The Qi: Blend No. 1 Réserve
de Garde Brewing

Bottle at share. Foggy orange golden with a nice bubbly head. Aroma is the normal de Garde funk, tea. Taste is tea, earthy, woody and more of the DG funk. Dries out towards the end.

i believe this one is a members beer, and as such extremely special, certainly one of the most unique and memorable de garde beers ive ever had, which is really saying something, because these guys just operate on another level, its not even fair. this is a spontaneous brew aged three years in oak with 70 year old tea leaves! what the heck?! i adored the blend one, but this is more oak time, older tea, and even more polished and mature, insane how complex this is, but also how delicate and drinkable, seems almost impossible, and they really are onto something with this special tea, compliments their funk profile so well, ill never forget this one, an elevanted experience from the regular blend one for sure. a slightly deeper color to this, still pale, but maybe faintly more orange than expected, high and airy white head, textbook bottle conditioning it looks like, off from fully clear. the aroma on this is shocking, oh my god level, herbal from the tea, farmy from the well developed brett, packed with oak but not at the expense of nuance, and with hints of lemon peel, orange blossom, clover, dandelion, and wet dog, hay and straw too, the tea is herbal and floral and well integrated, and this is impossibly mature. surprisingly not real sour in the taste, it smells more tangy than it actually is, and this remains balanced and well grounded both by the heavy wood and by the malt, which is just deep enough for this to be balanced, it supports and extends the flavor without interfering, and this is crackling dry even with the slightly toasted underlayer. the tea is awesome, at times quite bitter, at others more like a dried flower arrangement, i get stone fruit in it, white peach for sure, and also more familiar straight up tea leaf character, which feels healthy and sort of medicinal in this, especially with the lambic-like iodine element in the fermentation profile. all the wood in the world, but not heavy from it, excited carbonation the whole way. citrus pith and light fruit vinegar late, earthy from the tea too, which does an almost aged hop thing as this warms, and this ends up being about as interesting as they come while staying weirdly drinkable. ancient and timeless and memorable, among my favorite beers from an exceedingly beery weekend and in my top handful of de garde beers all time.

Bottle.

Initially overcarbonated to the point of being distracting, this opens up beautifully once it off-gases. The tea note is soft, deep, earthy. Complementing the base funk quite well, taking the edge off the classic de Garde grapefruit peel funk. Soft acidity. There's a soft, mildly oily texture as well. Quite excellent.