La Bavaisienne Ambrée

In the little town of Bavay, only a few miles from the border with Belgium, the Theillier family has crafted its fine bière de garde for generations. The charming brewery is built into the Theillier family home, which was constructed in the 1600’s on sturdy Roman foundations.

La Bavaisienne is artfully brewed, in very small batches, using a resourceful combination of ancient and modern equipment.

3.8

353 reviews

Bavay, France

Community reviews

3.8 750 ml bottle. Pours a clear copper color with a medium white head. An interesting nose of caramel and oxidation, fruit. The flavor is very nice: rich sweet notes, mellow slight sour oxidation, bready, berries, some light citrus. Very drinkable and good.

4.0 Orange-copper, hazy, off-white head. Aroma: lots of over-ripe fruit, doughy bread, berries. Flavor of grainy and toasty malt, some toffee, an oxidized, leathery note, fruity notes of peaches and pears, an earthy and musty note, low bitterness, malty balance.

3.9 poura a clear bright amber with a thin off white head...light sediment. aroma has some cereal and mild honey. flavor follows suit and steps up the honey...touch of earthy dry leaves. mouthfeel is mediuma nd silky with a dry leaves/honey/grain finish. tasty.

3.1 Bottle, rated from backlog. Clear dark brown with white head. Aroma with malts, yeast and some fruit or berries. Flavor with malts, hops some fruit notes, bitter finish.

3.5 pours clear light brown-reddish topped by a light beige head, some retention and lacing. caramel and herbs, light skunky and barn notes, fruity and spicy malts, earthy and spicy hops, some dirt. average carbonation, light body - very smooth and nice mouthfeel, dry herbal-grassy-earthy finish - very good balance too! but not very complex - plain rustic, linear yeast. did not particularly enjoyed that one - did actually DP it. this bottled brew would probably develop more skunkiness when cellared in its green bottle - which is not consistent with a bière de garde..

3.6 Bottle shared by czar, thanks! Pours a reddish brown with a nice whit head that leaves heavy lacing. Aroma is a bit skunky with a bit of malt sweetness. Taste is more of the same: malty with old hops showing through. Mouthfeel was nice and smooth. Enjoyable for sure, this is a style I need to drink more of!

3.6 Bottle (750 ml). Shared by czar, thanks! Clear amber with a medium diminishing off-white head and some lacing. Aroma of caramel, light fruity notes and light skunky presence. Taste is moderately sweet with fruity notes, nuts and malt. Medium body. Medium carbonation. Not very complex, but really well-balanced.

2.5 750ml bottle 6,5% ABV, 25/05/13. Pours auburn with a medium-sized, beige head. Aroma is... underwhelming: Caramel and yeast. Not much else. Unfortunately the flavor follows the aroma. Not much there either. Caramel, dried fruit, some herbalness, light touch of yeast. Meh. The palate is a bit too light as well, not much carbonation.

4.2 750 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Seriously massive never ending gusher here upon opening. Pours extremely cloudy orange copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off-white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big caramel, pear, apple, grape, honey, floral, herbal, clove, pepper, bread, and herbal earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt with fruity/spicy ester notes. Taste of caramel, pear, apple, grape, honey, bread, floral, herbal, clove, pepper, and herbal earthiness. Lingering notes of caramel, light fruits, honey, bread, floral, herbal, clove, pepper, and earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Fantastic balance and complexity of malt and fruity/spicy ester flavors with moderate hop earthiness; and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a fairly slick and moderately crisp mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a highly excellent Biere de Garde style! All around great balance and complexity of malt with fruity/spicy esters and hop flavors; and extremely smooth to drink. A highly enjoyable offering.

3.4 Flaska från Systembolaget. Kopparfärgad vätska. Doft av bröd och små toner av bär och karamell. Beskedlig beska.

2.4 Bière ambrée pur malt. OK. Bière de garde, je n’aime pas trop, mais comme Bavay est près de la frontière, on peut essayer... Fabrication artisanale à l’ancienne de la famille Theillier. Couleur ambre moyen, quasi brun clair. Clarté nette. Bulles moyennes partout mais pas assez nombreuses. Mousse beige clair qui tient à 1 cm, bien floconneuse. Arômes de malt,candi brun avec touches de cassonade, pointe de noisette et pain gris à l’ancienne. 1ère bouche à la texture douce et présentant un côté très original genre malt à whisky. Arrière-bouche sur des céréales et un bon houblon plutôt fleuri. 2ème bouche toujours avec le même côté un peu fumé, et arrière-bouche équilibrée. La 3ème bouche passe à un goût un peu plus neutre, et le rétro-nez est plutôt caramélisé. La longueur reste sur le malt caramélisé qui ressort constamment (bière ambrée oblige …). Levure inexistante. Alcool correct, pas mal progressif. La finale n’offre aucun élan, et on est même proche de l’inverse... Bière avec de bons débuts donc, ensuite on stagne et on est à la limite de la descente en finale. Aspect le plus négatif d’une dégustation, comme chacun sait... Donc, rien de grandiose, ni même de mémorable, sauf le petit côté malt à whisky. Cette détestable habitude de la bière ambrée vient encore de nuire ici à une bière française, et qui plus est, du Nord … Mais le débat est inutile.

