Southampton Biere De Mars - Southampton Publick House

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle obtained via trade with Jetsbeer. Thanks for the opportunity...

Carefully poured in an imperial pint glass, formed a 2" dense eggshell head, with lazy but plentiful bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. A orangey golden brew, with spotty yet heavy foam lace. Nose is spicy pale malts, with a tad of funk making things interesting, and a hoppy crispness. Taste is a slightly sweet maltiness, coupled with a clean hop snap, and closes a bit dry on the tongue. Mouthfeel and drinkability are great. Enjoyable brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2005 21:35:03 | More by ppoitras

BrewMaster

California

4.5/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was a 750 ml corked bottle shared with 2 friends. The color is an amber/orange blend with a thin head that goes readily to laciness. The beer is spicy with a pale malt aroma. The flavor is a sweet citrus combination of orange, tangerine, and a clean malt flavor. The beer taste rather crisp because of its carbonation. The citrus flavors leave a lingering sweetness on the palate as well.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2004 20:15:47 | More by BrewMaster

Crosling

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled at the Pre-GABF Babblefest.

Light Orange.

Phenomenal aroma of honey, orange, butter toffee, caramel, light flowers and spice.

A well pronounced grassy and herbal hop profile greets my tastes buds, along with notes of butter and caramel, rhubarb, odd spicing and lemon. Yeast character of another Southampton beer reminds me of Fantome. Funky, complex, dry and very very good.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2004 20:18:56 | More by Crosling

RoyalT

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance – The rich, deep orange color of this biere is quite a sight, and the head is just as amazing. It was huge on an easy pour and pillowy soft showing a lot of retention.

Smell – The farmlike grassy notes are light but came out first. The malty backbone was very pleasant and reminded me of a good Abbey Trippel. The citrus hops were noticeable as well, but it was that big malty nose that took me back to the Blind Tiger where I first had this one on-tap.

Taste – This biere is just as big at the taste as it is in the nose. The orangy, syrupy malt base is a real mouthful. The hops are still able to make themselves known and come along with some very interesting spices. It’s hard to pin them down but they are very sharp and herbal.

Mouthfeel – The good, live carbonation is very important to this big guy. It isn’t full-bodied but is well past medium. The mouthfeel is very intense here. The plethora of sensations from the various flavors, mixed with the creamy nature of the biere and sparkling carbonation, make this a pleasure to consume.

Drinkability – This is an exciting biere that I really enjoyed. The boys at Southampton really nailed this style and showed great attention to every aspect of this ale.

Comments – I’ll toss out a big, huge thanks to Davo for sending me this gem in the mail after first introducing me to it at the Blind Tiger.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2004 14:58:09 | More by RoyalT

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.4/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I may be drinking this beer six months too late, in September, but you won't tell anyone, will you?
Lovely, lovely beer in the glass, a nice, hazy amber hue, a million tiny particles at play around and about, while a solid, 1/4" head of creamy beige foam rests proudly on top.
Aroma is a beautiful mess, a musty citric mix of yeast and spice, a sweet and sour symphony, tickling the nose, urging on the tongue.
...and there, only nice things can happen, only happiness may occur. A warm wave washes over me when the brew slides down, it cheers up my every cell, and brightens each and every pore. Tastes good, too!
A lemony, bready, citric cakey quality reigns in the flavor, sparks the tongue, and pleases the palate. Little bit of green apples, cherries, honey, and certain spices, as well, and, in fact, there's much more happening here than I can authoritatively claim. Spicy kick on the 'buds only further enhances my enjoyment through this brew. Malt is thick, rich and sure, and hops provide treats aplenty.
Long, long, fruity, quirky, utterly characterful finish, medium body, brilliant flavor...an excellent creation, by any standard.
I can see many uses for this beer, cheif among them: drinking.

What can I say, Davo?
Didn't suck.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2004 09:58:54 | More by feloniousmonk

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cloudy orange bodied with a nicely laced white head sticking to the snifter. Big malty aroma. Baked malt, cookies, bready dough and clove-ish yeast. Candyish donut sprinkles. Somehow hoppy too, though it’s subtle and definitely not an/some american hop(s). Rather yeasty palate which procures a moderate dryness all the way through. Very surprising taste after smelling, both are very different with a sweet aroma and a dry palate. You’ve got to respect a beer that surprises you. Still, I found cloves flavors to be a bit overstated, but I love the gentle mustiness, earthy and cerealic (almost oaty) flavors. Nice balancing ending bitterness. Lively carbonation, fluffy mouthfeel. Much more flavorfull than I anticipated. Great execution (of course). Cheers to biruchan and schoolteacher!

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2004 21:55:33 | More by Rastacouere

RedDiamond

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I was set to purchase a growler of pale ale plus three bottles of beer to go, when the bartender returned from the cellar with my three bottles plus a magnum of Biere de Mars. It was unlisted on the menu – apparently the last bottle of the 2004 vintage. Would I like it as well? He’ll cut me a special deal on it.

That cruel bastard. Who was he kidding?

