Brasseurs Biere de Garde

Brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe
Style: Bière de Garde
Melle, Belgium

An orange caramel candy factory relocated in a dusty barnyard...Grandma's baking some bread I think...Quietly, the yeast overcomes some of the sweetness and induces slumber with a shot of alcohol...A vintage voyage to 1984, thanks to my pal Muzzlehatch!!!...

There's a lot to be said about such a rare and mysterious beer. It pours deep amber/copper, very clear at first, but just as muddy once the large amount of yeast is poured, Impressive carbonation for a beer that is almost as old as me makes up for a initially white foam that quickly dissipates. Aroma is complex, vinous, hay-ish with hints of scotch or cognac, appealing old cereals past their prime complements sweet caramelic malt. Hints of butter, diacetyl. It smells old malt basically. Taste is on the sweet side, lots of toffee/maple flavours with honest hints at wood and resin. Very vinous, but certainly less intense than the beautiful aroma. Once the yeast comes into play, it becomes drier, earthy with a dirty waters feel. Body is light-medium and creamier with the yeast poured. The bottom line is that this beer is a truly interesting experience that I'm grateful to have had thanks to Muzzlehatch.

A wonderful Bier de Garde. Grape/wood aroma develop ans this beer warms. The amber colour is more than satisfying as is the sweet earthy flavour

Fine, fine beer. Golden in appearance with a medium head. Nose is quite yeasty, with some alcohol presence. Flavor is incredibly smooth, with a decent malt backbone, and flavors of cut grass, toffee, chocolate hints, and some good spiciness. Mouthfeel is remarkably light for such complicated beer, and it ends in a slightly bitter, slightly honeyish aftertaste.

The first bottle I opened had a substantial amount of yeast sediments at the bottom of the bottle. It was impossible to pour this ale without dumping huge amounts of debris into my glass. It tasted fine, something like a pale ale, but I was almost put off by the huge flakes floating around in my glass. I know that the sedimentary material is basically inert, but it was sure unpleasing to the eye. The second bottle I tried was completely different. This time, the beer poured with a slightly cloudy copper-brown color and produced a huge, thick, biege-colored head. (Yes, this is another Belgian ale that you’ll need to pour slowly and carefully to avoid a foam explosion in your glass.) There was a hint of wood in the nose and a slight level of fruitiness. This beer had a rather malty flavor with some toffee/caramel character. Carbonation levels were moderate, hop bitterness was modest, and there was some good alcohol warmth.

10+ year old 750ml bottle. Foil has been soldered to the glass itself and the metal twist cap has oxidized to near non-operability. Cork was moist. Poured a cloudy amber-red (leaving the coagulated mess in the bottle, for now). Thin white edge head. Light specs floating around. Surprising appearance and light carbonation for a brew this old. Very healthy aroma of must, wine traits, oak and that farmy odor. No hint of spoiled or old beer. Body is watery, but still carries some flavor. Plenty of Biere de garde wineyness and woody hints. Some light grape sweetness. Lacks body and malt depth to hold my attention. Pouring the 1/2’ plus amount of clotted yeast. Firmed up the aroma and carbonation. Adds some mellow spiciness and more wine traits (yes, I tasted it), but this is so vulgar to look at. Finishes winey and a little sweeter, but still watery. Amazing how this has held up after being on a store shelve for over 10 years. Bravo to the Huyghe brewery.

Re-Rate 12/28/01: Much better this time around. Large malt laden nose, some fruit undertones, orangey? Deep amber, generous head, sheets of lace that cling to the glass. Start is malty, semi-sweet, the middle full, acidic, the finish winish dry and hops are present, but not overly bitter.

My bottle says ’Malt Boulons - The Original Biere De Garde’. Brett aromas -- some horse blanket but mostly hay/stable. Malty hints of honey in a light medium effervescent body. Hmmm... this is special. Some unattractive floaties but otherwise very nice. Some aged hop qualities -- a bit of attic dust. This is delicious!