Category Archives: Switzerland

Beer Reviews, 3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Switzerland, Bière de Garde, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)

BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien Special Blend Bordo Casks 2018

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Brewery: BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 11%
Style: Bière de Garde
Other Notes: Special blend Bordo casks 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Bière atypique aux notes épicées et balsamiques avec une belle acidité, la est élevée en barriques de vins rouges plus d’un an, puis assemblée.

(translated to English) An atypical beer with spicy and balsamic notes and a nice acidity, is aged in red wine barrels for more than a year, then blended.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2018 vintage, special blend Bordo casks. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear dark reddish copper colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, dark fruit, plum, prunes, dark berries, vinous, wood, oaky vanilla notes, with a splash of balsamic.
Taste: Sour, tart, dark fruit, plum, prunes, dark berries, red wine grapes, vinous, wood, and an oaky vanilla note.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with no carbonation.
Overall: It’s got good aroma and flavours, but the lack of carbonation made it not nearly as good as the original. The lack of carbonation just seemed like it was missing something.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Chien Bleu, Switzerland, Wild Ale

Chien Bleu Giotto

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Brewery: Chien Bleu
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 660 bottles

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Giotto is a blend of three beers with red fruits. We have blended 60% young prune beer with 20% grape beer (pinot noir) and 20% spontaneous cherry beer from 2019.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, with a best before date of June 2023. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A not so appealing hazy pinkish brown colour, with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, mainly prunes and cherry, funky, light wood, and a touch vinous.
Taste: Lightly tart, prunes, cherry, red wine vinous, light funk, with notes of wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The unappealing look of the pour made me check the photos on Untappd, and there seems to be quite a bit of inconsistency from the murky pinkish brown, like my pour, to a more appealing burgundy red, which is unfortunate. The aroma and flavours were better than it looked though, and made for some easy drinking.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Chien Bleu, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Switzerland

Chien Bleu Abricot 2021

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Brewery: Chien Bleu
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 6%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: 720 bottles

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The frost has led us to change the variety of apricot for the 2021 season. We chose the Bergarouge. The apricots were infused for 6 weeks in a 12 month saison.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.89
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, cuvee 2021-2022, with a best before date of June 2024. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricot, wood, light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricot, green, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not as complex as I hoped, and while the apricots were front and centre, they seemed a little underripe and green (or this is just a variety that isn’t one of my favourites).

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes), Farmhouse Saison, Switzerland

BFM Saison au Cidre

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Brewery: BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 6.672%
Style: Belgian Saison

Brewer Description: (from website) The juice fermented in barrels for over a year, supported by a few drops of beer. In fact, we do not really know if it’s a cider in a saison or a cider saison, but it’s in 75 cl and we only produced 2,276 bottles, or 379.33 boxes of 6.

(from bottle in French) Cidre et bière affinées en fûts de Saint Bonch’. Au cidre de pommes de la grand-mere du Keke et du Lucas.

(translated into English) Cider and beer matured in Saint Bon-Chien barrels. With apple cider from the grandmother of Keke and Lucas.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a notched best before date of January 2022. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden straw yellow colour with a slightly less than two finger white head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Apple cider, oak, with some funky notes and maybe a touch peppery.
Taste: Light sour, tart, apple peel, apple cider, oak, funk, pear, citrus zest, with peppery notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was nice, but this mix of cider and saison didn’t work as well as I hoped it would.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes), Farmhouse Saison, Switzerland

BFM √225 La Saison

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Brewery: BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2016 vintage

Brewer Description: (from website) A favourite of connoisseurs, La √225 Saison barrel with tart and bitter notes at the same time.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.81
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2016 vintage, with a notched best before date of August 2021. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A very lightly hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had decent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, apricot, citrus zest and rind, green apple, notes of funk, oak, and a splash of lime.
Taste: Tart, lemon, orange, funky, pepper spice, grass, lightly herbal, and bitter notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: An interesting refreshing Saison, but perhaps a bit too herbal for me.