Castelain Blond Biere De Garde
Brasserie Castelain

 

 

A very nice and malty example of a Biere Garde, arguably a style that doesn't get much love in the US, given its scarcity. Aromatic, with fruit and some spice but also fairly easy to drink as it is light. A very nice beer.

 

A true Biere De Garde, not the strong bite that some microbrews have. I've had this beer in my beer fridge for a while, but because it's almost 8%, it still tastes great. Just a really good drinking beer, and so smooth.

 

 

Pours a clear bronze color. TONS of suspended yeast and sediment can be seen throughout the beer even with decanting. The yeast does not settle even when given time.

Smell is very sweet up front - lots of honey. Grains and floral hops come through with some bread and fruity ester notes.

Taste follows the nose with lots of grain and sweet honey up front. Yeast comes through throughout. Floral hops come through before giving way to a bready finish with again, lots of honey flavors.

Thick and syrupy with fizzy carbonation.

Wish I knew how old this bottle was - Very sweet, very syrupy and not one Id try again unless I could be sure it was a fresh bottle.

 

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Minimal effort if at all to get the short cork out, which comes with a good solid pop.

Even with a little decant, some sediment makes its way in, to a very clear orange amber looking brew. Good roaring middle column of fire in the middle, making the trub actually dance which is quite fun I must say. Head creation is minimal, but manages always a thin off white puck and collar.

Aroma is delicious. Thick bready like yeast esters and hints of small honey. Light sensing herbs and little funk, but with a nice sweetness that's not overbearing. Hints also a little floral as well. Very nice.

Sweet light palate on first sip. Mineral warmth and a light bodied rocky caramel flavor in the mid palate at first, making for almost peppery hints of carbonation, but more Perrier light feel and flavor. Crackly finish, with crispy caramel aftertastes on the swallow, mixing in with a bit of herbs and lighter faint dry acidic notes. Sharp, but not metallic in flavor.

A very neat tasting de Garde. I like this mineral quality and feel which is a nice touch.

From notes taken 01/04/17:

Honey-amber in appearance but the truly impressive part is the dense suspended chunky haze in an otherwise quite clear medium. Head is a light cream color, thin and fine and delicate but pretty good retenion, forming a film. Honey, not too strong or sweet, a little bit of cracker and grain on the nose, all this dissipates a lot and renders some biscuit and mild soapy suggestions. Reminds me of a specific medical soap I used to use that was easy on the skin, can’t remember the name. I get the sense that this is not from hops but more so phenols, like the medicinal/Band-Aid/Menthol notes in certain Belgian-style beers. Grain, crackers, menthol, tiniest touch of vinegar, dry white wine, some bizarre but mostly subdued light-fruit character I can’t quite figure out, pinch of sugar to taste. Very much like a Belgian with a few minor aspects to distinguish itself. Heavier side of a medium body, packed with fine and soft but tingly suds and containing a decent amount of warmth.

A: A mildly hazy gold leaning toward orange, creamy white head (1 finger)
S: Yeasty and sweet, with a subtle maltiness, wish the aroma was strong but the note that are present are pleasant
T: Immediate sweet malt, crisp and full, not overly fruity, some suggestion of possibly basil or mint, there is a bit of a (white) fruitiness present in each sip but it dissipates quickly, dominated by the sweet malt flavor. I wish it was a tad less sweet.
M: full without being sticky
O: A decent refreshing beer, not too much to say about this one. Would be a good beer just to have around as I think it would be a crowd pleaser in groups where people's experience and interest in beer varied sharply. Easy to drink and pleasant.

 

Great fruity nose and taste.

 

 

This one was purchased because it reminded me of my favorite underground black metal labels, Tour de Garde... for obvious reasons. A whole lot of malt hits you up front, and fruity sweetness lingers. Most notably is how it feels; light, bubbly, and crisp. Never before has a beer this flavorful been this light tasting and feeling to this here tongue. Wonderful.

I'm sure I've had Castelain Blond twice before this review. It actually could be one of my go-tos given the garlicky, herbal food that I cook. "Could be" if I can find it was fresh. Both variety and freshness of the style has declined.

This orange Looking Blond, while distinctive in color and harmless floaters, is only slightly above average. But its yeast improves it through the next stages. It Smells mostly of malt that has been artfully worked by yeast producing bountiful fruit. Similarly, this Blond Tastes like it is going to complement food really well. (In this case, it was gnocchi and a tomato sauce.)

