Chez Monmee
Alpine Beer Company

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From:
Alpine Beer Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
94
Avg:
4.39 | pDev: 10.48%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 20, 2014
Added:
Oct 04, 2010
Wants:
  22
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 5 by Flash09 from Florida

Nov 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Cazlo from Pennsylvania

Mar 16, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by SubpoenaDeuces from California

Mar 04, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by GRG1313 from California

Dec 17, 2011
Photo of ehammond1
Reviewed by ehammond1

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5
On Tap

Alpine Beer Company Pub
Alpine, CA

Thanks to BdubleEdubleRUN for giving me the heads up that this was on tap!

Clear ruby and grapefruit with a thin, wispy off-white head that eventually leaves spots of lace everywhere down the glass. Very pretty.

A sharply tart aroma with plenty of musty barnyard funk--pretty rad. The aroma of sweet and tart cherries is in the forefront, wrapped nicely by a surrounding funky cheese/hay scent. Sweet, sour, funky, fruity--this one's got it all!

The flavor is just as complete, surprising, and successful. The cherry flavor comes in waves of balanced sweetness and tartness, the musky, cheesy funk is present and there's a mild, lingering bitterness.

The only weak spot of this beer is perhaps its mouthfeel. It's a bit watery and low of carbonation.

A deliciously tart kriek, and certainly the surprise hit of my trip to Alpine (that and the pulled pork sandwich, naturally).
Nov 29, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by pmarlowe from Virginia

Nov 24, 2011
Photo of BdubleEdubleRUN
Reviewed by BdubleEdubleRUN from California

4.41/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Went out to Alpine to try this one, they have been talking about it for a long time.
Poured into a tulip this beer has almost a violet hue to it with a fast building and faster fading head that completely disappears.
The smell is extremely stong and pungent. Smells very sour with malt vinegar, cherry, some very strong funkiness like week old gym socks.
The taste is very sour with tart cherry and a citrus quality as well as a bit of bread.
Lighter bodied then I expected, well cabonated and a lasting bite from the sourness.
Really enjoyed this one and the extremeness of the acidity and sourness.
Nov 18, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by TheRealDBCooper from Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands

Nov 16, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by jlb502 from California

Nov 15, 2011
 
Rated: 4.75 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of SDDanC
Reviewed by SDDanC from California

4.43/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Was lucky to catch this on tap at alpine beer co. Poured a very murky grapefruit ruby red. Small bit of white ring, no residual lacing or bubbles. Nose is filled with funky brett, cherries, and tartness. Tongue is a bit different, starts out with a good amount of puckering cherries, through the middle it almost takes on a pie crust character, then ends with a acidic vinegar twinge. Mouthfeel is characterized by light-medium carbonation concomitant to acidic burn. Overall, im impressed that alpine pulled this off. Among the other sours that have come out, they have been quite consistent, and this does not fall short.
Nov 11, 2011
Photo of brew3crew
Reviewed by brew3crew from Ohio

4.37/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On Tap at alpine

A murky red in color with no head whatsoever

S-very funky and tart. Really looking forward to it

T-follows the nose. Tart cherries that almost pucker your lips.

M-medium body and smooth

O-very good beer. If you like tart, you will definetly like this one!
Nov 09, 2011
Photo of SpeedwayJim
Reviewed by SpeedwayJim from New York

4.03/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at Alpine. 6oz. pour into a snifter.

A: Beer is served with a .5 finger foamy white head with decent retention. Beer is a cloudy, pale, grapefruit pulp color. Lacing is stringy but ample and with decent stick.

S: Nose is tart cherries, slight Brett funkiness, and a touch of vinegar. Sweet overall and pungent with a large fruit component.

T: Opens cherry sweetness that sours towards the middle. Acidity lingers in the background. Puckering towards the middle with an infusion of tart cherry. Finishes messy and sour with a cherry and other red fruit sweetness. Moerately dry.

M: Light to medium bodied and moderately carbonated. Lively in the mouth in the beginning but the carbonation leaves this one quickly, producing an oily and smooth beer. Finish is messy with an aftertaste that lingers.

