Lapérouse
Frenchies Bistro & Brewery

Next up in Doc’s cavalcade of bruviews (or beer-reviews in layman’s terms) is the second Frenchies Bistro & Brewery Bière de Garde [Beer for Keeping... and me drinking later]: Lapérouse. Yes, yes, yes, to more Australian Bière de Gardes please – I love them, the French love them… and really that is all that matters. So what exactly is the difference between this Lapérouse and Frenchies other BdG? Well their website helpfully tells us: Astrolabe is a Red BdG, and Lapérouse is a Golden BdG. Malt and hops are of course different, with this brew rocking hop luminaries Saaz and Hallertau Mittelfruh (noble hops both of them) and malt workhorses such as Pale, Vienna, Abbey and Wheat – sounds like a tasty drop, let’s dive right in.

Poured from a 440ml can into a Duvel tulip.

A: Hard poured this mother, clear golden body, 2 inch yellow-tinged white head that went down faster than the time it takes me to do up my shoelaces (admittedly a long time) leaving a splotchy collection of bubbles on top. At 7.2% ABV can’t really complain too much about a fizzer of a head. Astrolabe looked better though. 6/10.

S: This is more like the BdGs I’ve come to know and love: BIG pear and crisp/cider apple character upfront, light bread notes, Saison yeast spice character and barnyard hints… actually this sounds more like the description of a straight-up Saison than a BdG (though they are similar styles anyhow). 8/10.

T: Yep, confirmed classic BdG flavour profile: BIG pear and crisp green apple mixed with red cider apple characters front to back, bready centre (more baguette to Astrolabe’s brioche) with a straw note, touch of coriander spice, leading towards a long dry finish that leaves the taste of pear/apples lingering on. Lapérouse actually reminds me a little of 3 Monts, though not as heavy in the ABV and more heavy on the hops, overall I enjoy this profile a bit more than Astrolabe’s Flanders Red meets Saison meets BdG. 8/10.

M: Medium bodied and very dry, tannin-like in the aftertaste, with a way too thin (but dense) carbonation. This beer was flat as a tack by the time I got to the “M” section and I don’t write these reviews that slowly (I’m like a 3-wpm-man!). 6/10.

D: I’m surprised that I liked this one more than Astrolabe as that has the better award, I guess it’s not the first time I’ve disagreed with beer judges, possibly not the last time either. Whilst not a 3 Mont killer, Lapérouse is a pretty decent example of the BdG style from an Aussie brewer, cheers to Frenchies! 7/10.

Food match: I’m going to throw a curve-ball here and say Greek meze, ooo.