7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Deliberately soured farmhouse ale of sorts, containing Gewürztraminer wine lees and partially aged on oak barrels (which I assume contain lactic bacteria in this case). Pale greyish off-white, irregular, large-bubbled, medium sized, quickly opening but edge-retaining head leaving a thin greyish veil in the middle, over a cloudy ochre robe with deeper nut-brownish hue - somewhere in between a dark beer and a blonde beer, a 'dark blonde' if you will. Aroma of overripe medlar (strong), wine must, cooked pear, old orange juice, medium dry sherry, stewed yellow plums, pronounced vanilla-scenting oak wood, some freshly fermented farmland, musty cellar, clove, grape skin, vague note of beef broth somewhere (proteins). Refined and fruity sourness in the onset, plum, medlar and blackberry, feeling like 'autumn fruit' in a way, refined carb, smooth and somewhat vinous body; bready core, dried by lactic and fruity sourness in a mellow, pleasantly refreshing way, lots of ongoing plum- and medlar-like fruitiness, orange hints here and there accentuated by the sourness, and a lovely sweet-bready, almost 'speculooskruim'-like yeasty and malty play in the end, where the Gewürztraminer adds a soft, juicy 'grapeyness' and the wood starts to scent like vanilla, revealing its oak character. Ends dryingly tart but lively juicy, very fruity (as in actual fermented fruit juice - the wine lees in this case) and pleasantly bready. Quite 'wild', a bit 'oud bruin'-like in its general flavour profile but frankly a tad messy as well, albeit in a most charming way, a way normally only the Belgians seem to get away with (sometimes); I have argued before that France should connect its new craft beer elan with its wine heritage, and if any French brewery were to make a clear step in that direction, I guess it had to be Mont Salève. Curious how this would evolve over time, too...
Tried
on 30 Sep 2022
at 12:19