The beer starts off with an initial malt sweetness that fades into a firm but subtle hop presence. The lager yeast and cold maturation ensure a crisp smooth finish. As the beer matures, the Brettanomyces added at bottling will become more pronounced and a drier beer will evolve.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by Phil B from Gatineau, Canada who has tried this beer once. (4/17/2008 12:51:29 PM)
"Bottle courtesy of Bu11zeye: Poured a deep clear copper color ale with a nice foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of medium sweet Belgian style malt with light funky yeast notes. Taste is also one-dimensional with some medium sweet Belgian style malt with some light funky notes. I thought this was missing some spices or some kind of ester. Good carbonation with average body and no apparent alcohol. I thought this was OK but definitely not as good as expected. Not that it impacts my ratings but I am starting to think this brewer more hype then what he actually deserve – good to great beer but the exceptional ones are fare and few between."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.4)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[2] Review by Vac from San Diego, California, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (2/28/2008 3:09:32 PM)
"Pours with an amber body topped by a medium thick to thick, off-white head with a good amount of lacing. It’s sweet and slightly spicey with a touch of alcohol and a little grassy hops. This will be a great beer in about a year...the aging will do it good. The aroma is lacking. Full bodied, smooth yet warming."
Aroma:
5/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by ante from Stockholm, Sweden who has tried this beer once. (2/5/2008 2:56:04 PM)
"Pours out in a hazy orange colour with rich white foam. Peppery and hoppy aroma of hay, tart oranges, wet grass, immature raspberries, mint and yeast. Dryish, peppery and hoppy flavour of grains, pepper, menthol, orange-peels and hay. Herbal finish of cherries, minerals and pepper. "
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.2)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[4] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (1/28/2008 8:03:21 PM)
"2007 release; Sampled January 2008
Well carbonated as a careful pour produces a three-finger thick, frothy, dingy tan colored head; the head leaves some lacing and actually forms a textured, rocky surface as it slowly subsides. The beer is a reddish copper amber color, but shows an almost clear, re-hued, copper color when held up to the light. The nose is quite aromatic, interesting notes of fruit mix with unfamiliar spice notes and familiar ones. The aroma reminds me of candied pears, blood oranges, tropical fruit on the fruit side and notes of pepper, fenugreek, mace, . The spice notes in the nose are really quite interesting, I really need to smell Frankincense and Myrrh again to figure out what they are contributing here. While the spice notes are evident, the fruity, even tropical fruitiness is perhaps the most noticeable part of this aroma.
Much drier than I was expecting from this brew that projects such a big aromatic fruitiness. This beer is lightly sweet though, but this perceived dryness seems to accentuate the spice notes of this brew. Flavors of potpourri, perfume like flowers, some turpene like notes (astringent almost hard nutmeg) and something that is a touch like lavender. Fruit flavors of pear, green grapes, and some sort of tropical fruit are all quite noticeable, despite playing a lesser role in the flavor. The beer finishes with a bit of warming alcohol that is noticeable along with some of the astringent, turpene-like spice notes.
The spicing here definitely contribute a sharp, perfume like character to this brew (especially in the flavor); this is not surprising as I think both Frankincense and Myrrh are/were used in that sort of application. It is hard to get a sense if the Brett has kicked in yet, with the ample carbonation I might have guessed so, but the spice notes are still to fresh to really tell yet. This really needs quite a bit of age on it before it comes any where close to peaking; I'll be trying this in a year or so, but it may actually need a couple to really take off."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $12 Unit Cost: $7.57 per Pint
[5] Review by beerguy101 from Newark, CA, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (12/25/2007 3:41:51 PM)
"The Biere de Garde pours a medium gold color from a 750ml bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity, caramel and sweet. A medium bodied BdG. The malts are fruity and sweet. Lots of orange and orange peel, with a nice assortment of spices. The hops are earthy. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet. "
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Sampled: Bottle, Forced Draught
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
Do you want to see the rest of the reviews? Sign In or Register FREE! = BeerPals Only
Review this Beer:
You must be a member to write a review. Please sign up or log in.
(3.4)
