Bieres de Garde Rush In

 It's weird for a French style to get such traction in our market, but a few craft-brewed specimens have started to occupy the shelves.They are a little maltier and darker  than what I expected, but quality brews.

Choc Beer Brewmasters Signature Biere de Garde 
Sampled: Aug. 28, 2012
My first Oklahoma beer rushed from the bottle. Before I unfastened the cage, the cork launched into the ceiling and this Biere de Garde foamed away. Poured into a chalice, the foam continue to make On the nose, it’s yeasty and a blossoms with tones of kumquats and clementine oranges.

The malt profile is a little stiff. Amber in color, the body has notes of brown sugar, baker’s chocolate and a vein or two of orange. The finish is highly effervescent, with a little sassafras and like-minded rootiness closing it out. The combination of dark malts and bubbliness makes the finish surprisingly refreshing.

Definitely darker than most biere de gardes run, Choc crafts an interesting but less-than-spellbinding version. The style is so nebulous that anything goes. It tastes more rustic than Belgian ambers and abbey double ales. But if you have a blonder Biere de Garde alternate, I would go that way. With a little time to think, it tastes more like abbey double lite.

I love any chance to use my Ommegang glassware.

Ommegang Biere d’Hougoumont 
 Sampled: Sept. 9, 2012

The beautifully dark, fruity and velvety Art of Darkness got consumed during a party and never got a proper review. Months later, Ommegang returns with a new label design and Biere d’Hougoumont, a French Biere de Garde that honors a farmhouse pivotal to Napeleon’s loss at the Battle of Waterloo.

The heady lace doesn’t give away much, just some cream and a few hints of Belgian yeast lurking beneath. Dry, light and crisp, this Biere de Garde doesn’t drink like a monster rustic ale. Unlike Broc Biere de Garde, Ommegang produces an amber ale that doesn’t resemble anything else – no one would confuse Biere d’Hougoumont for a Belgian double, much less Rare Vos.

The maple and oak staves impact the ale subtly, adding a bit of oak character late on the palate, but not the heavy vanilla-spearmint that whiskey barrels impart. Nice display of red fruits , including some apple and some root characters. At 7. 3 percent, Biere d’Hougoumont stays in the comfort zone and never develops any peppery characters.

A little flavor goes a long way with wood staves, giving Biere d’Hougoumont a character not unlike red Burgundy at times. The French Stisselspalt hops make only fleeting appearances on the finish.

This ale is all about malt, and Ommegang loads up with eight different malts. I wouldn’t put it on par with Hennepin (then again, what does rival Hennepin?). But Biere d’Hougoumont serves as a darker French companion to the rustic ales Ommegang crafts so well. For a darker spin on Biere de Garde, it seems drinkable in any season. The next season might be years from now, but Biere d’Hougoumont is built for the long term.