 DruncanVeasey (1633), Burbage, Leicestershire, England
May 30, 2007
Eccentrically corked 750ml bottle. Work that one out. Pours pale gold with a rocky head of froth shrinking to a persistent creamy collar. Metallic, grassy snout with a sherbety edge of lemon, apple peel earthiness and creamy vanilla maltiness that completely sets it apart. Smooth and almost custard-like malty sweetness with a dusting of nutmeg and parting hop balance. Grassy hop finish with a vanilla-accented aftertaste and a big glug of glowing booze. Best Biere de Garde I’ve tasted by a mile.
JesseM (378), Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Sep 6, 2008 750mL bottle from a trade with a friend in Ottawa. This is a style I’m really interested in right now, so I’ll pretty much take any examples of it to try. This one pours a very pale gold with a large white head. The aroma is not as funky as I was hoping, but it’s still intriguing. Alcohol, with nice straw-like malts and some nice Earthy hop presence, and the mildest hints of funk. The taste is more of the same, with a nice fuller feel from the ABV. Some sourish corn, but it actually seems intended and isn’t as gross as you might think. The alcohol is definitely there, but not at all cloying. Nicely hopped, a touch of pepper, and with a generally woody touch to it which is quite nice. Mild yeast component and tinny flavour to the finish as well. Very good IMO, but just not enough funkyness to it to really make it a standout. Probably a bang on blonde Biere de Garde.
maeib (3961), Wootton, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
Aug 20, 2008 Bottled. A bright orange/gold coloured beer with a bright white head. The aroma is slightly spicy with grassy hops and yeasty notes. The taste is spicy, peppery hops. A bit of funk and good yeastiness. Pretty good.
dchmela (702), Orlando, Florida, USA
Aug 18, 2008 Bottle shared with Lee. Pours a nice straw gold with a thick white head. Wheat, mustiness and grassy hop aroma. Malty smooth taste with with a nice hop bite for such a light ale.
Jukkabro (2369), Tampere, Finland
Aug 17, 2008 Golden colored with medium sized white head. Sweet and lemony, mildly alcoholic aroma. Medium bodied. Flavor is similar, rather boring one: malts, lemon, sweet fruits, biting carbonation. Aftertaste gets softer with some hops.
hophead_hans (573), Bay Area, California, USA
Aug 14, 2008 Bottle. The shocker was the alcohol. Half through the beer I noticed that it has 8.5%. It tastes more like a light blonde, even though after discovering the alcohol it tasted more boozy, this is obvioulsy purely mental. So in any case it pours with a mostly clear golden color. Aroams of faint yeats and some mustiness. More Belgian yeast in the flavor profile and some citrus as well as some graininess. Very smooth palate and nice medium body. I would chracterize this as a golden ale. It has no funkiness to speak of so I would not call this a Biere de Garde.
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