It stands for Biere Ambree Parfumee au Tarry Suchong, and is inspired by the aromas of the legendary asphalt mines of the Swiss Travers region. Jérôme has long been captivated by the fragrances he’s observed while wandering the mining tunnels carved into the asphalt deposits of Travers, and set out to evoke them in this ale. Identifying an underlying smoky, almost meaty, quality to the air of the mines, he began by utilizing the beech wood-smoked malt of Bamberg (a fragrant note he had encountered by studying the vestiges of German brewing). But Jérôme found an additional kind of smokiness to the asphalt, one that he could only identify with the tea for which his girlfriend of the time had had a propensity. This is called Lapsang Tarry Suchong, a black tea with big ashy, campfire-like notes resulting from the smoking of the leaves over pinewood fires. By adding this untraditional ingredient, Jérôme was able to temper the meaty overtones of beech wood-smoked malt, add that uncharacteristic bonfire nuance, and even layer some tannic complexity upon the more usual drying hop bitterness. The result is stunning, and not as strange as it may seem: a specialty of the Travers region is Ham cooked in asphaltââ¬Â¦and is adored by the Swiss.
