Avenue No. 3
de Garde Brewing

From a magnum. Thanks, Jeremy.

So damn funky with lemon, mushroom, forest floor, earth, this is remarkably lambic like. Moderate oak, with a real life lambiek undercurrent, musty and mildly tannic. Real great balance on the palate. Excellent.

 

 

750ml bottle, served in a snifter glass. Pours a medium yellow body with a slight reddish hue, one finger thick white head, good retention and a bit of lacing. Smell is really musty and lemony at first; presumably this is from the lambic contribution. Funky, oaky, leathery, lemony, really nice. A bit of yogurty lactic acid on top of the more astringent acetic acidity. Flavour is a bit watery at first; seems that there is a fair amount of lactic acid on top of all the funk that came across in the aroma, and then it all falls off a little bit towards the end. Very good to be sure, but this threw me off. The beer is missing something, whether it is a bite of lemon citrus or mineral grain, I don't know, but nothing seems to step into its place. Its a shame because the aroma was so nice, complex and promising. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly dry but just crisp enough with a good pop up front. Carbonation appropriate for style. Overall, a nice beer that has a lot going on but ultimately went missing in the third quarter.