En Foret
The BottleHouse Brewing Company

Picked this up last night as the brewery starts to return to normal business hours. 500 ml bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Brown body with mahogany/amber hints when held to the light. Small white head. Smell is fantastically rich with the chardonnay barrel easy to detect along with a balsamic smell muted by the pear and honey. Very complex and satisfying; I usually don't rave about this but it is superb. Taste mirrors the smell except more sour and not as completely satisfying. Feel is a bit too puckering for me and ultimately not as refreshing as I was hoping. Still a very interesting beer on a summer evening.

 

 

 

This has a strange appearance, like dark mead or apple cider. En Foret has a semi-clear brown lacquer hue with some boiling coffee-like bubbles on top, but that’s it for carbonation--it otherwise appears still.

World Class aroma here folks! Smell is white wine oak with some char, balsamic without the acidity, and ultra fresh, nearly citric pear, which is very rare for a beer with pear. I also detect notes of red apple, red grape, honeycomb and wild herbs. It continues to develop and smells so floral it's amazing!

Wow, En Foret tastes very unique and refreshing of crisp pear, green apple and bright, fresh fig transitioning to sharp oak, toasty sesame and balsamic, finishing a little bready in the swallow. As it warms, wildflower honey emerges

While puckering in the semi-dry to dry finish, it's almost watery if not for a light crisp fizz.

Poured out of a 500 ml bottle into one of my tulip glasses, this beer pours a vey dark amber/brown color with some bright copper highlights when held up to the light. Has a thin foam head when first poured that quickly settles to a thin to medium sized ring lining the inside of the glass with a few tiny spots of surface foam and barely any lacing. Aromas of some funky, musty, tart notes along with a bit of pear and some chardonnay oaked goodness, as this beer was aged in chardonnay barrels for 18 months. Has a slightly bready, barnyard funk taste, along with a bit of hay, musty chardonnay grape flavor, pear, and tart sourness. The chardonnay oak and a touch of sweetness from the honey round out the flavor profile. Very nice mix of flavors overall. Has a somewhat crisp, mainly smooth, slightly oily, medium bodied mouthfeel with light to medium carbonation. Easy to drink. Has a clean, somewhat dry finish with the flavors really lingering on the palate for the aftertaste. An excellent beer all around.

Eric