BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (2005)

Brewed in 2005, oak-aged for about 20 months and bottled in October 2006; limited to 2837 bottles (837 for Switzerland and 2000 for the US market).

3.8

259 reviews

Saignelégier, Switzerland

Community reviews

3.6 Bottle @ Blindtasting, Odense, July 2011. Pours cloudy amber red with a small creamy bubbly head. Nose is tart, fruity and vinous with some clearly oxidized notes. Oak, caramel and subdued acetone. Flavor has a bit of cellar. Vaguely over the top.

3.0 Deep amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of cherry, vinegar, malt with faint notes of alcohol and turpentine. Oddly un-integrated flavour with lots of alcohol, dusty cellar, mint and licorice, cherry and wood.

3.3 Malzig-herber Antrunk, in dem die Säuerlichkeit im Vergleich zu anderen Jahrgängen des Biere nicht die Hauptrolle spielt. Dagegen wirkt dieses Bier in Teilen fast schon süßlich, die trockene Herbe und der Hopfen spielen im Mittelteil eine wichtige Rolle. Im Abagsng natürlicher sauer, hier deutlich malzig und auch würzig, was durch die helle Säuerlichkeit aber wieder etwas begrenzt wird, da diese der dunklen Aromenbildung entgegenwirkt. Vielen Dank dn den Doppelbock für das Bier! /8/11/12/12/11

4.0 I completely forgot I even had this bottle, DLD11 seemed like a good time to pop it. Orange murky with no head. Nice tart aroma cherry earthy. Sweet fruits grapefruit citrus earthy sweet.. I would have drank a lot more of this if I wasn’t the driver. Solid. 8/4/8/4/16.

3.6 750 ml bottle shared by mreusch. 2005 Vintage. Pour is hazed brown copper with a minimal off white head. Aroma is soft cherry sour, vinegar acidity, along with a light grassiness. Taste is acidic, cherry sweet, oak barrell, all pretty soft and integrarted - nicely rounded. Doesn’t really show the age at all. Palate is medium to heavy bodied, low carbonation level makes this a slow sipper. A touch of alcohol in the finish that plays well with the overall taste. Thanks for sharing this one Matt.

4.4 Appearance: pours dark and clear with a bit of cloudiness – like fresh real black cherries. Little to no head, but what’s there is bubbly. Swirls bubbly. Nose: soured, rustic, and funked. Tart cherries and cranberries, fresh and not dried. More cranberry along with some red rhubarb, raw not cooked. Old musty leather. Almost tannic red wine burgundesque quality which is also earthen. Plum skins. Palate: clean and a touch thin but not detractingly so. Plum skins, cranberries, and last but not least rhubarb. Long lingering bitter tannic leathery finish. Leather and leather oil. Warmth and spice grows atop the tongue with spiced apples, skins included. Faint cinnamon sticks. Lovely. Final Thoughts: in terms of cellerability, I’d say the 2005 is about spot on. I’d crack yours open if you so have one and if you have two, still just crack one open and save the other for a future date. After all, in cellaring one never knows for sure.

2.8 murky cherry red, tan highlights. Murky wine nose, some heat, light brown sugar, bit thin. Flavor similar, tea and sugar with light lemon and ethanol. Thin, hot body, light. I’m not much of a fan of BFM, seems I leave with the same feeling no matter the beer or state of inebriation.

3.8 Pours a hazy orange brown with a thin tan head. Tart fruit aroma with sweet doughy notes. Some boozy alcohol notes. Lightly sweet tart flavor. Nice bitter finish. Hides the alcohol really well.

3.4 1/15/11. Bottle shared at the Sea Bass tasting. Slightly sour malty aroma with a somewhat plain malty aroma full of peanuts. A little disappointed.

3.7 Bottle thanks to Kosko20. Very hazy dark brown pour, some carbonation which quickly subsided and a sweet tart cherry aroma. Flavor is apples, wood, funky earthy soured bite , thin/slick mouthfeel, and still definitely boozy and warm on the aftertaste. I’ve been holding on to this one for a few years now and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it probably could have stood to cellar a little longer

4.0 Magnum at the 5th Annual Epic Beer Tasting in Richmond, VA, November 28, 2010. Pours a murky dark amber color with a thin head. Fair head retention and lacing. Aroma of earth, must, citrus, yeast and burnt sugar. The taste is caramel, earthy notes, mild funk, apples and other fruity notes. Medium-full bodied and quite smooth. Very nice.

2.7 2005 750ml bottle shared by Eric, thanks Appearance: Hazy amber with a very small amount of head, no lacing Aroma: Tart/sour fruits Taste: Sour fruits and woody, medicinal I think this was past it’s prime.

3.6 2005 vintage 750 ml thanks to footbalm. Pours a murky brown color with only a wisp of head. A really nice sour as hell nose, tart and woody notes. The flavor is a similar tart woody flavor, some berries, very thin palate. Medicinal. Enjoyable.

3.8 Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy reddish/amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty and slightly tart aroma. Sweetish fruity tart dark fruit flavor. Has a warming malty dark fruit finish with some tart hints.

3.6 Bottle courtesy of Andy at the Grand Tasting during RBSG. Pours a hazed brown with a thin white head. Sour malt, balsamic vinegar, old malt. Fruit and oxidization, spicy cinnamon. Long spicy malt and a big tart bitterness.

