The Serine
de Garde Brewing

375 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Bottled 11/2023, had 3/8/25.

Pours a sharp looking reddish purple, hazy, with a two inch head of pinkish foam and a decent amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of red wine, grapes, some oak- more as it warms, light vanilla. Has a light tartness and funk. Flavors of grapes, red wine, oak- especially as it warms, light vanilla. Also get a light tartness and funk in the taste. Smooth, a very good medium body, well carbonated.

Really well done. The Syrah grapes are terrific and there’s a good amount of oak, as well. My first from these guys, looking forward to trying others.

This is an interesting beer as the first thing you notice is the dark brownish red color with basically no head. The aroma is the Syrah grapes along with yeast and a funky mellow taste. Very Good but different. I now understand their high rating. Rated 3-14-2025

Bottled November 2023

Last month I got 2 small format bottles from de Garde when I saw them on Tavour for relatively cheap. I had The Kriek already and thought it was fantastic. However, this one is a lot more exciting to me. Syrah grapes stand up wonderfully in a Wild Ale. Let’s pop it open and see what we’re working with

Pours a opaque deep purple with 2 fingers of frothy reddish pink head that slowly fades to a cap that remains the whole time and leaves minimal lacing

The nose is smooth and fruity but has a deep funk to it as well. I’m picking up on aromas of jammy blackberry, syrah grape, tannic red wine, toasted oak, cacao nib, wet hay, tobacco, brown sugar, tart plum, cherry pit, and blueberry skin

It has a touch less depth to it in taste, but it’s still just as good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting cherry pit, tannic red wine, underripe plum, cherry pit, brown sugar, dark bread, cocoa powder, smooth oak, and light molasses. The swallow brings notes of red wine vinegar, syrah grape, cherry pit, tobacco, jammy blackberry, toasted oak, burnt caramel, cacao nib, and molasses

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a tart yet smooth beer. Finishes quite dry and funky

Man I loved this. Funky and fruity in great harmony and goes down so easy

 

 

poured from a 375mL bottle into a perennial wine glass. pours a deep red wine purple with a purplish pinkish foam head of a living over a finger. funky grape must and musty oak on the nose. as it warms more fruit becomes noticeable. cherries mostly. maybe some plums. taste is super smooth. little more funky than sour. really not acidic to me but very vinous and wine-like. full mouthfeel. seems lower carbed than what i remember de garde typically being (it’s been a little bit since i’ve had one of their beers). this was very good.

another de garde beer for the ages, absolutely astoundingly amazing, even if i was a little bit turnt when we opened it and probably didnt need it, i sure enjoyed it! spontaneous beer aged three years in oak with syrah grapes, august 2021 date on my bottle, label says 8% abv. the color on this is epic, looks like red wine, sparkling jewel tone saturated purple, high gloss, leggy, puffy pink headed, looks super intensely fruited, truly beautiful. it smells like intense dark grape juice, almost concentrated to me, minerals and unique terroir coming out, heavy blackberry and marionberry but not very sweet, super funky and mature, woody, and wild, familiar as a de garde yeast profile right away, incredibly well refined, on the edge of being wine before beer on the nose, high sex appeal here. the fruit dominates in this, i cant believe how bold it is with so little sugar, the grain is hardly there at all but the fermentation profile keeps this beery enough for sure, black cherry and blackberry together, the inky intensity of syrah specifically is evident, subtle blueberry type tannins to this, a little port wine richness too, tons of funk maxing out at the end, earthy minerals, some light sharpness and even a little bitterness perhaps from the grape skins, helps balance this actually i like what it adds. this is palate coating but still kind of new to me each time i take a sip. the mix of fruit intensity with this amazing wild maturity really makes this a special beer, and there is nothing i love more than grape wild ales right now, so this was really a treat. to have this in the same session with their stunning riesling ivy was rad, de garde just never ceases to slay! this is in my top five or ten from them all time. i would love to try the reserve or grand reserve editions, cant imagine how even more oak and time would impact this! someday...

