Raven De Garde
Black Raven Brewing Co.

Raven De GardeRaven De Garde
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From:
Black Raven Brewing Co.
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Bière de Garde
ABV:
7.4%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.78 | pDev: 10.85%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
34
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 02, 2019
Added:
Dec 24, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  4
This Northern France inspired strong pale hybrid has gone through a six month secondary fermentation with the “wild” yeast strain brettanomyces lambicus, then dry hopped in order to meld bright fresh hop aroma and accent with aged wild yeast character. Pear and citrus hops play with tropical fruit, smooth earth, and light hay flavors from the wild yeast.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by winningthrough:
Photo of winningthrough
Rated by winningthrough from Washington

4.37/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Classy product: great flavor, good color, nice bottle. Overall, one of my standout picks.
Mar 12, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.58 by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

May 02, 2019
 
Rated: 4.39 by Reswald from Alaska

May 03, 2016
Photo of gandres
Reviewed by gandres from Philippines

4.13/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Tap to glass @ brewery tap room@ Redmond, WA
Appearance: Light amber/golden, clear, medium white head disappears slowly, lacing
Aroma: coconut, initial scent of hops, sugarcane stalks
Taste: medium bitterness, long follow through
Feel Palate:
Overall: Good beer,
Drank April 5, 2015 9pm"
Apr 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by DamienI from Washington

Feb 22, 2016
Photo of DucksFan16
Rated by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

3.83/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
2015 vintage, consumed 02/12/2016.
Feb 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by ssgunbond from Belgium

Jan 25, 2016
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

3.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
12oz foil-wrapped bottle purchased at Huckleberry’s in Spokane for $6.99. First time I’d seen it – Black Raven in general has only recently shown up in my neck of the woods. According to the label this is a “Pale Ale” brewed “Belgian Style with Brettanomyces.” I thought a Biere de Garde was a French style. On the back of the bottle (which doesn’t seem to have a freshness date), it does say it’s a style from northern France, but the front says Belgian. Seems this beer has an identity crisis.

Opened with a resounding “pfft!”, when poured into a snifter from Iron Goat, this was a mostly clear or slightly chill-hazed (depending if you’re a glass half-full or half-empty sort) copper, with a moderate-sized beige colored head that dropped quickly, leaving a thin foam collar. A quick flourish of the snifter recreates headly things, but said head disappears again just as quickly. Streaky, spotty lace is left on the sides of the glass ever so briefly, then slides back down into the beer, leaving no trace.

Malty and fruity in the nose, with a slight whiff of sour funkiness. It’s not unlike some glasses of white wines I’ve sniffed.

Not that much going on, flavor wise, and what’s there isn’t that great. It’s like a slightly unpleasantly tart and slightly fruity blonde ale. In addition to the vague similarity to white wine, it’s also a bit like tonic water. In his review, Draheim refers to a crushed aspirin-like quality. I concur. There’s definitely a chalky-dry medicinal thing happening that seems to dominate things. The flavors seem to balance a little bit better as it warms, but not by much. Things still don’t meld together all that well. The finish is bone-dry and bitter.

Medium bodied, with both a slightly sluggish level of carbonation AND a crisp, dry mouthfeel. Weird.

Aspects of this beer are interesting, but the overall end-product is underwhelming. Everybody on the west side has been raving about Black Raven since practically day one, and I’m mostly not getting it. Maybe what’s finally being distributed here was sitting in a warehouse for a while
Jul 02, 2015
Photo of Taybeh
Reviewed by Taybeh from Minnesota

4.04/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
into an imperial pint from a single
a: rosy peach with 1 finger off-white head
s: faint bretty musty hay, pear, light mandarin, yeasty pepper...combination of the Brett and the dry hopping did this one right.
t: like the nose at the very start, then some more toasty and biscuit notes as well as some crystal malt in the front to middle, and it finishes with some decent brett that is well-integrated into the other flavors (including an interesting blend of hops that I didn't pick up as well in the nose); pretty dry. Nice use of Brett...not entirely sure I would guess the style if I was tasting blind, but regardless, it's nice and interesting.
m: pretty light and dry, well-carbonated, some prickly hops...wouldn't guess the abv.
Apr 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by sharpski from Canada (BC)

Apr 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.9 by HoppySeb from Washington

Apr 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by Boozecamel from Canada (BC)

Mar 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.66 by ninaturner from Florida

Mar 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by BMESSER88 from Florida

Mar 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.49 by Houser from Pennsylvania

Mar 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by NickThePyro from Washington

Mar 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.61 by gouettn from Washington

Mar 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by Farnswurth from Illinois

Mar 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by VashonGuy from Washington

Feb 28, 2015
Raven De Garde from Black Raven Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 34 ratings