Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien (Zymatore) - Moscatel Barrel
BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)

750 ml bottle. Hazy ruby colored body with no head, lacing or retention. Appears quite still. Aromas are sweet and fruity, oak, red wine, and a defined sourness. Flavors have a nice sourness up front, red fruits, oak, vanilla and finishes with a dry red wine note.

 

 

Poured: Into a Libbey tulip, because I’ve yet to get one with a brewery logo on it.

Sight: Medium amber, reminiscent of freshly brewed Lipton’s tea in a glass jug outside in the sun. A cream-white head sits low and tight on top, but recedes quickly.

Aroma: Bright and tangy. A little musty or what someone might call “damp cellar.” A hint of spicy something. Not much malt or hops in the nose. My wife gave it a sniff and called the high alcohol content.

Taste: Wow. Tangy, tangy, and more tangy. The classic bière de garde taste. I think I also get the grape-y-ness. It spent a year in Moscatel barrel. Maybe it finishes like brut champagne? Drier than the Namib Desert. I also get a tartness… is that the same as tangy? Despite the barrel time, I don’t get a whole lot of wood.

Feel: Light, or maybe Medium minus. Tiny, tiny bubbles and wonderful carbonation. Combine that with the folded-steel full tang flavor, and it’s very refreshing. The finish is on the top of your mouth.

Overall: Great bière de garde. Cool find in an independent bottle shop in Nanuet, NY. This might be an interesting “crossover” for a wine drinker.

 

The beer comes in a garnet color.

The beer tastes very similar to the base. It hits up front of cranberry, apple, or simply Cran-Apple tart qualities. It evolves with hits of grape and fruit flavors. Touches of sweetness and then a dry finish.

Despite my lack of familiarity with Moscatel, there is a possibility that the fruit character is expanded onto grape by the barrel, along with the beer's dry finish.

An excellently balanced beer offering fruit, medium tartness, red wine complexities.