Spike & Jérôme’s Cuvée Délirante (Collaboration Ale) - BFM Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes

russwbeck

Virginia

4.22/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Churchkey DC

A: Mostly clear with some clouds, the beer pours red with a frothy white head.

S: It smells a lot like a red wine. Boozey, grapes, rum, other dark fruits, balsamic vinaigrette. Very interesting.

T: The taste follows the smell really well. Boozy, full of grapes and other dark fruits, and only hints of rum. Very complex, yet well balanced, and dark.

MF: Medium to heavily bodied, carbonated well, dry finish.

O: Very much like a red wine. I really enjoyed this. It was not was I was expecting at all, and it blew me away.

Serving type: on-tap

10-02-2011 05:02:13 | More by russwbeck

atis

Finland

4.25/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

330 ml bottle from the brewery. It says 10.02% ABV on the bottle, as opposed to 12% on kegged versions.

Pours oily dark brown, no head, no lacing. Aroma is balsamic vinegar, fruit, bits of rum, grain.

Taste starts with fruity sweetness, immediately followed by sour vinegar, sweet and sour balance each other out perfectly. There is a subtle presence of rum. Semi-dry finish and long lasting sourish boozy aftertaste. Mouthfeel is medium with very low carbonation.

Excellent. Certainly will go to the shop to buy a couple more bottles for ageing.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 20:56:44 | More by atis

mt24turner

New York

4.3/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

In no way did this resemble a barleywine, but it was very complex and very tasty. be ready for a punch of tartnes but still a full flavored beer mouthfeel. alcohol is not present much taste wise. Just enough pleasant malt to balance the tartness.. loved it

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 00:14:47 | More by mt24turner

nickfl

Florida

4.4/5  rDev +23.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A - Pours with a minimal head of off white foam on a hazy, dark brown body. Light lace as the beer is consumed.

S - Caramel, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar.

T - Dry caramel, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce up front. Some more sour caramel in the middle with salty molasses. A more Flemish red like sweet and sour dynamic in the finish with lingering caramel and meaty spice notes.

M - Medium thick body, moderately low carbonation and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Really strange (especially for something involving terrapin), complex and great. It has a lot of odd flavors, but they work well together in ways that are hard to express. I used a lot of unpleasant sounding descriptors in my review, but I mean it in the best way possible. This is very odd, but good beer that has a lot more BFM than Terrapin in it.

Serving type: on-tap

09-30-2011 03:29:30 | More by nickfl

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.43/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Comes out of the tap an opaque warm mahogany with a thin, light tan, fine-bubbled head. Woody aroma has crisp, sour fruity and subtle malty tones. Flavor has strong woody and sour apple notes with an undertone of malt, banana and caramel. Texture has average body and a fair amount of fizz, leaving a fruity, tingly and slightly woody finish.

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2011 18:59:49 | More by Cyberkedi

ritzkiss

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Belgian Cafe in Philly, poured into a tulip.

Dark brown, slightly red, finger of tan foam.

Caramel, earthy rye with hint of spice, cherries!, bourbon not very noticeable but touches of vanilla, ABV totally hidden, hints of raisin sweetness and barleywine in the body behind, more Flanders than barleywine, touch of booze in the nose, the more it warms the more barleywine comes out & the more confused you are...

Really fantastic beer, one of the highlights of my trip.

Serving type: on-tap

03-16-2012 04:22:59 | More by ritzkiss

MacQ32

South Carolina

4.47/5  rDev +25.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

"In February, a monumental collaboration was taking place at Switzerland’s Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes. Terrapin’s own Spike Buckowski had traveled there to brew a unique barleywine with BFM’s Jerome Rebetez. The beer would consist of 20% rye malt, finish at over 12% ABV and be aged in rum barrels!" Thank you Charleston Beer Exchange!

**I really love sour things but I've never liked wild or sour beers, it is literally the only kind of beer that I cannot get into. I try to review and rate beers keeping an open mind and keeping my reviews relative to the style so I am doing my best to relate it to other wild ales/barley wines. It is hard for me to really enjoy these so I am not the best judge with barley wines/sours**

**After 2 of these and after allowing the beer to warm to would I would guess to be ~50 F I need to come back and adjust my ratings, less funk, more sweet malts/sugars and a mild hop bitterness as well**

A - Pours a muddied brown with moderate caramel colored head (poured aggressively)which dissipates fairly quickly, some lacing left behind as I enjoy.

S - Boozy sour vinegar and caramel for the most part some sweet darker fruits and rum also come through

T - Sour vinegar flavors, caramel, dark fruits (raisins, dates, prunes), semi tart, red wine. a little too funky of a finish for me. I am picking up more sweet tootsie roll like notes and less funk as it continues.

M - Medium to fullish bodied, not as heavy as I would expect at 12.03%. Mild carbonation, a little thick on the pallet

O - Overall, I dont really care for sour ales. That being said, there are several qualities that I do enjoy and appreciate in this beer, the funkyness isn't too overwhelming although its less than desirable to me. I would imagine if you like sour beers this would be a real treat.

Serving type: growler

10-26-2011 22:45:31 | More by MacQ32