L'Ambrée D'Esquelbecq / Thiriez Amber
Brasserie Thiriez

L'Ambrée D'Esquelbecq / Thiriez AmberL'Ambrée D'Esquelbecq / Thiriez Amber
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From:
Brasserie Thiriez
 
France
Style:
Bière de Garde
Ranked #31
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,002
Avg:
3.89 | pDev: 11.05%
Reviews:
51
Ratings:
86
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 30, 2023
Added:
Oct 12, 2004
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  8
Local name - L'’Ambrée d'Esquelbecq
US Import - Thiriez Amber

Description on US bottle label:
Daniel Thiriez painstakingly crafts his rustic farmhouse ales in a rustic farmhouse brewery in the beautiful countryside of French Flanders. This brisk Amber Ale is really a luminous golden-red. It is perfectly balanced, with a soft, fresh hop bitterness playing off a hearty whole-grain maltiness, and accented by an entrancing nose of earth and spice that is typical of French farm-country brewing.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by NoLiberty:
Photo of NoLiberty
Reviewed by NoLiberty from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
App: Cloudy hue and amber-orange color. Good head, not huge, but lasts the whole drink.
Aroma: Total apple and apple cider. Sweet and crisp. Really nice and different.
Taste: Apple all up front, clean and light malt middle and cool hop finish. Wet and sweet. Nice.
Mouth: Mild, light bodied. Wet with light carbonation.
Drink: Good beer, very drinkable. Pretty unique.
Feb 10, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.01 by Ox8840bo from Illinois

Apr 30, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Apr 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Aug 31, 2022
 
Rated: 3.92 by Boone757 from Virginia

Nov 13, 2021
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.11/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a med fizzy bubbly almost 1 finger off-white head with lower retention, mostly clear auburn to cranberry red color

nose brings some nice sweet malts, caramel, toffee, but rich toasted malt as well, a bit of the Belgian cracker toasted malt character, light earthy farmhouse yeast notes, dark red fruits a little cherry plum like

Taste brings more rich malts up front, toasted cracker and rich bread crust with some caramel and toffee, and more Belgian toasted caramel malt, light herbal hops with a touch of bitterness, a little earthy French farmhouse yeast note with hint of phenols, and plenty more dark red fruits with that mild cherry, plum, and a little fig/date, mild sticky syrupy finish, a bit drier

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, med slight prickly carb,

Overall this was quite nice, more sweet caramely than I expected but liked the Belgian malt character and toasted bread crust, as well as the dark fruits, nice beer in general
Jul 25, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by bigred89 from Maryland

May 24, 2021
 
Rated: 4.03 by Shanex from France

Oct 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3.84 by shelby415 from Oregon

Jan 04, 2020
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.24/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On tap at Allen Burger Venture in Buffalo, NY.

This one pours a creamy dark brown, with a tight white creamy head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like toasted bready malt, earthy funk, clove, spice, grassy hops, caramel, and some slight oxidization.

There's a great earthy, clovey, and rustic yeast character here, with a nice slightly bitter and very dark bready malt character. There's a great creaminess, some light vanilla, caramel, and a firm grassy hop character.

This is creamy, crisp, and very drinkable, with a very smooth finish.

This feels fairly by the book when it comes to this style. It's excellent.
Nov 21, 2019
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.97/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
A good find. This style is increasingly hard to find. (I seek it out, but most the new ones I have are from American crafters.) Interestingly, France's farmhouse region borders Belgium's; yet saisons mostly make it to the U.S. could it be that saisons are a more hoppy table ale?

Thiriez's Amber Looks unambiguously brown, cloudy and foam is gone before dinner is. Smells much better, malty and true to style. Tastes are the same; balanced as some interesting spicing comes to play. Mouthfeel is modest and almost thin.

Overall, Amber complemented a starchy risotto. I'm looking forward to more from Thiriez, especially their biere de gardes.