D: It's not fair to compare this to the traditional Belgian Lambics so I'm not going to judge it that way. Instead, considering AWAs and other American attempts at simulating a lambic, this is very very good. Sucks that its draft only but definitely worth seeking out.
Nov 18, 2010
Photo of HopHead84
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California

4.47/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
10/30/2010

Thanks for sharing, Chris.

A: Appears pink tinged red with a small fizzy head.

S: Aroma is quite funky, with notes of barnyard, wet horse blanket, and cheese. Oak is noticeable, and the cherries smell ripe, fresh, and lactic. It's sweaty and musty, with notes of hay and some wet leather, again, it's quite funky for an American Wild.

T: The taste displays a vibrant and delicious cherry profile with a strong acetic bite. It's musty, slightly brackish, and tannic, with subtle oak notes, a moderate lactic quality, and a mouth puckering, mouth watering tartness. The cherry finish exhibits a moderate acetic burn and a drying, tannic oak quality in the mouthfeel. There's also an ephemeral cherry sweetness just before the end.

M: Good carbonation, dry, tannic. Light medium bodied.

Overall: A very good cherry American sour. Very enjoyable. This has a nice complex dirty funk profile. Better than Chez Monieux.
Nov 15, 2010
Photo of ZX6Chris
Reviewed by ZX6Chris from California

4.6/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 2 | overall: 4.5
A-Light ruby red color. Very vibrant. Maybe an orangish, pinkish, brownish. Small white head of tight white bubbles that settles to a little ring around the glass. A swirl of the glass releases some carbonation and leaves some nice lacing that slowly settles into the glass.

S-A very bright sour cherry aroma. A little sweetness as well but not too much. A nice acidic quality.

T-Cherry, very tart in the cheeks. Maybe some funky cheese in the middle/finish. Then taken over by the acid and tart cherries.

M-A little on the watery side and slightly carbonated. A little disappointing.

Very drinkable. Great flavor and aroma. The mouthfeel was a little distracting though.
Nov 03, 2010
Photo of largadeer
Reviewed by largadeer from California

4.32/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at the Alpine pub. The foundation for this beer is apparently Briscoe, Alpine's unblended sour beer. Unlike Chez Monieux, which is aged in wine barrels with cherries, this beer involves no oak but significantly more fruit.

Appearance: Turbid reddish-pink with small head that settles completely, leaving no lacing or collar. The body has a bright, glowing cherry flesh color to it.

Smell: Strong lactic acidity and vibrant tart cherries. As it warms, brettanomyces begins to take over, transforming this into one seriously funky beer.

Taste & mouthfeel: Very sharp and sour, lactic acid melds with the sourness of the cherries to create a puckering but very clean mouthfeel. The cherry character is strong but not necessarily dominant - brett has contributed a lot to the flavor, lending a leathery, drying funk. The body is light, effervescence fairly high. No acetic harshness, this goes down very easy.
Oct 29, 2010
Photo of mrkrispy
Reviewed by mrkrispy from California

4.41/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Went to the new Alpine BBQ/Pub and they had this on that. I had never heard of it, and assumed it was a tweak of the Chez Monieux. Apparently it is the base beer of Chez Moneiux (Briscoe? a cherry lambic) that isn't barrel aged and has a heaping amount of more cherries added. Information is spotty, I would like to hear more about it.

Anyway, arrived in a tulip showing a rosy peach juice color, very hazy & cloudy.

Aroma is almost shocking turning to odd. Stinks of moldy unwashed feet and ripe cherry juice. Some barn funk, more fruit notes. Odd that it can be off-putting and so interesting at the same time.

Beer is nicely carbonated. Immediately acidic on the tongue, with a burst of cherry flavor, some cherry skin as well. Somewhat sweet, not sharply sweet or cloying. Fairly sour, Slight astringent finish. No heavy buildup on the tongue after several sips, the carbonation serves it well. The fruit is incorporated very well, not overwhelming but not fermented out.

Quite an interesting and perplexing beer... stanky, sour, fruity...others at the table that like sours were put off by the stench. It doesn't get a lower score on the 'Smell' because it is so multi-faceted. The acidic bite is a bit too strong for me which dings the mouthfeel. I thoroughly enjoyed the beer aside from those marks, and I hope to get it again.
Oct 04, 2010
Chez Monmee from Alpine Beer Company
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 17 ratings