Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (2006)

Beer No: 84
Page No: 902
Category: Specialty

World Cup Day 6!  Now that all 32 teams have played at least one game, it should start to get a little more interesting.  Teams will know if they need to win to advance or if they can just play for a tie, so expect teams that have nothing to lose to be ultra-aggressive, while those that just need a tie to stay in it sit back and play defense.  Either way, this second week of games should be a lot better than the first week.

Today's beer hails from Switzerland.  It was the only Swiss beer I could find, a 2006 vintage of Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien.  And, even though I could have had a Spanish beer today, I picked Switzerland, and they upset Spain 1-0.  So, that got me thinking - how are my beer picks paying off for the teams I pick?

Day 1: Mexico - tie with South Africa
Day 2: United States - tie with England
Day 3: Australia - loss to Germany
Day 4: Denmark - loss to Netherlands
Day 5: Brazil - win vs. South Korea
Day 6: Switzerland - win vs. South Korea

So I'm 2-2-2.  Not bad, but not the best.  If I had picked Germany on Day 3, I'd be 3-2-1, which would be very good.  But since I already made all my picks in advance, I'm sticking to them.  If I can pick and choose the round 2 teams as I go, I'll try and pick more winners.  Up tomorrow - a French beer as France plays Mexico.

Back to the Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien, I really loved the start of this beer.  I just didn't like how it finished.  However, as I type this, the beer is warming, and the finish seems to be mellowing out a bit.  Either way, I found the finish to be a bit dry, chalky, and astringent, but the initial flavors were quite wonderful.  This oak barrel aged beer has a wonderful aroma of tartness, sweet malts, sour fruits, and wine.  The initial flavor also has that same tartness and vinous undertones.  Which is to be expected - founded in 1997, the head brewer had his start as an oenologist (which is the study of wine-making).  Given this background, the beers put out by Jerome Rebetez are remarkably refined and I'd love to get my hands on one of the Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien Grand Crus.  The non "Grand Cru" blend mixes the aged beers from a bunch of different casks, but the few casks that stand on their own are labeled Grand Cru.

I really need to figure out a way to get ahold of the brewery's La Meule as well.  Their only other brew in 1001 Beers, this Belgian inspired beer is a strong spiced dark ale with prunes and sounds pretty good.  It also feagures a strange twist - sage leaves.  So I'm really looking forward to it if I could ever find it.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2006 by BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 13/20

Rating: 3.7 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Hi Time Wines - 750ml. 2006 Vintage, Blended in April, 2007. Pours a reddish brown with slight tan head that dissipates over time to nothingness. A bubbly mouthfeel accentuates the first taste. Aroma is tart, with nice oak / wood undertones. Aroma also consists of a bit of white wine and malty sweetness. Flavor is very vinous with a tart, sweet, fruity flavor. I love the way this beer starts, however, I’m not a fan of the finish. Finish is dry, chalky, and astringent. I really loved how the beer started - from the magnificent bottle, nice pour, good color, and sweet aroma - but the finish just put me off. The finish lingers for a bit too long and is just too astringent for my tastes. I wanted to rate it higher, but after consuming the bottle, just had to lower it a bit to account for the strange aftertaste.