Bieres 23 - Biere de Mars.

Despite my tagline of 'why buy it when you can make yourself', I do buy a fair amount of commercially produced beers. I tend toward Belgians or that style anyway, and tend to buy beers that I can't make (don't think I could age for three years+), don't want five gallons of, or am interested to try for inspiration.
Today I am drinking a bottle of Biere de Mars, produced by Bieres 23 in St. Etienne de Fursac, France. Biere de Mars (March beer) is a style of French ale that is an offshoot of Biere de Garde. There are no real characteristics that define the style, though generally speaking it is brewed in December with the last crop of malted barley and hops, and aged for two months or more under cooler conditions in the winter. It would be bottled and drunk during the month of March, hence the name.
One trait that many Biere de Mars' share is that the brewer chooses to emphasize either the malt or the hops when compared to it's normal products. Expect to see a generous amount of wheat malt added, with a lager like smoothness. Some producers actually ferment this beer with lager yeast instead of ale yeast, albeit at higher temperatures than are normally used for lagers. Unfortunately I can't find much info about this beer specifically as the brewers website seems to be down.
And on to the beer....
This would be a good bottle to culture yeast from since right away I smell Brettanomyces. I also get a whiff of apple in the nose, maybe some stone fruit. There is very little to no carbonation. I wonder if that is how it is supposed to be? No bubbles streaming in the glass, no head. Color is a deep gold, almost orange.
As for the taste I can definitely get the light funk and tartness from the Brett. Reminds me a fair amount of Orval. Still holding with the apple and possibly other stone fruits. I can feel the bitterness from the hops, but I wouldn't say the hop character is emphasized. In fact, I would say it is the yeast that is emphasized. Very smooth, with a dry finish.
Despite no carbonation, I find this to be a pretty good beer. Very drinkable, and with a lower than average ABV than most of this style, I could see it being a very refreshing beer in the summer months as well. Nothing earth shattering, but if you happen to see it somewhere, pick up a bottle.
My rating: if you see it somewhere, try it (if it was carbonated, I think that could be higher).
Abv: 5%.
Volume: 750 mL or 1 PT 9.4 Fl oz.
Website: www.bieres-23.com (doesn't seem to be working currently).
Price paid: around 12$ at Harvest Wine and Spirits.
Number of cans of Bud Light you could buy for the same price: 19.