BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (2011)
3.9
159 reviews
Saignelégier, Switzerland
Community reviews
Rating #2700: bottle from Andersons on Bent Tree. Deep reddish pour with very little head. Aroma of cherry, dark fruit, vinegar, wood. Tastes are along those lines with caramel, toffee background. Also get some sour apple. Overall tough to rate. I tried the 2012 recently and loved it. This definitely isn’t as good - more grapey, sickly sweet. But my ratings shouldn’t be this far apart. Maybe a mood thing.
Distinct features compared to other ASBCs: Grape aroma and some exotic fruits. Very present sourness. Not as sweetish-fruity as the 2013.
Bottle. The look is cloudy, thin to no head, and reddish color. The smell is fruity, grapes, raisins, tart, wood, and great. The taste is tart, fruits, wood, sour, jolly rancher, and good.
On tap at Avenue Pub. Pours a cloudy ruby with paperthin head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is a strong cherry skin, oak, funk. Thin mouthfeel with nice dark fruits, oak, nice sourness. Easy to drink, very impressive.
On tap @ Moeder Lambic Fontainas during St-Bon-Chien World Tour. Side by side with the 2012 version. Hazy amber/orange with a small ring of off-white foam and little lacing. Aroma is winey with red fruits (mainly cherries) light caramel, oak and balsamic notes. Taste is moderately to heavily acidic with red fruits, strong winey presence and oak. Alcohol is well hidden. Medium/full body. Low/moderate carbonation. Winey mouthfeel. Similar to the 2012 version, but more sour and less balanced. It’s a little more tasty though. Very good strong Sour beer.
Excellent sour beer. Very fruity and sour but well-balanced and smooth. Super enjoyable
Bottle - Tart and cherry oak. Tart balsamic and cherry, with hints of oak. Clear copper with no head. Really nice, but not worth the price.
37.5 cl bottle. Pours hazy dark amber with a thin beige head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is berries, slight alcohol and sweet. Complex and balanced sour beer. (it is very smooth). Some light alcohol in the aftertaste. An excellent beer.
Bottle, shared with Parksy and Grippitis, but drank mostly by me. Very hazy auburn with a lively beige head. Sour cherries and acetic sourness are softened by oak and vinous traits. Yum.
Aroma is cherries and basement funk. A little tea.
light sweetness, medium sourness.
light body, sticky, sweet ketchup.
Bottle. Pours golden orange with quickly settling head and stringy lace. Aroma is tart, oaky, vinous, plum, cherry, leather. Flavor is mild to moderately tart, buttery oak, with a tart, dark fruit, cherry finish. Soft carbonation, medium body, and a mildly astringent finish. Very enjoyable.
On tap, slightly hazy ruby pour with no head. Aromas of wine and sour cherries. Flavor is sour upfront with some subtle oak, cherry, and wine notes. Nice and tart but not over the top sour. Decent.
Flat, bitter sour. Pass on this one. Rate beer needs 75 character.com. Seventy five characters.
750ml bottle (2011 vintage) pours hazy ruby red with no head. Nose is rich tart cherry, oak, and dark fruits. Taste is sweet and sour cherry, barrel, vanilla notes, dark fruits, raisin. Finish is sour cherry, raisin, sweet notes. A touch of carbonation would have helped a lot, but the sourness held up the flavors nicely. Enjoyable.
Cloudy amber. Nose of sour cherries, wood, red wine. Nice sour, tart, woody taste. It’s more a sourness that grows into a tartness and then mellows out. Wood in the back all the time. Don’t get the booze at all, really mellow, light body but put together very well. Amazing, but my only complaint is that it finishes a bit too quick.
Bottle. Pours hazy dark orange/red with a small soapy off-white head. Aroma is berries, grapes, some acetic notes, vinegar, malts, wood and a little bit of alcohol. Taste has strawberries, berries, vinegar, a medium sweetness and a soft sourness. Slightly dry finish and dangerously drinkable for 11%. Medium body and soft carbo. Nice, but not as good as the white wine BA I’ve had.
Murky red brown with sparse bubbles for a head that fade quickly to nothing. Aroma is red berries, wood, slightly musty, and a hint of vinegar. Taste is tart, sour cherry, wood, acidic, with a faint sweetness in the middle. Dry in the finish. Really good overall.
