Biere de Garde Ambree

Originating from the farmhouses in the North of France (at the Belgian border), Biere de Garde is one of the very few authentic French styles of beer.  It was brewed in the cool winter or spring for the summer ahead.  It comes in a few different profiles; Blonde, Ambre and Brune (Blonde, Amber and Brown respectively).  The name originates from the brewing process: Biere de Garde translates to 'beer for keeping', a reference to the fact that the beer was cellared cold during and after the fermentation process.

There's no hiding the fact that I love Belgian style beers.  Despite it's origins, Biere de Garde shares a lot in common with its cross border cousins, the Belgian Saison and Belgian Pale Ales.  The cold storage process involved in brewing a true BdG seemed like a good step towards brewing a lager style beer as well.

I wanted to keep the beer authentic so I chose a mildly complex grain bill that would offer layered, bready, caramel notes and a touch of dry fruit.  I chose French hops and a yeast strain that purportedly was taken from popular producer Duyck (who produces several tasty variants of BdG under the name Jenlain).  I kept true to the process as well, fermenting at the bottom end of the yeasts comfort zone, and then lowering the temperature for a month of lagering before bottling.

'Farmium' Biere de Garde

OG: 1.064

FG: 1.013

ABV: 6.8%

IBU: 27

SRM: 12

VOL CO2: 3

Grain Bill:

7 lbs pilsner malt

3 lbs Vienna malt

1 lb biscuit malt

½ lb carapils malt

½ lb special b malt

Hop Bill:

2 oz strisselspalt (2.3% AA) @ FWH

2 oz strisselspalt (2.3% AA) @ 30 minutes

Yeast:

1 pkg white labs WLP072 French Ale

built to a cell count of ~314 billion

Other:

1 tsp wyeast yeast nutrient @ 10 minutes

1 tsp irish moss @ 10 minutes

Brew Notes:

mashed @ 148F for 90 minutes

Fermentation Notes:

Fermented @ 64F

10/10/13: SG of 1.013, allowed to warm to 68F

13/10/13: SG of 1.013, started gradually lowering temperature for lagering

17/10/13: reached lager temperature of 35F

Tasting Notes:

Pours a lightly hazed, medium amber color with a frothy head of eggshell colored foam.  Aromas of dark bread, medium caramel, raisin, earthy yeast funk and a hint of roast.  Mildly sweet, offset by woodsy hop bitterness.  Thick, coating mouth feel with moderate to high carbonation.

Really want to see how it progresses over the next six months or so.  If I ever get to rebrewing this I would probably cut down the special B to a few ounces, the roast character that it gives just feels out of place here.  More yeast character would be nice, perhaps a slight under pitch or the addition of brett would do this some justice.  Slightly higher carbonation and a drier finish couldn't hurt either.