Blonde Bière De Garde
Trail Creek Pub & Brewing Company

Poured this beer into a tulip glass at 45 degrees.

Appearance: There was a one finger white head that lasted only a few seconds. There are a lot of effervescence in the beer. The clarity of the beer is hazy. The color of the beer is a nice orange color with yellow hues.

Nose: There is a prominent malty sweetness with some toasty aromas.There some fruity esters, a light woodiness, there are some phenols and solvent aroma.

Taste: There is a medium malt flavor with some sweetness, wood, some toasty aroma, yeasty, and fruity esters. I am leaning that is some herbal note in the background.

Overall: The mouth feel of the beer is carbonated and very smooth. The mouth feel of the beer is medium light and finish is light. This the second beer Bière De Garde that I have ever tried. I am not really impressed by this beer. There is not a lot of flavor the beer that I tried previously was a lot beer in flavor.

I bought this one at The Wine Garden in Blackfoot, Idaho. They really need a lesson in selling local; I would have tried this one a couple of times by now if I had known that it's a local brew. Anyway...I think I paid around $4 for this 22oz bottle. It poured very light with a ton of head. Head was white and fluffy and stuck around for a while. Not much alcohol note if any. Very little hops. Clear light brown color. Almost looked like a tan pils. Anyway...a really great beer and perfect for my afternoon bbq'n and playing in the yard - cheers!!!

I got about half way through this one and found it to be quite cloudy. Looks like an apricot hef. Good beer!

90 degrees in april I'm just back from playing baseball for 3 hours and my fridge is full of b-wines and big stouts. Damn it. But hidden in the back behind Full Sail BA stout is hust what I'm looking for. A (hopefully) refreshing Biere de Garde from JohnGalt1. Thanks Toby, you saved my life!

a: This was a clear, bright golden color. It poured with an unbelievably sticky, huge fizzy cap.

s: Mildly, musty, flowery, yeasty grains and some faint, sweet candied sugar that smells a bit like cherries.

t: Dry, prickly yeastiness and surprisingly strong maltiness. There is a muted sugary fruit flavor that I can't describe very well.

m: This was very actively carbonated, quite refreshing.

d: I don't know enough to say if this is on style or not, I just know I liked it. It wasn't as sweet as other BdG's I've tried.

Like everyone else that's reviewed this brew I received from the ever popular JohnGalt1. Somehow, even after living in Idaho for 3 years, this will be my first Trail Creek brew. Drank from my Ithaca Excelsior tulip.

Appearance- Pours a slightly hazed light yellow with a huge billowing bright white head. The cap and collar remain pretty much the entire beer with loads of thick sticky lacing left behind. Beautiful beer.
Smell- Starts nicely malty with a sort of light wheat like dough that is slightly sweet, slightly funky from the yeast. The yeast isn't necessarily dirty; it's just sort of earthy and musty and mushroom like. A bit of clove like spice and a mildly crisp/tart green apple.
Taste- A lot like the nose minus the yeast which isn't quite as prolific as the nose. A tinge of sweetness to start with a nice bit of grainy malt (wheat). Actually more malt that I was expecting. A slight bit of banana from the yeast esters and a slight grassy pop of hops. Finishes with a doughy dryness that is ever so slightly bitter.
Mouthfeel- Pretty crisp carbonation that is a little much with a medium to light feel.
Drinkability- Hard to believe something like this could come out of little ol' Idaho. Overall definitely not my favorite style but still pretty good. I think the carbonation was a little much and kind of distracted me from some of the subtleties of the brew. Big thanks to Toby for his generosity!

This one came from Toby, courtesy of the Idaho LIF. Thanks dude!

Pours a slightly hazy straw, highly carbonated and excellent head retention. Smell is really the definition of a good biere de garde, with lightly toasted bread/crackers, pear, apple (but not green apple), and just a hint of spicy phenols. Flavor is much of the same; the malt is obviously the star here, but the beer is not too sweet. I wish I knew the ABV on this, because from drinking it I really can't tell. A very faint fusel note in the finish is the only real indication, and it helps to dry the beer out. I have never had an American interpretation of a European style that was this fantastic. In fact, it's better than many of the French bieres de garde I've tried. Drinkability is really exceptional, as this beer has a lot of interesting, complex flavors, without any of them being overwhelming. Very impressive!

