Bush Ambrée
Bush Ambrée© BeerTourism.com
The Brewery
Beer Style
Sterk Amberbier - Strong Amber Beer
The Beer
This is a venerable brew, which has recently marked its 80th anniversary. 1933 was the year that the Bush Ambrée (Scaldis Ambrée) was first introduced, under the name of Bush Beer. It is one of the oldest speciality beers in Belgium, and also the flagship brand of the Dubuisson brewery.
The Bush Ambrée contains only malt, hops, natural sugars, and water drawn from the well beneath the brewery – plus the distinctive flavouring from Dubuisson's exceptional house yeast. This is well-known for remaining active even at a high alcohol volume. Production time is four to six weeks.
Thanks to the high density of the malt in the wort, and that irrepressible house yeast, the alcohol volume is pushed up to 12%. That makes this one of the strongest beers in Belgium. The beer is exceptionally well-saturated, very easy to digest, so making for a superb digestive (and a great aperitif too).
Despite its high alcohol content, Bush can still be called an 'amberbier', the classic Belgian beer style (also called 'spéciale belge'), dating from the beginning of the 20th-century. That's when the Belgische Brouwers (the Federation of Belgian Brewers) introduced a contest entitled ‘Wedstrijd ter Verbetering van het Belgische bier’, or 'A Contest for the Improvement of Belgian Beer'.
The aim was to compete with the pils beers from abroad that were then flooding the market. The spéciale belge was the result, designed to be a drinkable alternative to pils. The beer style is rooted in the Belgian tradition of high fermentation beers, top-fermented beers, but balancing hop, malt and yeast more equally.
The Bush Ambrée stands head-and-shoulders above most of the others of this style, however, thanks to its supremely high alcohol content.
Alcohol
12.0% ABV
Fermentation
The Bush Ambrée is a filtered, high-fermentation beer.
Ingredients
Water drawn from brewery's well, sugar, barley malts, hops and house yeast.
Colour & Transparency
A rich amber colour shining through, thanks to the roast caramel malt.
Serving Temperature
Bottle: 10 – 12°C / 50 – 56.6 °F Tap: 7 – 9 °C / 44.6 – 48.2 °F
Serving Glass
Bush Ambrée is served in the hand-blown, artisanally-produced Bush chalice, with its characteristic craquelé (a crackled texturing of the glass).
Character, Tastes & Aromas
The Bush Ambrée is flushed with a bitter-sweet taste, and a pleasing consistency, courtesy, in part, of its balanced caramel malts. Those malts also introduce a strong streak of roasted nuts, adding to this beer's stand out flavour. Despite its initial filtering, the re-fermentation has given the beer a natural cloudiness, while also making for a mild and tender mouth-feel.
Culinary
Bush Ambrée is more than suitable for use in the kitchen. Thanks to its bitterness, the beer is a great ingredient for cooking juices, or for marinating red meat and poultry. You may have to add a small amount of sugar to compensate for the bitterness.
Bush Ambrée is a perfect partner for chicken, most meat dishes, game or foie gras and oily fish such as eel. Also highly recommended in combination with a strong (blue) cheese or a sheep’s cheese. And a final tip: try adding a dash of Bush Ambrée to dark chocolate when melting it – sublime.
Keeping and Storage
Bottle: 24 months Tap: 18 months
Availability
Bottle ✔ On Tap ✔
Bush Ambrée is available in bottles (33cl) and on tap (20 l barrels).
Other Brasserie Dubuisson Beers
Bush Ambrée TripleThis is another of Dubuisson's anniversary beers. In order to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bush brand name, the brewery launched this beer, the Bush Ambrée Triple (Scaldis Ambrée Triple), in 2008. This is a re-fermented ...
[ read more ]
Bush BlondeFollowing on from the amber ale of Bush Ambrée, and the darker seasonal brew of the Bush de Noël, the Bush Blonde (Scaldis) formed a natural complement, when first introduced to the Bush range back in 1998. That year was the 65th ...
[ read more ]
Bush Blonde TripleTo mark the 75 year anniversary of the Bush beer brand, Dubuisson introduced the Bush Blonde Triple (Scaldis Triple) in 2008. This re-fermented Bush Blonde is available in large bottles (75 cl) that are rather gorgeously decorated ...
[ read more ]
Pêche Mel’ BushAs the name suggests, Pêche Mel' Bush (Pêche Mel Scaldis) is a marriage between Bush Ambrée, perhaps the strongest of Belgian beers, and ripe peach juice. Allegedly it was students who came up with the concept (and the name): they ...
[ read more ]
Bush PrestigeThe Bush Prestige (Scaldis Prestige) certainly lives up to its name – as it is a rather prestigious brew. Much of that mark of distinction has been acquired from the vessels it matures in. Rather than sitting in stainless steel ta ...
[ read more ]
Comments
You must be logged in to leave a comment
SHARE:
You Might Like
Everything you ever wanted to know about (Belgian) beer under one roof. You get to feel, smell and taste ingredients and discover the typical Belgian beer styles. Come celebrate Belgian beer culture in heart of historic Bruges! Shop and bar are accessible without visiting the museum.
The Duvel Moortgat Brewery caters to everyone’s tastes with 3 different brewery experiences. From complete novice to experienced beer lover, Duvel has the brewery visit package for you.
Brasserie Dubussion prides itself on tradition and taste and has opened a brand new visitors centre, the Beerstorium. Learn about the rich history, beers and brewing at the oldest brewery in Wallonia. You can visit this authentic Belgian brewery, see brewing in action, as well as taste some of their delicious brews for yourself, including their legendary Bush (Scaldis) beer range.
This freemium App for IOS and Android lets you explore and find the best that Belgium's UNESCO recognised beer culture has to offer. Find breweries, bars, restaurants, festivals, events, experiences and beer shops; create you own beer trips and be your own tour guide!
Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck, well known for it's "Kasteel" beer range, now offers their Bierkasteel beer experience; brewery visit, event location, restaurant, bar and shop.
BLOG
POSTS
Brewery visits: The Brasserie Dubuisson tour
PIPAIX - Embark on the new visitor experience at Dubuisson. You can put your own group together for a tour of the Dubuisson brewery. Group visits require a minimum of 15 participants and are available ... [ more ]
On the Dubuisson beer trail in Tournai
TOURNAI/DOORNIK - Only a long stone’s throw away from Brasserie Dubuisson lies one of the oldest cities in Belgium. When I hear the name of Tournai (Doornik), colourful images from the history books ... [ more ]
On the beer trail in Mons with Dubuisson
MONS - As joint European Capital of Culture for 2015, Mons is showing its best face to the world this year. This is the place where Vincent Van Gogh swapped the life of a preacher for that of a painter. ... [ more ]
More Beer
Bush de Nuits is served in the hand-blown, artisanally produced Bush chalice, with its characteristic craquelé (crackled) finish. ... [ more ]
Beer Tourism Newsletter Signup
Enter your name and email address on the right and click "SignUp" to join.