Bière des Sans Culottes

Brewed by Brasserie La Choulette
Style: Bière de Garde
Hordain, France

Color- orangey, opaque, turns clearer as it warms. Head- thin but expected. Aroma- spicy hops. Very fluffy flavors; Spice and citrus in back; I LOVE thiis beer. Yummy!!

this beer totally and utterly agreed with with me. Very nice floral oaky aroma, very nice tastewise. Very subtle and elegant, with a tremendously satisfying bitter finish, very savoury, an awesome brew, hooray!!

A cold pour produces a tall, creamy froth that lingers like a good memory. A fluffy canopy and snail tracks are indicitive of superb lacework. Colored w/ a golden beige hue. Aromas of sweet stewed barnyard hay, citrus pulp, and banana bread. Full nectar w/ ample soft cottonous effers. Bittersweet is my first impression. A rich malty backbone devides the day w/ a defined peachpit bittering component. Flavors are earthy and rustic w/ bread and citrus meat dominating the scene. Throw in some tropicals, brown sugar, tobbacco, vanilla, wild apple cream, and a bit of sulpher and spice. The finish is bittered peacefully w/ a lingering complex malty sweetness. This is a delicious brew w/ a very complex nature. Highly recomnended.

Poured a golden-amber color with a nice fluffy initial head. Lacing was solid. Aroma was sweet corn and floral, some spice, light farmhouse. Flavor was excellent, my favorite biere de garde so far. A sweet and crisp musty, earthy, rustic type flavor that finishes with some wood tones and floral notes. Mouthfeel was moderate, smooth, not cloying or sticky, although a sweet beer, yet lightly hopped for the finish. Outstanding.

Glistening golden body, with fine sedimentation, frothy white head. The nose is very floral (lilac and honeysuckle), pale biscuity malt, freshly cut hay, and light spice. This has a soothing, delicate malt backbone, with lots of farmhouse character. It’s difficult describe the dominant flavors here, similar to dry white wine I suppose. Lively texture without being fizzy. I agree with the others in saying this is an elegant, delectible brew.

750 mL (best before October 2004): Beautiful hazed gold with a fluffy off-white head…sweet flowery aroma with a light peppery spice…strawberries, white grapes, honey and slightly malted grain. Sweet airy floral flaovurs of honey dew melong, buttery grain, sweet fig juiuce…luscious and soft mouthfeel…a fabulous barnyard ale!

Pours a lightly hazy copper with a huge frothy ivory head. Heavy lacing. Smells yeasty and spicy. Clove, coriander and pepper. Sour fruity malt. Taste is fruity and lightly sour. A nice spicy finish, peppery. Sweet with hints of alcohol showing through but drys out in the finish a bit. Very creamy mouth which is unexpected. The creaminess adds to the drinkability, really smooth. Overall not as complex and mind-blowing as I expected from the aroma but a really good choice anyway. I’ll have another...

Caged corked 750 ml. green bottle, description and best before date on the back label, sampled in a tulip glass. The name of this French Bière de Garde roughly translations into The Beer Without Breeches, a reference to the kind of trousers, short pants wore by soldiers in the late 1700’s. You will need to know the history of the 1789 French Revolution to catch the full meaning. Sediment is visible in the bottom of the bottle. L: Hazy orangey golden with a fluffy white head that slowly receded into a thin topping of frothy cream. Splotchy, curtain-like lace rings the glass. Off to an impressive start. S: Freshly baked bread, pepper, clove and earthy spices, green apples and pears with a half of a lemon squeezed over them, confectionary sugar, and a light leathery mustiness framing the edges. The alcohol has the scent of vinous white grapes. F&T: Creamy crispness, firm from the ample carbonation, moderately light bodied, this has a nice airy, well rounded feel in the mouth. Yeasty tastes of green raw nuts, earthy spices and white pepper, along with a light farmhouse, barnyard mustiness. Fruitiness of tart green apples and not quite ripen pears, with an itty-bitty sprinkle of white sugar. I have to say the green apples and pears also seem to retain their nature sugary sweetness. In the middle delectable flavors of sticky clove and stemmy herbs come forth to balance out the sweet fruity tastes. A mild hop spiciness adds a drying touch to the nutty yeast, sweet grain bready finale. This Bière de Garde would make a excellent starting point for anyone wanting to explore the style. Extremely tasty and balanced, this does a good job of defining the Bière de Garde style, little wonder that the late, great beer advocate/writer Michael Jackson had always included this in his beer guides. At the brewery website I found out something I hadn’t known before. In the year 2000, the state of Missouri suspended the marketing of Les Bière Des Sans Culottes because they objected to classical French Romantic Eugène Delacroix painting used on the front label, namely the peasant women in the center holding up the French tricolor flag of freedom. In english the painting is called "Liberty Guiding The People." You can draw your own conclusions over what this means.