Packaged August 2021, consumed on 8/28/2022 - poured from a capped-and-corked 750mL bottle into a Duralex tumbler.

Dark, garnet hued, amaranth highlighted liquid - clear on first pour, growing cloudier as you rouse some sediment. Very active, pink/purple tinged head recedes to nothing. Faint burbling bubbles fail to produce any lacing; no legs; poor retention.

Delicate nose with hints of violet, red grapes, blackberries, and dragon fruit. Not many yeast/microbe notes in evidence.

Tart, compact, vinuous, muscular palate entry with currant, plum skin, wool, stone, and soil. Fruit flavors unfurl a bit into the finish which is dry, with a controlled acidity and lingering flavors from oak and terroir. Flavors are quite wine-like (with distinctive Syrah/Shiraz elements), but the body and delivery remains crisp and structured like an ale. Low bitterness throughout, clean crackery malt bill, and very restrained "funk." Grows a little sweeter and more jammy as it warms.

Medium-light bodied, moderate tannins, little heat for the ABV. Crisp, but not "refreshing" really. Low but sufficient carbonation.

Superbly balanced/aged ale with singular focus on the Syrah grapes which retain all their special character. The tart, dry ale base is a nice counter-point and backbone for the fruit.

750mL (bottled August 2021) into a tulip. Pours a deep burgundy color with a pink head that settles to a light collar around the edge of the glass.

Aroma is sweet and fruity, vinous. Grapes and berries highlighted by a tart quality.

Taste follows nose. Red wine; red grapes; sweet red cherry, blackberry, raspberry, currant. Underlying crisply tart malt. My brain is having a hard time separating the deep red color of this beer from its flavor—I wonder if I had tasted this blindfolded if I would pick up the same flavors.

Mouthfeel is balanced, oaky, finishes dry. Nicely refreshing.

Overall a really unique, interesting beer (and I realize these adjectives are next to useless). Glad I was able to try this, if for no other reason to be reminded how malleable and chameleon-like beer can be.

Bottled Aug 2020. Thanks, Sam !

A deep, blood red with a pink head, this looks great. The nose is excellent. Fantastic grape skin character, earthy, tannic,mildly spicy, pairing well with the grape note that has berries and lots of spice - there's black pepper, a little mace, pink peppercorn. There's also a lot of funk here, a strong, earthy, mushroom heavy base with cork, oak, petrichor. Lovely expression and integration.

The palate opens vinous and funky, earthy, fruity, berry rich with blueberry jam, cinnamon, black raspberry, earth, grape skin and tannins, mace, black cardamom, all layered quite wonderfully. Lots of earth and funk on the mid palate with mushroom and some wet, rotting wood. Drying, mildly tannic on the finish. Medium light in body, moderately carbonated. Long lasting, fruity and tannic finish. Excellent stuff.

Deep purple body, minimal head retention. Grape skin, mild grape juice and minimal tannins. Bright lemon and bits of leather in the background. Touch of vanillin adds a mild slickness, otherwise fairly dry. Lighter medium bodied, good carbonation.

 

Fairly clear burgundy-purple with a short fuzzy pastel mauve head quickly dying to a slick, fluid surface.

The Serine is a very well done wine-beer hybrid that's tanniny of wine grape with a mild barnyard presence. This is further contrasted by an herbal berry tartness that has hints of lime to it after the dry finish. The crisp medium body exhibits funky, nutty oak with an almost cinnamon marzipan accent. It gets funkier at each sip, and that doesn't seem to have a ceiling, which is both intriguing and maybe a little too much for some (but not for me!).

 

 

 

 

 

On draft at the brewery. Poured a dark ruby red with no head but some foam just around the surface. Aromas of dark cherries and and vinous red grapes. Just a touch of leather and must. Upon tasting, it’s rich with sweet dark cherries and red grapes. Very vinous. Not so tart, just slightly sour, lending more funk. Very robust and rich with oak at the finish. I find the mouthfeel kinda thick for a sour. No harshness or acidity in the mouth. Overall: Syrah grapes really comes through heavy and it’s excellent!