Ambrée Des Moines

Tonight I opened a bottle that I brought back from Belgium. It wasn’t any particular occasion; I didn’t buy this beer because I thought it would be any good. I got it because it is labelled “Ambrée Des Moines”. Being a native Des Moineser I couldn’t pass that up. I saw it (along with its sister the blanche) on the shelf at a little beer shop right off the Grote Markt in Brussels. I can’t figure out the name of it, but I believe it was about here.

Ambrée Des MoinesAnyway, to the beer. It was brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, independent brewers of numerous beers, of which I have heard only of the Blanche de Namur. They also contract produce, among others, Corsendonk and the Tesco Finest Belgian beers. Ambrée Des Moines is such a contract production, to the point that it is difficult to tell the name of the company marketing this beer. Ok, I’ll stop rambling and get drinking.

This pours quite strange. For the most part it is an opalescent lemon yellow (not amber). Down the middle is a colloidal haze making a shape that reminds me of the double helical molecule of life. There is just a bit of spongy white head. The aroma is very subtle, only the faintest fruitiness coming through. This is the only serious problem with this beer.

The flavor is complex. Dry and dusty like a good saison, the flavor is clean. There is some maltiness manifesting as biscuits (or triscuits!) and a slight caramel note. A good yeast fruity character is present as well. This beer is ridiculously effervescent, approaching a champagne. Even though it is so bubbly, it is far from too intense.

This beer certainly won’t turn the heads of bigger-beer geeks, and may not even win awards (I honestly don’t know). However, it is a testament to quality drinkable beer. It is flavorful, it is beer, but you could still give it to your mom and almost convince her she was drinking champagne. By the time she realized it had barley and hops she would already be in love.

+Ambrée Des Moines

RateBeer: 3.4 (3-5-8-4-14)

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