Review: Bière De Mars

Brewery Ommegang from Cooperstown, Mass., brews beers in the Belgian style. While they have a cool picture of Mars on the label, the Belgians would call this a March (Mars) beer. One thing that makes this beer interesting is that Ommegang says they add "a bit of magical space dust," Brettanomyces bruxellensis yeast, during fermentation.

Some Belgian beers (and a growing number of American) are spontaneously fermented, meaning that instead of adding yeast, brewers expose the beer to the air and it picks up yeasts from the wild. Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a wild brewing strain native to Belgium. It adds a funky, farmhouse-like aroma and flavor to beers. Most of the time, that would be considered a flaw. But not in this type of beer.

You won't find Brettanomyces bruxellensis in the wild here, though. So Ommegang adds it as they would add regular yeast.

If you are used to drinking mainstream beers, a beer of this type will throw you for a loop. It's not strong -- 6.5 percent -- but the earthy and funky flavors will seem really strange. It has to grow on you.

On to the review!

A nice medium amber in color with a big head that reduces over time to a layer and a thick ring in my tulip glass.

Light aroma of vinegar, bready malt and musty/sour. It's funky, but mildly so.

The flavor is also musty and tastes like it has been in a barrel. Light flavors of fruit, too. There is tartness, but it's mild and doesn't wallop you over the head. There are beers out there that are much more tart and that have bigger funky flavors.

The body is creamy and smooth.

Overall this is an above-average beer. The flavors and aromas from the wild yeast are kept well under control.

This would be a good beer to use to enter the world of funky brews. And my current favorite funky beer is Avery Anniversary Ale -- Fifteen.

Read my review (my 500th!) at BeerAdvocate.com.