In the Mouth, I can tell the carbonation is going to cut through the garlic and pasty gnocchi. It does. In fact, this Blond made the meal much better. This blond is a great complement to my average kitchen. For that it gets extra points.

It is getting harder and harder to find this French style on the shelves and the American renditions still need to get better. I think I will snag some more Castelain the next time I see it has not been hanging around the shelves.

DATE TASTED: January 9, 2016... GLASSWARE: Duvel tulip... OCCASION... pinewood derby cars, cut and awaiting sanding tomorrow... APPEARANCE: a central whirl of bubbles power a light amber body with moderate clarity; a snow-white two-finger head simmer to a cirrus island with an atoll surrounding it... AROMA: ginger, resin, and vanilla join with light dough, bubblegum, and damp yeasts... caramel and toffee are sweet... quite a panoply of scents to breathe in... PALATE: medium-bodied, mellow--flatter than the glass suggests--and slick... TASTE: apple and pear roll out, almost as a cider, before the caramel and toffee sweeten the deal... this glass offers the bubblegum and pepper more associated with a weizen, but the malt is heavy and holds the flavor profile's roots down.... OVERALL: a strong, pleasant conveyance of 6.4% worth of ABV, with a fruity, malty flavor that begs for the next sip.... the sugary aftertaste suggests a dessertif...the late phenol might suggest a bigger hit than it delivers, but overall, an enjoyable experience...

Hazy golden/copper color, little head or retention, so-so lacing. Smell is light grassy notes, with some light tart, sweetness and a bit of estery yeast. The taste was somewhat fruity up front, with a very sweet and subtle spice back end that lingered for a long time. Light mouthfeel, with a clean dry finish. Overall the flavors in this were pretty subtle, but well balanced, nice easy drinker.

Sweet honey, hay on the nose. More honey and a medium mouthfeel, some mineral aftertaste. Easily my favorite beer, anywhere.

 

 

A saison with a French accent. A bright gold-yellow, with a thick white head. Spicy, grassy aroma with a hint of the yeast. Flavor adds orchard fruits - I hope this makes sense - some crisp and some dried. Nice farm finish with grass dominant, yeast enhanced. A lighter mouthfeel, thus quite drinkable. My first Bier de Garde, sooooo...

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite beers. Lots of grape taste come through, like a sparkling wine. Very refreshing with a complex taste.

 

i dont remember any other beers in this style being quite so sweet, this one has a real lingering sugar content to it, almost distracting and certainly in the way of the more delicate grassy hops and the near saison type farmy yeast. i think the malt is a little heavy in this one, a little less cleaned up than it could be by a very cool yeast strain that has some traits of warmer fermentation with high tone fruit notes and again the sugar, maybe not quite done. still, its a real enjoyable beer, beautiful in the glass, and holding a head all the way, great carbonation, and a lot more body than i think the style calls for, as undefined as it still is. love the yeast flavor and the straw notes in this, i think its got late summer written all over it, but if this was even 20% drier, i think it would be a far better beer. still, nice to see some of the french stuff coming around, and i think it has some cool culinary applications. i enjoyed it with a black garlic and octopus dish at bittersweet on alameda, great spot, cool beer program.

Appearance: pours with a light golden color. Clean transparent body. Half a finger of head which quickly subsided. Nice lacing left behind with each drink.

Smell: caramel and orange peel open on the front. Developed yeast character with easy flowing straw ride into the body. Fruits continue to flow with a lingering undertone of molasses.

Taste: subtle overall but well integrated together. Buttery yeast opens up with bright fruit esters following suite. Straw and grassy flavors develop on the back end and linger long after drinking.

Mouthfeel: very clean drinking. Carbonation is on the lower side but what's there is plenty.

Overall: my first authentic French biere de garde and it didn't disappoint. Flavors and aromas all play together expertly well.

Yeast driven nose with tropical fruit, spice and light biscuit and light sugar. It pours a slightly hazy gold with light copper highlights. A fruity palate with caramel apricot to pineapple and a suspicion of papaya are a perfect base for the above average carbonation and medium body as it traverses the tongue to finish with a light pepper note. There are not a lot of hops.

 

A clean and straightforward biere de garde, very nice and super drinkable.