Pours into my glass a slightly hazy yellow orange with a two finger head of creamy, bubbly white foam on top. Aromas of crisp malts with sun dried grain accents. A nice mix of yeast and spice that unravels with a light earthy funkiness in the backbone as well. Vibrant but at the same time mellow. Quite nice.

First sip brings a crisp, almost lightly toasty malt upfront with sun dried grain accents that is somewhat chewy. Nice yeast tones work in along with spiciness as well. A light earthy funkiness mixes with some fruity tones. Nice robust maltiness overall. Tasty brew that finishes dry with a mild bitterness.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side although it carries some viscosity along with a fast moving carbonation. This becomes a really drinkable, enjoyable brew. Goes down smooth and refreshing. Overall, I'm glad I got to try the first bottled beer from Trail Creek and wish all the best to them in their future endeavors. Thanks to JohnGalt1 for the opportunity to sample this tasty brew.

Hmmm...I wonder how I got this one? Thanks Toby!

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a tulip glass.

A- Sitting in the glass, this beer takes on a nice golden/maize color. To my surprise, there was about a three fingers worth of white head that gathered at the top. There was some nice lacework as the beer was consumed.

S- I really enjoyed the aroma on this one. There was a definitive malt character, mixed with what I would describe as spicey yeast and other wheat characteristics.

T- This one definitely has a nice malt backbone, but not overpowering. As the nose suggests, I detected a combination of wheat and spicey yeast as well. There was also an ever so subtle hint of sweetness that capped of the drink.

M- Medium to light bodied. The carbonation was so prevalent that it almost felt like I was drinking champagne. The finish also took on this characteristic as it left a wonderful dry finish in the mouth. Very well done.

D- This beer is beyond drinkable, if that's possible. Every sip was so refreshing, it felt like I just drank pure oxygen. I can honestly say I have never had anything like this before.

I was a little nervous at first. My palate has taken me on quite a journey so far. I was not sure if I was ready for this, but am I glad I opened this one up. After drinking this, I think I'm ready to move off of my DIPA / RIS / barleywine binge. Thanks again Toby for this opportunity!

Thanks goes out to JohnGalt1 for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Poured into my chalice a slight hazy golden pale yellow color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger plus white head, with some nice sticky lacing to follow. The nose is malty, with some yeast and spices. The taste is malty/yeasty, with some spice. Medium body, the finish is slightly dry/bitter. Very drinkable, this is a nice brew. I'm glad I got to try the first from this brewery, thanks Toby.

I feel a little bit honored to be the first BA to review a beer from the Trail Creek Pub. I have been to the defunct Twin Falls brewpub quite a few times and have had great beers, great food, and better conversation there. Eric (the brewer) is a class act and knows his shit. That said, I haven't found the time to make it to the Ketchum location yet, but I will soon. This brew is (to my knowledge) the first time Trail Creek has bottled some of their brews...

22oz bottle conditioned brew with a nice stylized pic of the Twin Falls brewery on the label... no ABV.. I paid $5 for the bottle today at the Boise COOP... poured into my New Belgium snifter.

Massive 3 finger meringue like head is rocky and sticks around for a while.. nice lace.. the brew is slightly cloudy straw colored.

The nose is a nice mix of grainy.. herbal and slightly funky (in a good way)... some spice and a little bit if musky... blindfolded I would have probably guessed a good attempt at an American Saison, but that is mainly because I haven't had alot of brews in the lighter style of Bière de Garde.

Flavor is more malt centered than the aroma.. smooth pale malts and I would guess a significant amount of wheat.. a little bit of grassy hops mix well with the yeasty spiciness... very smooth and subtle sweetness helps tie everything together from front to back.. finish is dry with a lingering lip smacking spiciness. the body is medium to medium light with a good prickly carbonation ... very very smooth and very drinkable.

Again, I haven't had that many lighter Bière de Garde over the years, but this one reminds me of a well put together saison that's spent some time in the cold for a while.

I think Eric has a hit on his hands... I'll let other BA's decide, because, I will be trading these away as long as the Coop has them.. and quite a few people will be getting them in coming weeks and months. Cheers to a beer well done.

4/4/4.5/4/4.5