Biere de garde

Jimsal

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Hello-

I have to brew a biere de garde for a competition for my homebrew club. Never brewed one before...hell don't think I have ever even drank one. Has anyone ever brewed one? Does any one have a good recipe or any tips on brewing one would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.
 
That's a style I've been interested in. I like Belgian malt profiles but I'm really not too fond of many of the strident yeast flavor profiles associated with Belgian beers, especially the Trappist strains.
Hit the BJCP guideline. That'll give you a good idea about where to start. I like this article series for basic recipe information, too... https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-biere-de-garde/
 
I have one in the keg now. I created the recipe following the guidelines. It turned out okay, maybe a bit maltier than I expected.
 
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I should also say ive had exactly one small sample of that style of beer from dogfish head. So no idea how close theirs or mine is to style guidelines
 
I just brewed a biere de garde and did some research. Key point that I never knew: It's a malty lager. Personally I find more similarity with an altbier or dunkel than anything else. Toasty, bready, and dry, and lightly hopped with noble types. I used Vienna as the base malt and wished I'd used some Pilsner malt like 50/50 to bring down the toastiness a bit and add a touch of graham. Use lager yeast, or try a Belgian yeast but ferment cold in the 50s or 60 F max to avoid esters. Delicious malty style, but I don't think anybody in the USA has any clue what it is. I know I didn't.
 
I should also say ive had exactly one small sample of that style of beer from dogfish head. So no idea how close theirs or mine is to style guidelines
With Dogfish Head I wouldnt expect it to really "fit" a style guide per se but im sure its a tasty version of the style.
 
With Dogfish Head I wouldnt expect it to really "fit" a style guide per se but im sure its a tasty version of the style.
And that's how I think mine turned out. But like the other guy said, in kind of shooting in the dark
 
Last spring I was in northern France, where the style is said to have originated. I did not find a single one in any pub or cafe. Maybe it is only widely available in French-speaking Belgium.
 
Ok. There's a nice grainy and earthy flavor to this, I can't help but think rustic when I taste it.
Bitterness is there but a bit non descript. In fact, after a few more sips it seems to compete too much with the malt, so I'd take the hops back a little bit.
The aroma is a little pine, citrus, and some pepper.
 

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I did one recently with Strisselspalt hops, California Common yeast and an OG of 1.068. It turned out quite well, but still is conditioning and should get even better. The hops were particularly interesting -- the aroma is listed as an unhelpful "hoppy", but I couldn't quite place it.

There is also an recipe over at The Mad Fermtaionist where he repitches on top of a Kolsch yeast cake.
 
I did one recently with Strisselspalt hops, California Common yeast and an OG of 1.068. It turned out quite well, but still is conditioning and should get even better. The hops were particularly interesting -- the aroma is listed as an unhelpful "hoppy", but I couldn't quite place it.
Interesting choice with the yeast. The WLP810 version of that yeast that I've used throws a little bit of a peppery ester and should be a perfect match for something like this - somewhere between a lager and saison. When I read the BJCP descriptions of Cali Common and Biere De Garde, I see some similarities, too. I liked the yeast but was less than thrilled with a straight lager that I brewed with it. I almost think of Anchor Steam as an American Saison rather than resembling a lager and I think a smoother, less bitter version of it might be right in the range of a Bier De Garde and would be a really nice beer.
I think the "hoppy" aroma they reference tends to mean a neutral, nobel hop presence - vaguely skunky, mild herbal/pot notes without much in the way of floral/minty/spicy notes and no pine or citrus like American hops have.
 
Interesting choice with the yeast. The WLP810 version of that yeast that I've used throws a little bit of a peppery ester and should be a perfect match for something like this - somewhere between a lager and saison. When I read the BJCP descriptions of Cali Common and Biere De Garde, I see some similarities, too. I liked the yeast but was less than thrilled with a straight lager that I brewed with it. I almost think of Anchor Steam as an American Saison rather than resembling a lager and I think a smoother, less bitter version of it might be right in the range of a Bier De Garde and would be a really nice beer.
I think the "hoppy" aroma they reference tends to mean a neutral, nobel hop presence - vaguely skunky, mild herbal/pot notes without much in the way of floral/minty/spicy notes and no pine or citrus like American hops have.

Agreed, I think it works well for this style. I specifically used L05 Cable Car from Imperial Yeast. As for the hop aroma, it didn't smell like other typical noble types. There was something else..."savory" about it, but yes, it definitely wasn't floral/minty/spicy and was devoid of pine and citrus.
 
There was something else..."savory" about it,
There's always the "earthy" descriptor that they use for some hops like this one...not sure what that means but one could think in terms of "musky" when conjuring up some deep, slightly dank aromas. I find that savory onion and garlic notes in hops before boil and fermentation can translate into the cannabis notes we get from some hops...again sort of musky, skunky but not in an unpleasant way. Strisselspalt is a hop I haven't used but I like Spalt and Spalt Select for neutral, "hoppy" aroma and flavor.
 
Hello-

I have to brew a biere de garde for a competition for my homebrew club. Never brewed one before...hell don't think I have ever even drank one. Has anyone ever brewed one? Does any one have a good recipe or any tips on brewing one would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.
 
Hello-

I have to brew a biere de garde for a competition for my homebrew club. Never brewed one before...hell don't think I have ever even drank one. Has anyone ever brewed one? Does any one have a good recipe or any tips on brewing one would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.
I’m sorry. :)
I have to brew a Belgian this fall.:(
 
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/657744/bier-de-marzen

Here is my recipe for my Biere de Garde.

I called it Bier de Marzen because I took my friends Marzen recipe added some sugar at flameout to boost the ABV. I used Wyeast 3522 as it is a restrained Belgian yeast. This beer scored 33 at a competition last year. The main comment was it was a little boozy so next time I may decrease the sugar and mash lower to keep the attenuation low.

I also kegged this beer and the carbonation was a little low for style. Next time, I will probably bottle condition the beer.
 

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