Southampton Biere de Garde (French Country Christmas Ale)

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Bière de Garde
Southampton, New York USA

22 ounce contract brewed bottle shared by aplusbreaks, thanks man. Poured a clear copper color with a thick, fluffy white head that slowly faded to a layer. Faint aroma of dry fruit, a light breadiness, a bit of yeast, and some oxidization. Smooth, lightly tart entry with some light citric fruitiness (orange peel and lemon) and a bit of honey sweetness that finishes lightly dry with a faint hoppiness. Low carbonation and a tad thin on the palate. The first bottle I got of this was horribly infected, and this seemed to be showing some signs of it. I wish I could try the Publick House version.

Arômes de sucre et de vinaigre. Goût très aigre et sucré (candie) avec un fini malté et alcoolisé. Elle a un petit quelque chose qui la distingue de la plupart des bières de garde classique.

Appearance: Pours an opaque, amber-orange body with a downright fizzy, tall, white head. Smell: Honeyish, fruity nose with notes of light caramel, earthy spices, and just a tiny whiff of alcohol. Taste: Honeyed maltiness with a candied sweetness and light taste of caramel. Fruity blend of ripe apricots, peaches, and pears. Herbal, spicy hops though with only a minor bitterness. A few peppery pops on the latter half. Very slight alcohol warmth on the spicy, positively spritzy finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Well carbonated. Drinkability: Generally recommended, provided you’re a fan of the style. I would certainly appreciate a slackened carbonation, but, otherwise, it’s a tasty Bière de Garde.

Bottle. Hazy rich gold/orange, fluffy light tan head. Nose is brown sugar, lightly nutty malt, stone fruits & yeast, some earthiness. Flavor is malt, a binch of bitterness, yeast, some caramel which is overpowered by that bitterness. A bit thin, especially in the finish.

750ml series. On the nose, I get mangos and lots of them - maybe some strawberries too. The head is ridiculous: a full five fingers that dissipates slowly. The taste is a full frenzy of mangos and cream, followed by those strawberries at the end (this is going to sound pretentious as hell, but more so the green top/hat of the strawberry than the actual fruit). The big thing really is how well this beer is put together; the hops after swallowing are both subtle and well-placed. It’s almost like a little lime rind. So great effort, but $13? Definitely not disappointed, but I’ll be dipping my feet infrequently.

750 ml bottle - thanks to tweety for the trade; contract brewed label; dark orange with huge white head; aromas of stale malts, honey; milky, thick-ish texture; flavors of lemon peels and dead flowers; something seems a little off here

Bottle via beerbill, thanks! Crystal clear copper\orange with an off white head. Caramel with earthy spice and dry hay aromas. Nice dry spice and hay flavors on a caramel malt base brew. Very authentic French character.

750ml bottle (thanks Dyan) with a best by date of 11/2012 which is still a ways off . I’d save it but I’m sure everyone will be drinking vertical epic all year in 2012 anyway. This beer gave a nice pop when the cork flew out and it began to foam immediately but I was able to subdue the unruly bastard with a snifter. Nice orange-brown haze with an off-white foamy pillow. The smell was real nice, malt, honey, caramel. The taste, hmmm... I’d say there is a slight caramel flavor, maybe some hops hiding out but this is very subtle, or my palate sucks). This is actually pretty enjoyable to drink. I’m really not qualified to say whether this is a good example of the style but it is a good beer. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-17-2008 02:46:36