The Long Tooth
de Garde Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a special blend here with sante, a wild younger saison and a more mature lambic style beer, not sure if sante made one of them and de garde the other and they were blended, or if the beers were brewed and blended collaboratively, or whatever the specifics are, but i do know that this is some of the best wild ale i have had from the united states, its epic, as good as it gets, and they should be mighty proud of this one. its delicate but its also impossibly complex, yellow golden and bright in the glass, clearish for what it is, with a rising white head on it and a rush of bubbles from the bottle. it smells funky as can be, white wine and brett hit me first, subtle peach and apricot and kiwi fruit there too, but really dry. then i get some bitter floral element, green or white tea and elderflower, along with a ton of oak, vanilla, and floral honey. finally a hit of white vinegar and a little citrus pucker, and fieldy farmy summery funk, oh man does my mouth water for this! all of what i smell, i taste, which is incredible. a really strong vinous element to this with all the oak and the tannins and the sourness, but i get some of the lambic complexity and the dry cereal malt base of the younger saison as well, both in the flavor and in the texture. sharp but not too sour to want to drink the whole bottle, layers of funk and lemon and cut flowers stack up on top of each other, and for how dry and fast this finishes, it still feels like a long flavor journey because there is so much going on. this is insanely good, among the best of this type i have experienced from anywhere to be honest. not to be missed! a blend of what both of these breweries do best. unforgettable really...