by StoutHunter from Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Short Review. This a good Biere De Garde, it's very true to style and to me it has just the right amount of sourness for the style. I like it and I would for sure get it again. it would be nice if bells bottled this one.
Mar 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.81 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Jun 25, 2016
Photo of RockAZ
Reviewed by RockAZ from Arizona

4.61/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Tap and Bottle Tucson pulled this keg out of their cellar, 3 years old plus, and was hellafine. Read the old reviews during the tasting(s), and all I can say is that it has mellowed well. The dry pepper aftertaste is still there, more sour fruit than the old reviews stated. This batch was rare then, impossibly rare now. Really enjoyed this, for posterity the average score needs to draw upwards.

Pepper, apple and maybe a tiny bit cherry notes in the taste. More like cherry in the nose, but the odd yeast notes mentioned in old reviews, in my opinion, are gone. Some said the malt was too present in the taste, (earthiness one described it which is what I got out of it), others had different opinions, but the farmyard aroma is still there but now very subtle compared to the dry pepper I got from it today. Sharp acidity balanced well with the dryness. Pepper/Sour, some might call it spiciness, but to me a delicious fight on my taste buds, this beer snapped! The reviewers that had this and dismissed its sweetness would now love it cause that's all gone now.

Enjoyed with an awesome wood fired pizza featuring prosciutto. This is a complex beer, for me the tart dry finish that held good carbonation all the way to the bottom of the glass(es) made this a very pleasurable beer. This was a rare treat in sours for me today, one of the best in a long line of these related styles.
Jun 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.24 by SPLITGRIN from Kentucky

May 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4.24 by Farnswurth from Illinois

Feb 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.67 by oriolesfan4 from Maryland

Feb 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Feb 15, 2016
Le Pianiste from Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 100 ratings