As the seasons change and the weather becomes more conducive to outdoor beer drinking, the Splice staff's thoughts naturally drift to our favorite water substitute. Today's is the first in a series of articles highlighting a few of the seasonal brews from some of our favorite breweries nationwide. The first beer we subjected to our thoroughly non-professional taste-testing was Hunter Thompson-inspired Flying Dog Brewery's new biere de garde, Garde Dog.
Zach Kaufmann:
I was pleasantly surprised by Flying Dog’s new spring seasonal. I'd never had a biere de garde ("beer for keeping") before, a French-style ale brewed in the winter and most often consumed in the spring and summer months, but the rich malty aromas and flavor makes for a nice couple of drinks on a warm afternoon. I'm generally a fan of darker hoppy beers, pale ales in particular, but the Flying Dog Biere de Garde—golden amber, moderately light, with an almost tart spicy sweetness to it—was very enjoyable. The fruit flavor undertones (apple and honeysuckle) were well balanced. They weren't weak and unnatural, as in the case of some other domestic ales, like Clipper City's Oxford Raspberry, for example. According to Beer Advocate, at 5.5% abv the Flying Dog Biere de Garde is actually on the light side. Definitely recommended as we move into those warm 60-degree nights.
Andrew Klein:
It has a strong initial taste, a sharp hit on the palette, but with little follow-through—a summer beer it is. I differ from Zach in that I prefer heavy, colorful porters and stouts and stay away from IPAs (especially American labels), but this beer has a tang to it that I'm comfortable with. It's light enough to go with a meal, but not bland enough to be substituted with something cheaper. An inspired beer from a great brewery.
John Lingan:
Have to disagree with Klein here; the aftertaste was pretty thorough in my opinion. This does resemble an IPA, as you both have said, but maybe a little more dry. I was going to say "flowery," so Zach's acknowledgment of honeysuckle seems apt. But still, this may have the most presence of any summer beer I've had, even though it's light and would sit well at any table. Has anyone else had other French-style beers? Do they do heavy brews, or is this pretty typical of the country's output?
Kaufmann:
I'll agree with John about the aftertaste: strong lingering flavors, in my opinion. Can't say I know much about French beer, frankly I didn't even know the French made beer. According to the Brewer's Handbook though, "the northeastern district of French Flanders nevertheless possesses strong brewing traditions, which it shares with its Flemish cousins across the border." Sounds like the biere de garde is the most common and popular brewed variety. It's not surprising that there's not a lot of variety in French beer, of course. Sounds like they tend to leave it up to their coarser lowland cousins, Belgium and Germany for the most part.
Klein:
I don't know what kind of beer you two were drinking, you philistines. I'm not saying this brew is flavorless, but it simply didn't linger for me, in the sense that the initial notes—the sweet tang, especially—faded. I guess I could say a more general "aftertaste" was evident, but this beer's punch is in the front-end.
Lingan:
Agreed on the front-end comment. In particular, I remember the smell as much as the taste. This isn't going to appeal to just anyone who likes a lighter beer on a hot day; you've got to really enjoy an intense flavor and aroma to get on board. But, as we all seem to agree, it's a pretty great brew for those who aren't put off by the IPA+ intensity.