3.7 Bottle shared by puzzl (thanks!) at the 2010 RBSG Grand Tasting. Poured a cloudy amber with a thin off-white head. Aroma was tart with raspberry and cherry with a bit of underlying sweet grains and caramel. Flavor was a combo sour cherries and raspberries with just a hint of backing sweet grains.

3.8 Hazed cherry pour with light white head and lace. Huge sour cherry aroma. Medium fruity flavor with a light sour. Medium bodied with no carbonation. A beer that smells better than it tastes.

4.2 Bottle as part of a complete vertical. More sour and tartness of the 2004. A little more caramel in the aroma. Still, an amazing beer.

3.7 2005 and 2007 vertical of BFMs shared by Nick3 on BA. Pours a dirty, swampy looking reddish color with minimal head. Have to mark it down a bit on appearance. Nice tart nose, very fruity with lots of vinous notes and oakiness. Some red berries and mild funk as well. Flavor is tart, lactic, oaky, and vinous. Vinegar and tart berries as well. The age in the barrels and bottle really comes through, but I have a feeling this could age well for much longer. Whoa, wait...15.5%? Where’s the alcohol? I’m not really getting any. Medium bodied with a nice sharp acidity on the palate. As mentioned above, no hint of booziness. This goes down way too easily. Very nice beer overall. Will have to seek out more of these vintages.

3.9 Bottle - Pours like flat apple juice--no head to speak of. Smells of red wine, sour citrus rind, and oak. Lots of tartness and dry, tannic notes. Taste is fairly sweet and a bit syrupy. It’s also sour, but not over the top sour. Lots of citrusy acidic notes and the well-integrated oak. Really liked this.

3.9 (Bottle) Pours muddy dark reddish brown almost no head. The aroma is fruity and almost soap-like with vinous notes of grapes and sweet sherries. Undertones of horse blanket, grappa, sherry, apples and bready, cracker-like malt. Complex and elegant nose. Not much alcohol. The flavour is light sweet, light acidic and light bitter with vinous, fruity, soapy and light barnyardy tones. The mouthfeel is light tart and surprisingly slim with a light carbonation. Almost no alcohol. Dry and yeasty aftertaste. Medium bodied. I like.

3.8 Bottle opened on the bus ride from Orlando to Tampa Bay Brewing Co. Pours a brownish color with minimal cream colored head. Aroma of sour, musty fruit. Flavor is tart, doughy and dank with some fruit and alcohol. Medium body with soft carbonation. Thanks to whoever opened this.

3.6 bottle pours hazy caramel with a thin white film. Thick vinegar, port wine, strawberry nose. Very mellow thin tart cherries. Not as flavorful as the aroma leads onto.

4.0 Poured an orangy-amber with bub bles but no real head. Nose is woody, more pronounced oak than the barrel series, and red fruits with wine. Taste is funky, sharp, acidic, tart cherry, red wine, oak, wood, and hints of vinegar.

3.9 750ml bottle. Winey, fruity aroma, darkly sweet and woody, faintly earthy and tart with plenty of red grape, black cherry, and background notes of musty yeast. Opaque garnet color with virtually no head or lacing, not too surprising after 4 years, though. Flavor is also winey and fruity, very lightly tart and earthy, some dark malt sweetness showing through, and with a faint alcoholic component -- so much so, in fact, that there is absolutely no way this is 15.5% abv, my guess would be closer to somewhere between 9-10%. Smooth on the palate, even a bit thin, with a very full body. Gently warming and with a touch of sour. Flavorful and unique, rather satisfying overall.

4.2 Pours a mostly clear blood orange with a small off beige ring. nose is very vinous with hints of prune, black cherry, and dry oak, light booze. Flavor is also very vinous with dark fruits, oak and a touch of booze on the finish. The booze is there but quite well hidden for 15%.

4.0 POured a gross looking hazy brownish red. Nose is booze, lactic sourness, fig, grapes, dark fruits, vinegar and more booze. Flavor is warming alcohol, sour sour vinegar, apple cider, apple peels, figs, dry raisin, sour fruits and funk.

3.5 extremely strong, flavor is little more than alcohol- like sweet tart’s candy. sweet and once again, alcohol. Bottle from Ryan Blanksi’s Sourfest- Hollywood, Florida.

3.5 Brownish pour. Fruity and tart aroma. Overripe sweet tarts. Wood, brett, wet mowed grass and vinegar. Flavor is sour but not crazy sour. Fruit, vinegar, hay and some light sweetness. Over priced IMO.

3.6 750ml Bottle (Bottle 276 of 2837): Aroma of banana, spices, light acid, slight dark ripe fruits, sour apples, light muscat grapes, light wood, slight brett, and a hint of sour funk. Poured brown/chestnut in color with no head. Cloudy. Not sparkling. Flavor is lightly sweet, and lightly sour. Tastes of sour fruit, wood, light vanilla, oak, slight alcohol, light acetic acid, slight brett, slight funk, slight dark ripe fruit, slight banana, and a tad of cocoa. Medium body. Thin, watery, then lightly dry and lightly chalky texture. Soft carbonation. Tart, slightly funky, slight brett, oak, and light cocoa finish is lightly dry and lightly chalky. 15.5%ABV is very well hidden. Still not worth the $26 I paid, but it was worth the try.