At LIBF, a ’versnijbier’ referred to by the brewer as a ’bière de mars’, referring to an old tradition in the northwestern corner of France and best described as a pale, light (usually around 5% ABV) variant on bière de garde, presented by the local breweries in spring and intended as a fresh thirst quencher - something altogether very different from the bottom-fermenting German Märzen tradition. Some Belgian brewers (especially in the south of the country) have imitated this local tradition in the past, but apart from Contreras’ Mars Especial I cannot name any of them surviving to this day. Anyway, this one is atypical in using smoked malt and being partially barrel aged, sparking my curiosity. Egg-white, lacing, moussy head, hazy orangey peach blonde robe. Aroma of sour white grapes, peach, apple peel, soap, some wet wood, hay, dry sherry - but very subtle in terms of smoke, and in fact not reminiscent of a traditional French bière de mars at all. Fruity, bit estery onset, sweetish pear core but superseded by tart unripe green plum and grape peel flavours, even a lemony acidic touch for a brief moment, drying the palate over a softly carbonated, nicely rounded, bready malt core; light woodiness is added in the finish, accentuating the drying tartness and matching well with it, rather than imposing heavy oak flavours to the whole but still establishing a sherry-ish finish with an earthy hop touch buried underneath. Again the smoke remains very, very subtle, apart perhaps from a vague touch of smoked hay retronasally. Interesting modern Anglo-Saxon ’farmhouse ale’ interpretation, complex and refreshing, but not a typical bière de mars in any kind of way.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Oxbow Life On (by Oxbow Brewing Company):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4/5

5/VI/17 - sample from 75cl bottle @ LIBF 2017 (Leuven) - BB: n/a (2017-715) Thanks to the Belgian RB crew for sharing today's beers!

Clear copper orange beer, small creamy off-white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very fruity, bit funky, and is that a smoky touch? Acidic impression, citrus notes. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: very fruity, lemon juice, funky, soft bitterness. Aftertaste: more fruity notes, peaches, grapefruit, lovely stuff.

Bottle sample @ LIBF’17, thanks to the RB-InBev Belgian crew for the share. Léger orange, col blanc. Arôme au bouquet doux, encore du miel? assez dominant, malté léger offrant un effet fumé qui reste plutôt caché. Malt perce en rétro avec qcq effluves de chêne/boisé. Palais est encore marqué par une certaine douceur, petite pointe de brett, funk, caramel malté et pâle voire pils sur la fin. Retrouve une petite sécheresse de boisé assez plaisante. Je note peu l’effet de fumé.

Murky dark blond colour with thin head. Aroma and flavour have lots of funky Brett sharpness. Refreshingly tart.