3.7 Bottle 25 cl @ HBF 2013. POours dark brown copper color with big bubbly head. Strong notes of dark bread, sour dark bread and roasted malts. Not bad at all.

3.6 Bottle 25 cl, BBE 12/2013. Pours clear amber with a foamy tan head. Nutty aroma, some dark fruits and some bready malty notes as well are there. Dry. Bready malty taste, some dark fruits but just a little bit of them. Slightly bitter with them light fruity and bready maltyness in aftertaste.

2.6 (Bottle, 0.25 l, at HBF2013) The beer poured dark brown and clear. Its head was medium sized and white. Aroma had malts, yeast and berries. Palate was medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were malts, hops, boiled vegetables and bitterness. Aftertaste was malty and bitter. Not an impressive brew.

3.2 250 ml bottle @ HBF2013. Pours an copper amber colour with a white head. Aroma of sweet malts, hay and bread. Flavour of sweet malts, hay, cardboard, grass and some lemon. Light bodied, slick mouthfeel and a fruity, cardboardy finish. Past it’s prime.

3.3 250ml bottle @ HBF 2013 Pours dark orange with a foamy head. Aroma of ripe fruits, malts, spices and yeast. Taste is smooth, yeasty and slightly fruity with notes of malts and spices. Finish is spicy and malty. Decent, but nothing special.

3.3 Sample @ HBF2013. Pours copper color with a small head head. Aroma of grain and malts. Flavour of cardboard, malts and hay. A bit disappointing. 3323

3.5 25 cl bottle @ HBF’13, BBE 12/2013 Aroma is quite light with some toffee, grain and hay. Flavour is sweetish with grain, caramel and hints of hay. Also a malty and woody feeling here. Foamy and creamy palate. Good.

3.3 Smak och doft av plommon, russin, trä, blommig brittisk karaktär. Söt och en aning vattnig eftersmak. Lätt beska.

3.5 Light misty, glowing brown body with creamy head of light tan bubbles. Delocate aroma of caramel, lightly roasted chestnuts, a farmhouse yeast and red rind cheese. Although that sounds more complex than it is. Taste is also medium bitter with light candy sugar throughout. Flavourful, yes, but not a full, rich taste experience that I was hoping for (giving it’s ratings here on RB). It’s good, especially well made, but I hoped for a smoother, richer, spicer and/or yeaster experience. (75cl bottle from Bière Révolution)

3.9 13/I/13 - 25cl bottle from Abbaye des Saveurs (Lille) @ Klaas’ place - BB: I/2013 (2013-18) Clear amber to orange beer, creamy smooth off-white to light beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, some small sediment floating around. Aroma: lots of caramel, bit sugary, banana, metallic, pretty spicy, peppery. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: quite some caramel, little sour touch, very fruity, red berries, ripe forest fruits, some strawberry jam, bit sugary, sweet malts. Aftertaste: soft bitterness, some orange peel, general fruitiness, canned peaches, little hoppy, caramel.

3.8 750ml capped. Pours a dingy amber toffee brown with slight haze with floaties and a tan tinted loose head that reforms easily. Very earthy green hay malt dominate, bready, hint of apple and cotton candy, bit more caramel shows as it opens up, faint nobel hops melded into the malt. Bready light caramel sweetness, balanced low level hops that give that green hay bitter earthiness though out, but never is more dominant than malt some very faint apple/lemon notes as well.

3.6 Pour is amber, thin eggshell head that quickly dissipates. Toasted, caramel malt aroma. More light, sweet, biscuit malt follows in the flavour. Light bodied, fairly lively carbonation, smooth mouthfeel. Finish is biscuit with an edge of toffee. Simple, but nicely done.

3.4 Bottle, farmhouse label. Chesnut brown pour with off white head. Aroma is a bit off, tons of brown sugar, really sweet smelling, light cherry aroma as well. Taste is better, still lots of brown sugar but a bit more graininess that you would expect from a good biere de garde. Palate is still dry despite the perceived sweet flavors. Decent.

4.5 Znakomite piwo. Po pierwsze wygląd. Świetnie się nalewa z wielką pianą, piwo mało nagazowane, koloru bursztynu. Karmelowo goryczkowe z nutą syszonych śliwek. Etykieta w starym stylu. Polecam

3.3 Split this with a several friends on a lazy Sunday afternooon and they were unimpressed. Personally I thought it was interesting but I can’t say that I would buy it again or that it was particularly tasty but I may be ignorant to the style. It was dark amber and smelled grainy. Taste was grainy amber belgian and reminded me of caracole amber. Overall, not bad but not impressed. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-14-2010 05:27:48

3.9 Sample @ SBWF 12. Amber colour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruity, malty. Flavour is sweet, grape, honey.

3.5 Smakprov på SBWF12 Grumlig bärnstensfärgad öl med ett lätt smutsvitt skum. Doft av mörka och torkade frukter, jordgolv, jäst och lätt kryddighet. Malt, lätt pepprig jäst och frukt i smaken.

3.7 Sample at SBWF 2012. A bit hazy amber with a small head. Sweet aroma and taste of fruit, toffee, orange, sugar and malt. Also notes of wood and berries. Nicely balanced and a pleasant beer to drink.

3.4 Light amber color. Some cardboard and an old yeast character. Dry grain and bread dough. Well carbonated. Light malt and unprocessed grain flavors. I wish there was more happening with some complexity.