The Southampton Biere de Mars was laudable in every way. The effervescence was tight and produced a tall head with thick, fluffy lace. The visual elegance was defined by a sensual clouded auburn color with persistent carbonation. The aroma was dry and lager-like.

This is an exceptionally well-composed replication of a Belgian ale. The taste is comparable to light Belgians such as Duvel, but with a tart wheatiness. A true pleasure.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2004 02:09:16 | More by RedDiamond

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy orange-copper color. It is pretty well carbonated, which supports an off-white to tan colored head. I get sweet fruity aromas of pear and apple up front, as I dig deeper I get notes of toasted biscuits and malt, plus some subtle spice notes as well. The beer is fairly dry up front, with an initially gassy middle and a sweet cider like finish. This is another fairly clean, yet interestingly malty interpretation of the style. Almost has a meaty-chewy malt character to it. This is quite tasty and has a hearty medium bodied quality to it that is most likely from this being an all malt interpretation of the style. The fruity yeast notes are nice, though it could perhaps use some more yeast spiciness, but this is a rather weak complaint on this otherwise wonderful beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2004 20:21:12 | More by Gueuzedude

Loki

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled from a 750mL

Appearance: Cloudy, golden orange color with a big, foamy frothing head. Thick ribbons of lacing all around the glass.

Smell: Strong yeast and fruit with white pepper and malt on the end. Very complex.

Taste: Overly ripe fruity malt sweetness slides to a dry yeast bitterness to a tangy tartness. Varing levels of pepper, cloves, and other spices seem to change the tempo.

Mouthfeel: Supper bubbly to the point of being effervescent. Very dry at times and a tart finish.

Drinkability: Wonderful. Great spring beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2004 17:27:40 | More by Loki

Todd

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml shared with friends. Hazy amber in color with a thin white lace. Huge, dominating skunkweed aroma with a blast of white pepper at the end. Sugary on the palate with some clover nectar, rhubarb and loads of spicy white pepper. Very drying and gritty at times. Orange-ish flavor in the finish with sticky oils on the palate that are reminiscent in both flavor and feel to bark and tree sap. Extremely complex and interesting.

Once you get past the initial aroma, the volatiles escape, things settle, and a really very decent Bière de Garde shines through. A nice treat and well-worth trying. And man, watch out for that skunkweed ... it's pretty damn intense!

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2004 15:32:07 | More by Todd

Gusler

Arizona

4.43/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer extricates itself from the 750ml green bottle an obfuscated copper color, the head Brontosauric in size, creamy in texture and after dissolving the lace forms a thick and clinging blanket upon the glass. The nose has a the aroma of over ripe apples with a nice yeast presence, citrus crisp, also notice a hint of mustiness, a fine sniffer this one, start is lightly sweet, pleasing malt presence with the top light to middling in feel. Finish is ferine in its acidity, the hops dynamic in their spiciness, very dry aftertaste, a very fine representative to the style, quite pleasing to the palate and a great beer to share on “Fathers Day” with all the fathers past, present and future, also my thanks goes to the “Evil One” his own self, Master Davo, Great BA, Great person, and best of all a “Great Friend”!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2004 23:53:23 | More by Gusler

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A group of BAs bought a slew of bottled Biers from SPH yesterday, and the bartender threw this one (a 2004, I believe) into our haul. Somehow it ended up going home with me (thnx VENOM).
Pours a mostly-clear, medium-to-dark golden color, perhaps a touch orangey, with a smidge of haziness. Lots of microscopic-sized bubbles heading surfaceward in an un-ending stream. Head is a light tan hue, and extremely billowy. At the outset we're looking at a ratio of 1:1 for depth of bier vs. depth of head. It does manage to shrink down a tad, allowing more room for bier in the goblet. Lacing, too, makes a fine show of itself. A fine looking bier, to be sure! Nose is lightly fruity, with suggestions of the dryness to come in the flavor, and has some crackery malt and mild yeasty notes. Body falls into the medium range, and the bier still has a decent feel on the tongue even with a substantial carbonation level.
Flavor has the light fruitiness the aroma displayed, leaning towards mango or peach. Malt is crackery, light and crisp. Hopping level doesn't seem too high, yet it provides a nice addition to the level of fruit notes. Nice bier, Phil!

Prosit!!

overall: 4.2
appearance: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4

713

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2004 20:40:05 | More by Bierman9

ElGuapo

New Jersey

4.47/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A dark orange colored brew topped in a nice covering of white foam that stands its gound pretty well. The aroma is complex with nice hop bitterness as well as a nice sweet backround of malts and fruits. Herb and spice hints come in to play followed by some citrus.

The body is pretty big, but not huge. The flavor is absolutely wonderful. Dark sweet fruits and balance well with spices. There is a big malt presence, but the spices and herbs really make for an interesting experience. It is very smooth and rich. As the temperature starts to rise, it becomes even more deliteful. This is yet another winner from Southampton.

Serving type: on-tap

04-12-2004 23:59:53 | More by ElGuapo