Southampton Biere de Garde (French Country Christmas Ale)

Bottle from Hopdog. Pours a pretty orange/gold. Nose is floral with apricots and distant wet bread notes, a bit musty. Taste is a tad tart, iced tea, more apricots then some distant roasty notes. This is a pretty fine BdG that I would drink often. Nice.

BA shows this beer at 6.6% and a regular Biere de Garde at 7.2. I had the regular 7,2% version one year old bottle. Very carbonated dark amber with big lively head. Light caramel nose with light trace of yeast. Body seems a little watery but lively with dusty caramel and floral flavour. A hint of old must and wood.

’07 Bottle sampled Sept ’09.

Pours a nice amber-brown. Strongly yeasty aroma, lovely blend of pepper and heavy-duty malt goodness, dry almost bretty finish. Hints of orange rind, more of that bready yeast. Not so estery or sour; quite nice in that regard. Extremely drinkable, very enjoyable beer. Excellent US interpretation of the style.

Bottle from my secret santa. Poured a slightly cloudy light brown color with a pretty good size head. Aroma was of some aged toasty malts. Some light dark fruity notes to this one. The head really sticks around. A great palate on this one, perfectly bubbly. Not much hop presence at all. A pretty unique beer actually, well at least something i havent had in awhile. A very easy to drink beer though just not my style.

I picked up this bottle in 2006 while vacationing in NYC. 750 series, corked & caged. Aroma - Rich malts, clover honey, sherry, raisins. A bit of oxidation likely from the extended aging. Some offensive metallic notes were present upon pouring but dissipated quickly. No hop aroma detected. Appearance - Pours a rusty copper-like amber hue. Brilliant clarity. Huge meringue textured foam is long lasting and comprised of tightly packed bubbles. Flavor - Rich, toasty malts up front. Caramel and raisins in the middle. Hop bitterness is moderately high yet balances well with pronounced malt character. Finishes with a bit of spicy noble hop flavor. Quite complex. Mouthfeel - Crisp and spritzy, highly carbonated. Medium bodied and finishes dry. There is a lingering texture on the back of the tongue in the finish. There’s a hint of alcohol warmth in the finish. Smooth. Overall - This is a rather nice example of a biere de garde. It expresses a strong malt backbone with the complexity of a farmhouse ale. In a word, this is smooth. I would revisit again if given the option.

Frothy head with a gold-bronze body, nice malt, but a little sour on the front of the tongue.

Creamy head, spoon worthy in fact. Hazy orange body. Round stone fruit driven malt with just a touch of the barn on the nose. The bubbles expand across the palate in full, blanketing force. Vinous notes of stewed peaches with a touch of wet soil. Firm, earthy hop finishes the beer as a touch of oak dries the palate. Well made and priced fairly. Should cellar for 5 years of so. Excellent cheese beer, bring on the funk. 92

25 oz bottle, via puzzl. Pours a mostly clear dark gold body under a large fluffy white head that fell to a delicate ring of lace. The nose is nice and delicate, some light perfume and yeastiness with soft bready malt. Great light and subtle flavor, some light sugars, nice crusty white bread and subtle earthy yeast. Mouthfeel is light and airy up front but gains a little heft towards the end. Light lively fizzy carbonation. Really a pretty nice subtle beer. It’s great change of pace from all these big Stouts and Sours. Shoulda had this on a 85 degree day by the pool.