On tap at Ridgewood (Raleigh).
Pours a somewhat cloudy dark amber - almost red. Tart aroma. Classic sour taste, somewhat mellow. Not bad for a sour.
Color caoba rojizo con espuma color crema escasa que pronto desaparece. Aromas afrutados de fruta ácida y confitada, viruela, uva. En boca, con cuerpo medio, entra dulce y afrutada a lo que sigue una acidez equilibrada muy agradable que recuerda a ciertos caramelos. Excelente.
Bottled 750ml@VWPBF
Hazy amber color, small white head. Tart, cherryish aroma. Medium-bodied, but a bit weak for this ABV. Tartness, cherry, lots of alcohol. A bit simplier than many other BFMs.
Bottle I’ve been hanging onto for a good long while. Pours a nice more hazy copper red hue, some gentle brownish red glow on the edges as it settles. Some darkness in the middle is a bit muted. An offwhite foamy layer sits atop, dies down small and laces small overall, mellow stick around. Aromas present a mix of sour fruit, apple and cherries, touches of raisin and dark fruit mix with some sweeter caramel, toasty malts and firmer lactic element. Some touches of wood hit firmly, oaky and a bit vinous. Initial is sweeter than anticipated, showing caramel and sour red fruit, dark fruit, and gentle toffee. A bit nutty, some firm oak, lactic acidity hit the palate. Touches of biscuits, gentle vinegar as we keep pressing on. Some sweeter elements at times, a bit more tannic into the backend, firmer wood, red wine, vinous qualities. Still overall a firmer body and sweetness remain than anticipated, raisins, plums, dried cherries. Finish is tapered out sourness, more mellow with a firmer body, a bit sticky at times. Odd flow to this one.
A hazed dark amber ale with a very thin off white head. In aroma, sweet fruity malt with wild character, lactic acid, wood extract, complex. In mouth, a beautiful complex mix of sweet cherry and earthy lactic notes, well done. Sampler at Battle of the Belgians at Jimmys 43.
Bottle. Bronze beer with a low dark cream head. Tart and light sour aroma with red fruit. Tart and light sour flavor with dark/red fruit and light oak. Medium bodied. Tart and light sourness lingers with light acetic notes, red fruit, light oak, and light malt.
Bottle. Sampling at Lefty’s place. Thanks to Takahara-kun! Supremely sour nose, with prunes and light sauerkraut. Hazy copper color. Medium sourness in initial: apples and sweet dark fruits / wonderfully smooth finish. Thin-medium body. Well-modulated sour flavors. Aroma is great.
Pours reddish brown with no head but some fizzy rising bubbles. Aroma of sour fruit and yeast. Taste of sour cherries and earthiness.
Muddled amber with a light ring of head. Nose is wood, tart, sour, acidic, and bugs. Easy palate, cherry, sour, tart, acidic, wood, dry, great finish.
Somies amb una olor amb un gust, un aroma que et porti a records que tenies amagats a l’inconcient, un sabor cítric, vi jove, sidrà i l’acidesa de la lima, aquella dolçor de la fruita. Impressionat. Top five de les birres. Busqueu-la.
Bottle. Hazy red pour with no head, completely flat pouring. Aroma is earthy, birch bark, cherries, faint acetic notes, light citrus. Flavor is unfortunately a tad gastric, woof. Good cherry notes, malty, booze and caramel complete the flavors. Palate is a bit hot, dead flat, definitely on the winey side of things but just generally lacks a bit of enjoyability.
Bottle sample at a sour tasting at the Beer & Beyond shop. Thanks kerenmk. Pours an orange hazy with floaties and a small head, aroma of vomit, sourness, brett and fart, flavor is sour with pickles, cherry sourness, vinegar, medium bodied
Draft at the Coffee District in Delray Beach, FL. Snifter. Pours a muddy, murky reddish brown with a one finger white foamy head. Aroma of sweet fruits such as cherries and plums. Some infection on the nose, but pleasant. Taste was fruits such as cherries, currents, sour apples. Mild carbonation. A malty blend with a clean, sour finish like a green apple. Somewhat dry, but pleasant. Medium light i body. Very good sour.