564. Brewery Vivant and New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Garde

So we’ve got both a collaboration beer and a Lips of Faith beer, all in one bottle. Did I also mention it is a biere de garde? Which, while not precisely a saison, is pretty much saison’s kissing cousin. Throw some chickens on the label, and this beer becomes downright irresistible, even before it gets opened. Who can fight that much confluence of goodness? Certainly not this crowd. While we’ve never had a beer from Brewery Vivant, if New Belgium says nice things about them, that’s good enough for us. And New Belgium? They’re pretty much golden around our way. We could chiggity-check the books for backing, but we’ll let this one stand on its own.

Lips of Faith Biere de Garde pours a clear, bright golden straw: with the long lasting white head, lacing, and profuse bubbles, it’s like liquid sunshine in a glass. The nose is juicy ripe fruit and citrus with pear and apple hints; there is a bit of husky malt hidden behind the yeast character followed by just the slightest hint of tartness, although that may be more of the yeast fruitiness. As it opens up, there is some creamy mustiness that borders on earthiness—you know, your usual Belgian rusticity in a glass. Flavors start sweet although the beer is very dry as a whole—the residual Pilsner candy sweetness gives way to fruit and a touch of bitterness in the middle, although the malt is in charge. In the finish, there are hints of lemon zest and dry cracker along with an impression of nuttiness. There is also some alcohol flavor and warmth, which increases as the beer warms, although so too does the juicy yeast character. The initial mouthfeel is creamy and dry; as it warms, the creaminess remains, but the dryness gives way to alcohol warmth and a slight sharpness in the back of the throat. While this is an enjoyable and certainly well-made beer, it could use better balance between the size and the flavors: as it warms, the subtlety starts to fade and the residual sweetness turns towards stickiness, and the juxtaposition between the dryness of the beer and the gumminess in the mouthfeel becomes uneven. Coupled with the increasing alcohol presence, this disjunction detracts from the overall impression of the beer—it comes across currently as almost a young and brash tripel. Part of this may stem from the style; Biere de Gardes are intended to age, and some of the rougher edges might disappear with time, but, well, we’re drinking it now. Still, something certainly worth trying—the quality is there, it is just young and rough around the edges. Sorry, we just couldn’t resist the sweet siren song of a new Lips of Faith beer any longer. You know y’all been there before, haven’t you? 

From the bottle: “Famous in Michigan for their Farmhouse Ales, our friends at Brewery Vivant introduced us to their Biere de Garde ale yeast strain. From there, we imagined a slightly tart, intentionally  dry beer with hints of bergamot citrus that pairs perfectly with French cheeses.”

ABV: 9.0%

(5/30/2013)

528. Ommegang Biere d’Hougoumont

Ah, Ommegang, how we’ve missed you. We drank this while watching eleven hours of the Olympics on fast forward. How else are we supposed to fit it all in? We’ll add this to the list, which includes Tripel Perfection, Zuur, Three Philosophers, Hennepin, Bière de Mars, and Witte. Bring on more.

Described as a biere de garde aged on maple and oak wood staves, Biere d’Hougoumont pours a brilliantly clear amber and has a white head that is small, tight, and fine with excellent staying power. The nose opens with a distinct cellar must and cork character (yes, I’m going with that; that phrase came to my head while smelling the beer, and it seemed appropriate, so I’m sticking with it) followed by candy malt; as the beer opens up, the candy sweetness comes to the forefront and the must disappears. There are also hints of caramel and perfume from the yeast esters. Flavors start with a dry biscuit and cracker malt, giving way to caramel and pleasant spicy yeast phenols accompanied with just a touch of hop bitterness. The finish is sweet, creamy, and dry at first; a touch of alcohol flavor and warmth emerge as the beer rounds in body. Bright carbonation blends well with the dry, slightly creamy but chewy mouthfeel; as noted above, there is some alcohol, but nothing harsh or sharp. This is a well-balanced beer as a whole, although it does become less even as it warms—the youth of the beer starts to come out with some time spent in the glass. Surprisingly, there is not much discernible in regards to the wood presence in the beer. As it stands, it is currently a good beer for not having any real distinct character—there are no flaws, but nothing really stands out. And I would agree with the language on the bottle indicating this beer is a good candidate for aging, as a couple of years should give this beer depth and complexity, making it splendid.

From the bottle: “Hougoumont is brewed with French ale yeast, eight malts, French Strisselspalt hops, and aged on wood. A traditional biere de garde style, this malty French-styled farmhouse ale is brewed to be aged. The name honors the Hougoumont farmstead at the pivotal center of the Waterloo Battlefield. Napoleon repeatedly failed to take the farmstead, then lost the battle, and ‘met his Waterloo.’”

ABV: 7.3%

And sorry, I forgot to take a picture. Really, you’re better off that way.

(8/5/2012)

500. Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2006

Our 500th beer. Dag. Well, I guess it’s time to go fancy. Described on the label as a Swiss Ale de Garde aged in oak barrels, this bottle of Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien was brewed by Jérôme Rebetez at Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes in Jura, Switzerland. Which also makes this our first Swiss beer, unless I am mistaken (and upon checking, I’m not, although I did make a sweet Switzerland joke here).

Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien pours a hazy and slightly muddy caramel, although chestnut might also be appropriate. It also has some red hints to it as well. The head is thin and white, and barely hung around long enough for this picture. A thin ring is maintained around the edge of the glass by the tiny white bubbles wending their way through the beer. The nose is tart and sharp—it made my mouth water just from smelling it. There is also some dark fruit behind the acetic sharpness, and a touch of alcohol. When we first opened it, there was a brief perfume-y spiciness that dissipated quickly. As it warms, the vinegar becomes more pronounced, but also merges more with the fruit to offer a delightful olfactory treat. Flavors start sweet, sharp, and dry—a pleasant combination of yeast, oak, and age. The acetic acid sharpness is balanced by the residual sweetness in the body, taking on an almost sherry quality as the beer warms. As the initial vinegar tang wanes, the beer further dries on the palate in the middle, allowing both oak and alcohol to emerge in the finish; nonetheless, the sharp tartness continues to linger on the palate well after the other flavors have disappeared. The initial tart bite is enough to bring a slight flush to my cheeks after a couple of sips, allowing the sharp initial snap to blend with the gentler lingering sour flavors and creating a delicious harmony. The alcohol is well-hidden but evident; there is, after all, only so much you can do with a lighter-bodied 11% beer. Elli thinks it would be improved by lowering the alcohol a bit, which I agree with, and that the lingering vinegar sharpness is annoying, which I don’t. Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien could also use an increased complexity of flavors beyond the acetic tartness. While the acidity is subtle and complex, it does get a bit one-dimensional by about two-thirds of the way through the bottle, and added warmth tends to further flatten the other characteristics. Nonetheless, a solid and interesting beer—some of the 2010 just turned up at Belmont Party Supply, so I may have to buy a bottle of that to salt away for future posterity. And here’s to 500 more!

From the Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes website: “L’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien, Strong sour ale, 11% vol. est un réel OVNI, c’est une bière brassée en l’honneur de l’ancienne chatte de la brasserie, sanctifiée lors de sa disparition. Cette cuvée aux reflets rouges-ambrés est mûrie pendant de longs mois dans des fûts de chêne ayant déjà contenu du vin ou des eaux-de-vie. Ces fûts donneront des arômes très complexes à cette bière. En bouche, elle rappelle la trame d’un vin rouge fruité avec une acidité très marquée.”

ABV: 11%
No. on bottle: 00276
Brewed: 2006
Blended: April 2007

(12/14/2011)

451. Jeffrey McElfresh Bière de Garde

Oh snap! That moment of transcendent magic we’ve all been waiting for is finally here: Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week Part II. This is the best sequel in the history of forever, or at least since humanity emerged from caves and abandoned hunting and gathering for the joys of agrarian life. The downside, of course, is that that particular part two was also on the way to humans eating paint chips, but that’s a different story, and not so good an example of the vision of a triumphant sequel that I am trying to sell here. As well, it is possible that the next installment of JMHDW will be ever better (not to be confused with WWJD II)—it could be in the reciprocally sequel-appropriate 3D—but the possibilities are just too fantabulously awesome to even contemplate, so I’ll stick with the here and now of JMHDW II. My lord, I’m giddy with excitement, so let’s get down to brass tacks...

Highlights!

McElfresh Bière de Garde pours a delicate tannish caramel brown with delightful orange highlights that are the color of Johnny Rotten’s Public Image Ltd.-era hair. The head is made up of miniscule white bubbles that quickly reduce to a ring, while the nose is a complex mixture of toasty and caramel malt sweetness with creamy and bready components as well, but stops just short of having dark fruit notes (malt, not ester derived). Really, the nose is quite divine. Flavors open with toasty and toffee malt sweetness; the middle is creamy but also a bit drier on the palate, with no discernable hop bitterness—if it is there, it is very light. The finish features a touch of Belgian candy sweetness and smaller hints of darker fruits like plum and fig, but it is also dry with a touch of bitterness and/or alcohol flavor that lightly lingers. The medium body is slightly undercarbonated, which would be my only real complaint about the beer, leaving it a bit soft on the mouth (although it does reciprocally enhance the soft toasty malt components of the beer). While I am unsure of the exact strength of the beer, the alcohol is well hidden—it is most certainly a malt forward beer. The strength is the malt complexity coupled with the cleaner finish. As the beer warms, there is an increase in caramel flavors across the profile as well as a larger manifestation of the darker fruit flavors in the middle and end of the beer (I mean, hell, I got a 22 of this beer, so it took me some time to work through it). While certainly delicious now, I’d be interested in seeing the long-term effects of some additional garde-ing—I think the malt complexity would get richer and more complex even though this is a lighter version of a Bière de Garde. Nice work, Jeffrey. You’re in effect like alternate side of the street parking rules.

P.S. I’m officially skipping work tomorrow as part of my secret silent plan to make JMHDW an officially recognized national holiday. Who is with me? Come on, where’s your faux indignation and half-assed civil disobedience now? All y’all are a bunch of Western Marxists, aren’t you?

(2/7/2011)