Name: Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru (Aged In Trousseau Barrels) TR5
Style: Bière de Garde on Beer Advocate & is listed as a Sour Ale on Rate Beer but it tastes more like a Flemish Red to me.
Brewery: BFM Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes website.
Country: Switzerland
Region: Saignelégier
ABV: 11.0% Abv
How served: 375ml capped bottle poured into my Oerbier glass.
My Overall Opinion: Amazing. 
I paired this beer with: Grilled Tilapia which has been brushed with olive oil, splashed with lime jucie & sprinkled with pepper & salt. It was served with a watermelon gestapo and a butter squash. This pairing was excellent.
Tasted on: Monday August 16th, 2010.
Note: This is a Very Limited Edition. This is batch TR5, which was Brewed in May 2008 and Bottled in January 2009.
This beer pours a brownish red with a minimal white head on an aggressive pour. There is no lacing in the glass and the head dissipated rapidly. If you try to look through the glass you can’t, but at an angle you have a clear “rim” around the glass. The nose is of sour cherries, oak and a mild bit of funkiness. The taste is of refreshing mild sour cherries, oak, hints of vanilla, some mild acidic vinegar and a bit of sweetness; this could be mistaken for a fine wine. The mouthfeel is light & refreshing with no carbonation, as no carbonation is needed in this beer nor was intended to be in this beer (as it was bottled without prise de mousse). This is an extremely drinkable beer, no hint of the 11% abv, I could drink this all night long. I have Batch TR3 hidden away and will try that one in about 2 years.
On the Label: Ale Matured in Trousseau Oak Barrels (single cask in a Trousseau barrel from Arbois, France). Hand bottled, without prise de mousse in January ’09. This Grand Cru’s complexity will increase with age. 11% alc/vol. Ingredients: Swiss Mountains’ spring water, barley, malts, sugar, hop, yeast. Tasting temperature about 60°F. Barrique No 5, Brewed in May 2008.
From their website: L’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien is an antique beer, a strong sour ale with 11% vol., brewed in honour of the ol’ brewery cat who has been sanctified upon its decease. This Cuvee, luminous amber in colour, matures for months in oak barrels that previously contained wine or other spirits. It is the oak barrels that give this beer the manifold complex aromas. On the palate the brew reminds one of fruity red wines with a pronounced acidity. (note this is for the “base beer”, not this Grand Cru).
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