Ambrée
Jester King Brewery

 

Reviewed from notes. Purchased bottle on 5/11/16 at a local bottle shop. Consumed shortly thereafter, though I did not make note of the date. Poured from the 750 mL bottle into a Cigar City Brewing goblet.

A: Hazy darkish gold, with a half-finger of foamy white head with good retention atop average amount of visible carbonation. Of note: despite the short storage period, and keeping it upright during that time, there is a gnarly ring of brown dried gooey sediment (yeast trub?) just under the cap. It didn’t seem to come off during the pour, but it’s not pretty.

S: Biscuit malts, some saison yeast, and a light spiciness. Hints of lemon citric acid.

T: A blush of lemons and lactic tart, biscuit malts, and saison yeastiness – doughy, and with minimal if any black pepper character. A light citric tartness comes back. Only a mild farmhouse funk, and hints of a woody dryness near the end. It finishes with lingering yeast and a light dry tartness.

M: Medium body for style, low alcohol presence, and average carbonation sensation.

O: A good lightly tart and lightly funky saison, but ultimately I think it blends into the pack and becomes forgettable.

 

 

 

This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a hazy dark red color with a slight cloudy light amber color close to the edges of the beer. The head was about two fingers worth of soft white foaminess. There wasn’t much lacing following the beer down. The smell had a dried out tart raspberry aroma cherishing a light woodiness as the beer warmed. The taste was a dry and tart raspberry that ended up letting out a slight acidic lemon flavoring as it warmed which lead to a naturally dry raspberry to slight lemon aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a medium in body with not much of a sessionable aspect as there’s not enough balance in this one. Overall, I'm grateful to be able to partake of this offering that I may never see again.

Dark copper color with a touch of amber in color. Excellent clarity. There's a fingernail of off white around most of the rim and half of the top that dissipates entirely after about 5 minutes. The aroma is of peppery to earthy yeast and light malt. It's odd that I don't smell the Brett, but I do taste it. I'm tasting a gentle dose of sour Brettanomyces, but it is well integrated with the earthy saison yeast and gentle light malt. The mouth is moderately carbonated and dry. This one is all about subtlety and nuances. Well played.

 

 

 

750 ml bottle. Tart Amber brew, light sweetness. Better than expected.

 

 

 

Reviewed from notes taken at Ambree's launch:

On-draught @ Jester King. 6.40% ABV. 8oz pour cost $4.50 USD.

APPEARANCE: ~4-5 cm head boasts a nice luscious khaki colour and an excellent creamy consistency. Complexion is nice. Appears soft and even. Consistent lacing coats the sides of the glass when tilted, but fails to adhere. Retention is pretty good - about 6 minutes.

Body is a rich translucent but nontransparent amber. Clean, lacking any visible yeast/lees.

Appears adequately carbonated.

AROMA: Has a strange sweetness to it which is kind of close to what I'd expect aromatically from Belgian candi sugar. Amber malts. Bready malts/bread crust. Vague fruit - cherry, maybe? Some caramel.

This aroma is fantastic for an amber, but I don't pick up on much in terms of farmhouse character. Pleasant, though. Moderate in terms of intensity.

TASTE: Not as bready as I anticipated based on the aroma, but still bready for an amber ale. Caramel, amber malts, light toasty character. No overt hoppy or yeasty notes.

I find no overt alcohol.

I also pick up on expected traces of oak and wine. Some hints of candi sugar-like sweetness. I don't get any farmhouse character at all. It's pretty balanced overall, and boasts cohesion in its build. Not a gestalt harmonious whole of a beer, but an enjoyable brew.

Flavour duration, intensity, and depth are all average.

I like it; it's nice to see a brewery put out a Belgian-influenced amber.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, medium-bodied. Moderately thick, which is apt. A bit overcarbonated, which is surprising coming from Jester King. Texture complements the taste well.

Not oily, hot, boozy, or gushed.

OVERALL: A pretty drinkable amber, though it lacks the farmhouse character Jester King seems to be going for based on their release notes. Tasty stuff and an interesting take on an amber. If not for the horrid pricing, I'd definitely get it again.

B- (3.35) / WORTHY

 

Poured gently at 47°F from a 750ml bottle (batch #3) into a tulip. Consumed on 15Jun16.
LOOK: A fingers worth of white foam shrivels to a quarter fingers worth within twenty seconds. Amber in color with a mild amount of cloudiness. Large quantity of tiny rising bubbles. Lacing is thick and moderate.
SMELL: Mild aromas of chocolate, caramel, toast, sour green apple, tobacco, salty minerals, and earthy yeast are balanced by subtle hay, peach, banana, pear, white grape aromas, and hints of bitter hops.
TASTE: The malt profile immediately boasts as mild toast, chocolate, and subtle caramel flavors cover the palate. Mild salty minerals and subtle sour green apple bring some of the Jester King funk that we all love as caramel flavors grows to mild and chocolate flavors grow slightly stronger. Mild earthy yeast and subtle tobacco and hay flavors enter next and present more of that JK funk as flavors of sour green apple grows slightly stronger. Subtle peach, pear, banana, white grape, and bitter hop flavors trail lastly to offer a bittersweet balance as hay grows slightly stronger while all other previous flavors maintain.
FEEL: Somewhere between full-bodied and medium-bodied. Carbonation is mild. Goes down somewhat smooth. Finishes with a mild and somewhat pleasant dryness.
NOTE: Another great from Jester King that emphasizes the malt presence while the yeast profile engages in a background performance. I recall having this batch fresh on tap last summer. If my memory serves correctly, the main difference was that the tartness of the beer has faded. I look forward to trying their next batch fresh and aging it to acquire a proper comparison.