De Garde in LA?

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by Dansac, Dec 13, 2014.

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  1. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    I hold them in very high regard as well. I think the Bottleworks program (I've been to the SB location) is pretty damn promising, though I don't think they are quite up there yet with the best sours the country has to offer. I've had Agrestic, Lil Opal, and a few others, though, mind you. SARA is pretty much killer in this territory, farmhouse ales in general, and sours.

    I don't think much of their IPAs, tbh, though PIVO kills it. Some of their other regular stuff (Pale, 805, DBA...) is mediocre. With hops, again, I think SARA makes superior beers in general; their single hop variants are spectacular through and through. And their regular stuff is great.

    With stouts, barleywines and other big, BA beers, FW is hard to beat. They are really spectacular in this regard, though I think Chavez and Vanilla Joe are delectable, lower abv exemplars.

    This, again, is my evaluation irrespective of the other considerations you lay forth about size, distribution and so on.
     
    #41 Dansac, Dec 15, 2014
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  2. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    They can get protective, yeah. I still think Bernice is maybe the best beer I have had all year, and my favorite saison ever. The only other beer I have had this year that compare was De Garde's Beaucoup Desay, which literally floored me.
     
    #42 Dansac, Dec 15, 2014
  3. sportstsar

    sportstsar Zealot (562) Jan 23, 2012 District of Columbia
    Trader

    De Garde bottles sometimes pop up for sale on bringonthebeer.com - usually sold in special 3 or 6-packs with a markup
     
    #43 sportstsar, Dec 15, 2014
  4. theconductor

    theconductor Zealot (739) Nov 4, 2008 California


    Hooray for illegal beer sales!
     
    #44 theconductor, Dec 15, 2014
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  5. Zhiguli

    Zhiguli Initiate (0) Jul 12, 2012 California

    what kind of friend would share such a thing!?
     
    #45 Zhiguli, Dec 15, 2014
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  6. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Completely agree. Plus, they're something of a one trick pony (de Garde that is). If you're a big fan of sours (even the fruit flavored berliner's and saisons are generally pretty sour), then you're going to love their stuff. If you aren't a big fan of sour beers, then you're probably going to have a very hard time figuring out what all the fuss is about.
     
    #46 John_M, Dec 16, 2014
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  7. w_klon

    w_klon Initiate (0) Aug 1, 2012 Oregon
    Trader

    Where was this at?
     
    #47 w_klon, Dec 16, 2014
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  8. walterfredo

    walterfredo Savant (1,032) Nov 22, 2011 California
    Trader

    So what you're saying is that the verdict is still out on HF? Those hacks don't even distribute at all. Magic Hat = best brewery in VT?
     
    #48 walterfredo, Dec 16, 2014
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  9. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    So Dogfish Head is a better brewery than Hill Farmstead. :rolling_eyes:
     
    #49 Dansac, Dec 16, 2014
  10. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    I'll grant this about De Garde, though really the stuff they put out is, within their styles, absolutely the cream of the crop. But SARA makes killer IPAS, saisons, wild beers, porters, belgians, bws...
     
    #50 Dansac, Dec 16, 2014
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  11. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Agreed. de Garde recently made a saison where they blended in Earl Grey Tea that was outstanding (almost no sour component), but so far that's pretty atypical of them.

    SARA, while I know they're famous for their barrel aged sours, even a guy like me can go there and have a good time with their saisons, IPA's and belgian style stuff.
     
    #51 John_M, Dec 16, 2014
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  12. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    A few of their single hop IPAs I have found to be among the best IPAs I've ever had. Seriously.

    They are pretty much this new wave of rustic, farmhousy IPAs: hop wars are over, let's let the hops shine with a simple malt base, and a couple hop varieties tops. The high minerality of the water also helps.

    The result is very clean, bright, grassy and aromatic IPAs which do not overwhelm with the bitterness. Similar approach to what the guys in Noble Ale Works are doing (whom I also find quite exceptional with hoppy beers).

    Their saisons are for me as good as HFs stuff, as are their wild beers. They are just insanely good.
     
    #52 Dansac, Dec 17, 2014
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  13. deGardebrewing

    deGardebrewing Initiate (0) May 3, 2013 Oregon

    We are absolutely a 'one trick pony.'
    We're a wild brewery, and our brewery is only structured to facilitate that. It's what we love, and what I think we do well. There's hundreds of great IPA/stout/esb/etc. breweries out there. We don't need every brewery to be another one.

    Why anyone would expect to love our beer if they already know that they don't enjoy wild/sour beer is beyond me. Drink what you enjoy!

    Regarding who's the 'best brewery'... I think we can all likely agree that it's completely subjective. And will be an intensely personal choice. We don't pretend to any hypothetical throne. We also don't aspire to be massive and distribute nationwide. Our desire is to remain hands-on in the creative process, necessitating a moderate scale. If the limited quantity of our output diminishes the perceived quality, so be it I suppose.

    I will also add, if anyone is seeing our beer on a shelf outside of the state, please let us know! We don't distribute to other states, so storage and handling concerns are very real. We also price our product as fairly as we can, and exhorbinant prices to consumers don't reflect our ideals, dont serve the consumer, and misrepresent our brand.
     
    #53 deGardebrewing, Dec 17, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2014
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  14. TheeWalrusHunter

    TheeWalrusHunter Initiate (0) Aug 23, 2013 Oregon

    Just curious, Which de Garde bottles have you had so far? Maybe you have had an off beer - not all their stuff is liquid gold.
     
    #54 TheeWalrusHunter, Dec 17, 2014
  15. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    "We also price our product as fairly as we can, and exhorbinant prices to consumers don't reflect our ideals"

    Truer words were never spoken. In an era when $20 a bottle BA sours are completely the norm, de Garde's prices stand virtually alone. Most of their barrel aged wild ales sell for at most $10, $11 or $12, and many of them sell for considerably less.

    "Why anyone would expect to love our beer if they already know that they don't enjoy wild/sour beer is beyond me."

    Love is a strong word, but I do find de Garde beers fascinating. So even though I'm not a big fan of sours (some of the saisons and/or farmhouse ales have a sour level I can tolerate without problem), I have enjoyed some of their beers. That being said, I agree with Trevor... folks who love sours are the kind of consumer most likely to appreciate and "love" their beers.
     
    #55 John_M, Dec 17, 2014
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  16. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    I love you people. Your beer makes me want to drink more of your beer.
     
    #56 Dansac, Dec 17, 2014
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  17. Dansac

    Dansac Pundit (912) Dec 6, 2014 California
    Trader

    I just saw a Gose by Cascade sell for 30 bucks... that's just greedy in my opinion.
     
    #57 Dansac, Dec 17, 2014
  18. TheeWalrusHunter

    TheeWalrusHunter Initiate (0) Aug 23, 2013 Oregon

    I just had an oak aged Gose from de Garde that was dry hopped with Nelson. 750ml cost me 8 bucks.

    I love you de Garde.
     
    #58 TheeWalrusHunter, Dec 17, 2014
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  19. Saxmusik45

    Saxmusik45 Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2011 California

    This makes me so jealous and actively want to start working on a trip to visit friends in Portland.
     
    #59 Saxmusik45, Dec 17, 2014
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  20. beerific

    beerific Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2010 California

    That is such a good beer.
     
    #60 beerific, Dec 17, 2014
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