New Belgium-Brewery Vivant Lips of Faith Biere de Garde

I picked up a bottle of the New Belgium-Brewery Vivant collaboration Biere de Garde, part of the Lips of Faith series. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, orange peel, caramel, grass, and Belgian yeast. The taste is light bodied and refreshing with lots of lemon and orange peel flavors right on the front end. Hints of banana and caramel make up the background, and there is a light funk on the finish with some hay. A bit of grass and a biscuity after taste that lingers for quite a while. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was a nice drinking Biere de Garde with lots of biscuity flavor in the backbone, but it is still refreshing with lemon and orange peel mixed in there as well.

Brasserie Castelain Grand Cru Blonde Biere de Garde

As part of my August shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Brasserie Castelain Grand Cru Blonde Biere de Garde. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty foamy white colored head. The aroma consists of hay, pepper, barnyard funk, lemon, and caramel. The taste is sweet and smooth with caramel and plenty of toffee on the front end before a light peppery hop bite kicks in on the tongue. Hay, straw, and barnyard funk kick in on the finish, and a sugary after taste is left behind. The alcohol content is 7.8% ABV. I liked the flavor of this beer, although it was maybe a slight bit sweeter than I would prefer for a Biere de Garde. Either way, I would definitely drink this again.

Schlafly Biere de Garde

My buddy Matt opened a bottle of Schlafly Biere de Garde while I was at his house. The beer pours a beautiful amber color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, grass, earth, dew, and butterscotch. The taste is dry and grassy with a dew-like flavor. Toffee, caramel, and butterscotch come out in force with this beer and give it some sweetness. The finish leaves a bit of earthiness behind. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I liked the sweet flavors in this beer, but they were also the reason I didn’t love it. They were great but a little too present for me in a Biere de Garde.

Krebs Signature Biere De Garde

I was able to sample part of a bottle of Krebs Signature Biere De Garde when my friend Deuane was clearing out his cellar. The beer pours a caramel color with a bubbly off-white color. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, and pine. The taste is smooth and malty with lots of caramel and toffee, some apple, biscuit, and Belgian spices. The was some grassy and earthy hops balancing out the sweetness, and a slightly watery finish. This beer also had a very bubbly mouth feel. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I must say I was left neither satisfied nor unsatisfied with this beer. I think it was more malty and had a lot more caramel that most Biere de Garde beers, and I wasn’t a big fan of the finish. However, it was quite refreshing and an interesting take on the style.

Flying Dog Garde Dog Biere de Garde

I picked up a bottle of Flying Dog Garde Dog Biere de Garde when I was in South Carolina. The beer pours a straw gold color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is fresh and has wheat hints with a faint hop smell. The taste is lightly malty with a slight butter finish. There are remnants of hops hit the side of the mouth with carbonation bubbles. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I thought that this was rather tasty Biere de Garde and was very refreshing.

Southampton Biere de Garde

I picked up a bottle of Southampton Biere de Garde while in South Carolina. I had read about biere de garde beers, which is a farmhouse ale, but I had not had one to date. The beer pours a copper color with an extremely foamy white head that encompasses more than half the glass. The aroma is full of raisins and fig. The taste is sweet and malty with a lot of raisin and fig and a light clean finish. There is a slight alcohol bite at the very end of the finish. I thought that the taste diminishes and might be a little watery on the finish, but not too bad.. The alcohol content is 7.2% ABV. For my first experience with a biere de garde, I really enjoyed it and will continue to try this style of beer. It was very light and refreshing, but very flavorful.