Biere Noir
de Garde Brewing

 

 

Opened this one at March Madness 2015. A color somewhere in between pink, light red and purple, with another pinkish head that lacks retention after it reached a height of around 2/5". Aroma was akin to that thermometer 3F time period, something rubbery going on. Some wood and berry notes behind that.

Taste, its got the juice and plenty of acidity. Sour power is about a 6 on the 1-10 scale. Acidity was about a 7.5. Plenty of dry oak and a drying berry presence. Alcohol in check. A little bitter for not much hops. More acetic notes than desired. At the end of the day its a good beer, but not elite wild ale territory like the high review scores might lead one to think. Blackberry beers are always tough for me. Would like to try one with a punchdown method though, they always seem to lean heavier on the footlike aspects of blackberry instead of the juicyness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beer offers plastic funk on the aroma and on the flavor. Berries throughout, including the bitterness of seeds, a creamy mouthfeel with a dry finish and lingering cherry/berry flavors.

One of the finest options from De Garde.

 

 

 

Shared by Umberto last night.

This one pours an absolutely gorgeous dark pinkish-red, with a small head, and no lacing.

This smells so good, tons of juicy raspberries, a bit of blackberry, good ol' De Garde yogurt, and a fairly significant sourness, about 6/10.

This one tastes just amazing, so much berry flavor just packed into this one. I can't imagine the amount of fruit that to be used in this one- given the flavor/aroma, and the color. It's fairly sour, about 6.5/7 out of 10 or so, not the most sour De Garde beer that I've had, but still a good amount of pucker here. The classic De Garde yogurt type flavor is definitely here, and very nice. There's a little bit of tannic character, berry skins, and a light funk.

This is light bodied, with a crisp and super lively mouthfeel. There's a moderate level of carbonation.

Another just amazing beer from De Garde here.

Thanks to mrbubbler for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a murky crimson-purple with a foamy reddish-tan head that fades to nothing. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is sour with grain, berry, funk, and acidic aromas. Taste is much the same with sour grain, berry, chewable vitamin, and acidic flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with nice sour berry characteristics, but the chewable vitamin flavor I am getting is a bit odd.

Serving type: bottle.

wiw, probably the best de garde I have had. unreal color, unreal nose, and taste to die for. black raspberry amazingness

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the recentish release. This was the beer of the event, and I was sad that all I got was one bottle.

Deep reddish purple with a thin purple head that falls off rapidly, this looks decent. The nose is unreal. I'm partial to black raspberries - there's something about them that is almost from another world - and this beer captures that, even better than the Imperial Black Raz does. Deep, rich black raspberry, fragrant, floral, jammy, earthy, mildly minty, mildly herbal. The base beer lends some vanilla, a little bit of funk which is completely overwhelmed by the fruit and a little oak. Amazing.

The palate opens very sour and fruity with a pronounced lactic sourness, some lemon and gobs of black raspberry. Fruity sourness, fruity sweetness, jammy with a little mint, this is exceptional. Just the faintest of hints of acetone is present, but it does complement the fruit quite nicely. Light in body but with a fruity heft, this beer is moderately carbonated. The finish is long with a blend of oak, black raspberries, preserved lemons, a touch of candied ginger and nice tannins. Awesome stuff.

 

 

Smell is excellent, lots of vinous notes, red wine, raspberries. Taste is a bit unfortunate. Vinegary fermentation, almost like raspberry kombucha. I hate kombucha so it's a bit off-putting. Still has some good raspberry and wine flavors but too vinegary for my taste. Not bad but glad I cracked it now. I have another bottle that will need to be opened ASAP before the aged De Garde yogurtiness possibly sneaks in and makes this unpalatable.

Wow. Funky ad hell. Oak, then ends with a great raspberry fruity and sweet flavor.