Bière Ambrée Parfumée Au Tarry Suchong
BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)

Bottled 8/2020

So I’ve had many Rauchbiers and the like, but as far as the catch-all “Smoked Beer” style, this one is my first. This is a smoked Amber Ale with tea leaves. Quite a unique concept, but I’m not sure how strong the tea characteristics will come through the smoke. Let’s pop it open and find out

Pours a hazy amber brown with a finger of tan head that quickly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

Actually, the herbal character of the tea comes through in the nose and plays well with the smoke. I’m picking up on aromas of red malt, beechwood smoke, toast, herbal tea, light caramel, and apple skin

It’s even better in taste, quite unique and complex while also retaining a great drinkability. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting beechwood smoke, apple skin, brown bread, peppery hops, lemon rind, herbal tea, and light toffee. The swallow brings notes of caramel malt, smoke, peppery hops, black tea, apple skin, and light red grape

A light medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes mostly dry with a balanced smoky vibe

This is good and drinks super easy. Definitely unique, and I just realized it’s my first beer from Switzerland

330ml capped bottle into a pint glass. Date of 08/2020, so a year old.

Mixed look to the pour. Reddish amber body, clear cherry when held up to the light. Small white head really doesn't develop, gone after a few ounces.

A little smoke and malt on the nose.

On tasting, initially the smoke is dominant. As it warms, a little sweetness and dry tea move in. Also, it's very nearly uncarbonated.

Mouth between thin and medium, finish a slightly sweet smokiness.

Overall, a little one dimensional. It seems to me that thinner smoky beers lack the comfort of the heavier beers, and come off like campfire water. This one is a little better.

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy caramel amber in color. It poured with a white collar around the edge and some wispy lacing on the surface.
S: Light aromas of fruity yeast and bits of sweetness are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has notes of Lapsong Suchong tea leaves and smoked malts towards the finish.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer was interesting, but it could have used stronger aromas of the tea leaves and smoked malts.

Serving type: can

an amazing beer from an amazing brewery that i almost always feel the need to buy beers i have never seen from when i have the chance. this is a wild amber ale with smoked tea, and its sensational. hazy brick red in color, maybe a shade or two more pale than that, with a soda-like off white head of tiny frantic bubbles and a wonderfully complex aroma that does a nice back and forth between smoky and earthy, and bretty and funky. they were smart to make this an amber instead of a pale or a wheat or something, i think the richer more caramelized and substantial grain base is needed. the tea might otherwise be too intense here. its almost like a burning field, tinder igniting, grassy dry smoke, charred soil, bitterness from the tea. it smells like quality loose tea before its brewed, dark and intense. the wild yeast gives the beer a lightness, but mostly from the feel. a little acidity to cut the smoke, but a lot of funk and bubbles to keep it interesting and in motion, both of which are necessary. this introduces two elements to smoked beer that i think make a lot of sense. one of them is the wild, which aside from jester king and a few other one offs, you dont see much of, especially with this much technical competence. the other one is the tea, which does better than hops with the smoke adding bitterness, and adds an incredible complexity. so glad this is as bubbly as it is too. really there is nothing like this, and whether or not its your favorite combination of flavors, it positively demands to be respected. i love this, and continue to have a greater and greater appreciation for bfm every time i get to drink their beer. this is incredibly distinct!

 

 

Love the funk. Superb sour. Lots going on. Tar. Coats your tongue. Dryness. Easy drinking but warms up. Hint of spice. Smoky. Love it.

This is it! They have now stripped my hophead status from me & it wasn't intentionally my fault. I simply fell into drinking Stouts & Porters yesterday and then it continued into today and this was apparently the last straw. Awww.

It came in a tidy 33-cl./11.5 fl. oz. bottle with a Grolsch-like gasket closure. Popping it open, there was no release of carbonation, so I let fly. It only produced a skim of light-tan head, but I was focused on taste from this one, not body. Color was a cloudy Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17). Nose had an antiseptic medicinal smell, like the interior of a hospital. Hmmm. Mouthfeel was slightly thin, not exactly watery, but very close to it. The taste was, IMHO, unique! I have never tasted anything like it in a beer! It was smoky, slightly sour, very tea-like and utterly mellow. I began to consider a nap. It was as if they had put Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea in a beer! The finish was very dry and completely satisfying. I kid you not, I am taking a break after this one. Heck, I wouldn't know what to drink as a follow-up. Now, how to quantify it? If you've never had one and get the chance, jump on it! It was definitely a one-and-done, though, as the flavor profile was so bizarre and the torpor that it induced leads me to caution you not to operate any manner of machinery for an extended period afterwards.

Pours a hazed lighter amber shade with a nice creamy slight off white head atop.Funky sourness and mild smoke on the nose,quite a combo there.A mellow feel in the mouth and a little thin.Spiced phenols light sourness and light smoke in the finish on the palate.Unlike any smoked beer I have had with the phenols and funk,different.

 

Really interesting beer. Smell was barnyard and smoke. Smoky amber flavor, with a touch of sour funk. Could taste the tea, but not overpowering. Really enjoyed this.

 

 

 

Very smoky after taste. Can't quite put my finger on what it tastes like going down

Taste like... chewing-gum... Very disapointed.

 

One of the most interesting beers I've had to date. Slightly sour, slightly smokey. Light in body and a tad thin. Sort of a flat homebrew but unique unlike any beer I've had. Nice beer.