11/26/22. Five years later, I score Ambre again at The Beer Temple. Glad to find it again post-Shelton Brothers. I edit the above review modestly and really don't alter the rating. But I will count over at UnTappd whose raters are not as impressed as I am by Amber.
Nov 27, 2017
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.07/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
despite whatever technical standard you want to set for a beer like this, it is my personal preference of styles to drink right now, these rustic european saison types, and so whatever is wrong with this, some sediment, some over the top residual sweetness, or some heaviness that doesnt belong in most beers of this light alcohol content, i like it, and thats what its all about. i dont think this is as incredible as some of the others they make, but its pretty darn good in the belgian amber or saison category. copper brassy colored with some clarity aside from the fish food flakes in the bottom of the bottle. head is off white and puffy but it fades. the label art is different than pictured here, prettier, shelton brothers looking, but i dont know who imports this (thanks though!). sweet and nutty, honey flavored, toasted with some toffee, baked heartiness, and almond notes, good but somewhat simple. oxidized for sure, this should have been kept in the dark or not packaged in green glass or something, i like a little of that in the style, but this is overrun with it. there are some vegetal hops later on too with the drying but also sort of cloying yeast, it fools with me, but the bitterness of the hops lasts after the swallow. its fizzy and old at the same time, reborn in the bottle or something, but i bet this is a lot better when its newer and closer to the source. i liked i a lot, and its worth the money, but i liked their other flavors better, at least they travel a little better. probably only worth it for the euro saison heads, if thats a category of drinkers and not just a self superlative...
May 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.25 by Eziel from Ohio

May 19, 2017
Photo of Jwale73
Reviewed by Jwale73 from Rhode Island

3.35/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
330ml bottled served in a tulip. Lot 519 3/2017 printed on the label. Pours an amber hue with a dense, creamy, off-white head. Clarity has a slight haze. Nose is grassy with a hint of noble hops and spice. Taste consistent with nose; however, more spice and light metallic quality towards the back. Mouthfeel is light in body with a pleasant, even carbonation. All and all, not really my thing.
Oct 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4.19 by HopBelT from Belgium

Aug 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.17 by hdtrice from England

Aug 01, 2016
Photo of dipso123
Reviewed by dipso123 from Oregon

4.04/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This beer has a wonderful malt character that is unique among the 2-3 other Biere de Garde I have tried. I found it too thin and the yeast character seemed more Westmalle than I would expect, but I found the abbey character a pleasant mix with the unexpected malty-ness.
May 01, 2016
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.92/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
On-tap 12/3/2015 at Armsby Abbey in Worcester, MA, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep amber color, with a short dense off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains fruit, caramelized malts and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of fruit and caramel. Then a touch of smokiness creeps in along with a hearty malt character breadiness. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The smokiness strengthens as you continue to drink the beer. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly smoky.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, good smoky representation of style, this is a solid beer to drink for a while if you’re looking for something different.
Dec 04, 2015
Photo of babaracas
Reviewed by babaracas from Florida

4.16/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a red tinged dark orange, one finger thick creamy cream colored head settles to a thin layer, a few rings of lace left on the glass. Smell: fresh bread, loads of caramel, dried cherries, a little soft apple and spice cake, mild earthy hopping. Taste: caramel, apple-pear juice, quick bite of date bread; substantial spicy and earthy hopping to balance with a touch of pepper in the finish. Get the sediment into the glass, adds some apricot jam into the mix. Medium bodied, creamy feel, with a mineral touch it tries to dry out but finishes sticky. Delicious.
Oct 17, 2015
Photo of Jerseyislandbeer
Reviewed by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey

4.12/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle from the Het Kasteelhof on Mont Cassel, Cassel, Nord France. Pours a cloudy amber colour with a white head. Aromas of cherries, vanilla & hops. Tastes start with a sweet fruity flavour, after a few sips you can taste the cherries & vanilla as well as maple, with a aftertaste of hoppiness. Overall on a very hot summers day a beer that that goes down lovely!
Sep 06, 2015
L'Ambrée D'Esquelbecq / Thiriez Amber from Brasserie Thiriez
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 86 ratings